Christmas Tree
By Joy J. Fine
Of all the traditions that surround the festive season the Christmas tree is one of the most loved. Usually the tree that used is some type of evergreen. It is decorated with an assortment of colorful things, anything from ornamental balls to popcorn chains, to trinkets of any kind, which are hung on the tree and it is then wrapped in colorful lights. Frequently there is a star or an angel placed on the very top of the tree. This symbolizes either the Star of Bethlehem, which which is said to have alerted the three kings that Jesus had been born, or to represent the angels who looked over Jesus. There is much interesting history to the Christmas tree and how if came indoors.
Ancient history tells us that evergreens were at one time believed to be a magical symbol for life. When the trees were green this told the people that the warm days would return as would the sun. They put a lot of faith in the fact that this tree remained green while others lost their branches and appeared to die. That is one of the reasons that lights are put on the trees at Christmas. This represents the candles that were once put on them to signify the sunlight of spring which would overcome the darkness of the cold months.
The Romans had their own early Christmas tree. It was decorated during an end of December festival that included a feast, gift giving, the closing of schools and a time of peace. The story goes that is was the German monk Martin Luther in the early fifteen hundreds who brought the first evergreen tree into a home. He did this to show his family what he saw when he looked at the starlight sky. He decorated the tree with candles to give them the appearance of stars. His idea caught on and soon spread across Germany. In England the Christmas tree first appeared in 1841 when Prince Albert put one in Windsor Castle to remind himself of his German homeland. The British people emulated their monarchs and the tree quickly became used as part of the Christmas celebration. The tree made its way to North America through the immigrants who brought their traditions with them.
There is a myth that accompanies the Christmas tree that is told about the birth of Jesus. It seems this little evergreen came to Bethlehem along with all the other living things but was embarrassed because it did not have a gift for the baby. So it stood at the back, embarrassed at its lack of a present and overpowered by the larger trees that stood in front of it. An angel saw its sadness and told a bunch of stars to sit on its branches. The baby saw the beauty of the little tree and smiled. He found so much pleasure in the beauty of the tree he commanded that these trees should be decorated for all little children to see as he was sure they would get the same pleasure from it as he had.
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