|
||||
|
Because I love Christmas
Origins of Santa Claus
Frugal Articles
Recycle Those Old Christmas Decorations
Articles published elsewhere
Funky, Free and Frugal Christmas Decorations
|
From Whence Comest the Christmas TreeThe history of the Christmas tree, sort of.by Pat Veretto
Oh, tannenbaum, oh tannenbaum... Got your tree up yet? Some people put theirs up the day after Thanksgiving; others wait until a week or two before Christmas and still others put theirs up on Christmas Eve. I'm of the camp that puts it up the day after Thanksgiving. (I'd put it up Thanksgiving afternoon, but no one will cooperate!) Where did the idea of having a tree in the house (decorated, yet!) come from, anyway? That seems to be yet another thing about this holiday that is mysterious and fascinating. One could certainly believe that Christians took a pagan ritual and made it their own - or you might believe that some starving saint was fed from the fruits of the tree. Or that Luther saw the stars through the snowy branches of a group of evergreens one night and decided that he wanted to take it home with him - stars (Christmas lights - once candles) and all. You could believe that St. Boniface cut down an oak tree which was being worshipped by pagans and a fir (evergreen) tree sprang up in its place. You could even believe that evergreens were used as symbols of eternal life because they don't "die" each year by shedding their leaves. You could believe the Druids used them in solstice rituals to keep away evil spirits (along with mistletoe and holly as symbols of eternal life), or that the Egyptians did the same with green palm trees centuries before that. Towards the end of the Middle Ages, Scandinavians and Germans brought them inside, or put them on the doorstep as a reminder of the coming spring - and once again, the faith in a renewal of life, eternally cycling in this mysterious existence. That was the beginning of our modern Christmas tree ritual. Whether it evolved from Christian or pagan ritual, Germany was the land from which our modern concept of the decorated, indoor Christmas tree came. It came to America by way of Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, who set up a tree in the royal palace with hand blown glass ornaments for all to admire. Soon wealthy subjects copied it and had their own. Christmas trees were not accepted well in the New World, though - the Puritans banned them. Christmas Day was a somber affair at the time, if celebrated at all. A turning point of sorts occurred in 1851 when a minister in Cleveland Ohio nearly lost his church when he allowed a tree inside of it. That was the year Mark Carr cut and hauled two ox carts of evergreen trees into New York City. He sold them all, but fifty years later, still only one in five Americans families had a Christmas tree. Prosperity settled in after the Civil War though, and when A F.W. Woolworth introduced glass ornaments to the American public, people were ready to buy. Things of beauty, hand blown glass ornaments were cherished - and, of course, they needed a tree to hang on. By 1920, it was thought odd not to have a tree. Mass produced in the US as well as imported cheaply, inexpensive Christmas tree ornaments and decorations are now available nearly everywhere - and we buy them. The American public spent 7.6 billion dollars on Christmas decorations in 2003. It's no fun to think of, but the Christmas trees we decorate and become nostalgic over are simply products of commercial marketing. Let that be a check to your frugal spirit when you see the beautiful and glittery boxes of plastic and paper thin glass ornaments on the shelves of nearly every store you enter. (All facts and statistics taken from pages at Christmas Tree Farm Network) Back to Christmas! |
|