History of Christmas tree has an ancient origin. In the 7th century a monk from Crediton, Devon shire, went to Germany to preach Christian doctrines. It is said that he used the triangular shape of the Fir Tree to describe the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. From then on people began to honor Fir Tree as the Tree of God.
Seasonal celebrations in the ancient times were held during the Winter Solstice. The Romans in their Saturnalia festival, the German pagans in their Yule festival used evergreen boughs to decorate their homes and temples. To the Druids, sprigs of evergreen holly in the house meant eternal life; while to the Norsemen, they symbolized the revival of the sun god Balder. The tradition of Christmas trees was inherited from them. The first decorated tree appeared at Riga in Latvia, in 1510. Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree.
The Christmas tree tradition came to United States with the Hessian Germans. But it was considered as a pagan mockery and remained unaccepted until the nineteenth century. The Cromwellian government used to penalize people if they were caught practicing Christmas customs.
In 1846 the popular royals Queen Victoria and Prince Albert reintroduced the tradition of Christmas tree in England, by lavishly embellishing a Christmas tree on their palace. Almonds, candles, beads, tinsels, glass ornaments and snowflakes were used for decoration.
In 1882, Thomas Edison's assistant Edward Johnson developed the idea of Christmas tree lights that ran on electricity. This innovation made outdoor Christmas tree lights possible. By the 1890s Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany and Christmas tree popularity was on the rise around the U.S.
For further information on History of the Christmas Tree go through the pages of Christmas Carnivals.
|
