Christmas Tree
The modern Christmas tree has evolved from plenty of ancient customs followed by people all across the globe. These customs were present much before the introduction of Christianity. A few of the legends that lead to the modern day celebration of Christmas and the Christmas tree have been listed below:
- In Germany almost 1,000 years ago, St Boniface came across a group of pagans worshiping an oak tree. In anger, St Boniface cut the oak tree down. Surprisingly, a young fir tree sprung up from the roots of the oak tree. The saint considered this as a sign of Christian faith.
- Historians further believe that most of the Christmas customs have come from Germany. Queen Victoria of England often visited relatives in Coburg, Germany. There she fell in love and married Prince Albert. Prince Albert introduced the fir tree to the English Kingdom. It was greatly admired and decorated in the finest of hand blown glass ornaments. This tradition was then copied by the English masses. In the 16th century the fir tree was brought indoors at Christmas time.
- The Egyptians had a culture that treasured and worshipped evergreens. During the winter they brought green date palm leaves into their homes to symbolize life's triumph over death.
- The Romans celebrated the winter with a festival called Saturnalia which honored the Saturnus, the god of agriculture. They decorated their houses with trees, lights and exchanged gifts. They also distributed coins which symbolized prosperity and pastries for happiness. The lamps circulated by them stood for one's journey through life.
- In Great Britain, priests called Druids used evergreen trees during a mysterious winter ritual. The Druids used holly and mistletoe as symbols of eternal life. They also placed evergreen branches over doors to keep away evil spirits.
- In the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees inside their homes to prove their hope in the upcoming season of spring. Our modern Christmas tree evolved from these early traditions.
- Martin Luther began the tradition of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas. In the year 1500, he was walking through snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of a group of small evergreens with branches, dusted with snow. On his return, he decorated a small fir tree indoors with candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth.
The tradition of the Christmas tree came to the United States with the Hessian troops during the American Revolution, or with German immigrants to Pennsylvania and Ohio. However, the custom spread slowly. The Puritans had banned Christmas in New England. Clearly the Christmas tree has gone through a long process of development through many legends. Until the 1700, the use of Christmas trees was confined to the Rhine River District. The above mentioned legends in no way suggest that the custom of the Christmas tree custom evolved solely from paganism. The modern day Christmas tree is a symbol of a living Christmas spirit and brings into our lives a pleasant aroma of the forest.
The reason for the popularity of the balsam fir twig is because, more than any other evergreen twigs, it resembles crosses, which is the Christian symbol for Christ. Also the triangular shape of the Fir tree is used to describe the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Christmas tree has seen a certain amount of controversy, mainly involving the secular and non-secular usage of the tree. There are groups who oppose usage of the tree on the grounds of interpretation of scripture. They claim that the tree has pagan origins. The Christmas tree market boomed in the year 1851 when a Catskill farmer loaded two ox sleds of evergreens into New York City and sold them all. By 1900, one in five American families had a Christmas tree, and 20 years later, the custom had become.
Christmas tree farms sprang up during the great depression, since Nurserymen couldn't sell their evergreens for landscaping, so they cut them for Christmas trees. People preferred cultivated trees because they have a more symmetrical shape than wild ones. Scotch pine ranks first in the most preferred Christmas tree. It comprised about 40 per cent of the market, followed by Douglas fir which accounts for about 35 percent. The other big sellers are noble fir, white pine, balsam fir and white spruce.
In modern times artificial Christmas trees have become popular. The first modern artificial Christmas trees were produced by a company that made brushes. They were made using animal hair and later plastic bristles. Dyed pine-green in colour were inserted between twisted wires that form the branches. The bases of the branches were then twisted together to form a large branch. Later they started using flat PVC sheets to make the needles. The artificial trees are becoming more and more realistic every year. Many trees now come in ?slim? versions, to fit in smaller spaces. The better trees the more are the branches, the number usually listed on the box.
In the year 2003, upside down Christmas trees were introduced in the US. These Christmas trees are advertised to "Give you more space for presents". Special outdoor branched trees are also readily available. They are made out of heavy white-enamelled steel wires have become more popular on U.S. lawns in the 2000s. They are decorated with lights which are usually white, but often are green, red, blue, or multicoloured. Sometimes with a small controller to fade colours back and forth.
Environmentalists have shown concern as to whether artificial or real trees are better for the natural environment. Artificial trees are usually made out of PVC, a toxic material which is often stabilised with lead. Artificial trees can be used for many years, but are usually non-recyclable, ending up in landfills. Real trees are used only for a short time, but can be recycled and used as mulch or used to prevent erosion. Real trees also help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere while growing.
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