Christmas-Trees-Article

You may have a vague idea that one of your favorite holiday traditions, displaying a Christmas tree in your home, originated centuries ago in Germany. That is true, but there is more drama surrounding the advent of the Christmas tree than many realize. Read on to learn how Christmas trees, today so prolific in shapes like pencil, slim and full, as well as artificial and live options, were born in pagan Germany and moved west over the centuries, eventually reaching the White House in America.
Eighth-Century Germany was a land ruled by capricious Norse gods. Drought, famine, wind, and rain were controlled by their whims. People made offerings, and even human sacrifices, in an attempt to appease their gods in times of trouble. One of these Norse gods, Thor, was known as the god of thunder. Thor had the privilege of controlling the weather. To be more specific, he controlled the thunder, lightning, wind and rain, as well as fair weather and crops. Not a bad a gig. Perhaps not surprisingly, human beings were fearful of Thor and eager to please him. When threatened by drought or famine, they poured libations in hopes of satisfying Thor at temples built in his honor.
People remained fearful of Thor and reverent to him for hundreds of years, until a man known now as St. Boniface traveled to Germany to spread the Christian gospel to the pagan populations there. Boniface was born Winfrid, a native of England. To his parents’ dismay, the intellectually-gifted Winfrid shunned their expectation that he pursue a lucrative career. He instead insisted he be educated in a British monastery. Winfrid exceled at theology, and developed a keen understanding of the gospels. Eventually, he received permission from Pope Gregory II to evangelize Germany, the home of his ancestors. He began his journey to the European continent in May 719.
Winfrid was quite effective at convincing German pagans to drop their Norse gods in favor of the Christian God. He made his way around the country, preaching and converting, as well as soliciting repentance from lapsed Christians. A popular legend says that on his way, Winfrid came upon a group of pagans who were preparing to sacrifice a small child to Thor before a large oak tree that was sacred to him. Winfrid is said to have stopped the gruesome ritual by swinging an ax through the massive oak, knocking it down with one hit. A strong gust of wind reportedly helped bring the tree down, destroying everything in its wake but a small fir tree. The story goes that the awestruck Germans were so stunned, they converted immediately. The Christian holiday of Christmas was at hand, and they asked Winfrid how they should celebrate. Winfrid pointed to the tree, and the new believers started cutting down fir trees and displaying them in their homes. Overtime, Germans got creative about decorating their Christmas fir trees. Seventeenth-Century authors indicated Christmas decorations consisted of colorful paper; apples; wafers; spangle-gold, and even sugar it was quite possibly the earliest form of a flocked Christmas tree!
The Christmas tree made its way east through German royalty. When Charlotte, a German-born Queen of England, married King George III, she was loath to abandon the practices of her youth. By this time, putting up the Christmas tree was an old German tradition, and the queen would not let the holiday pass without one. On Christmas Day in 1800, Queen Charlotte ordered a tree displayed in the parlor of one of her properties. It wasn’t the usual fir or pine tree, but a yew tree anchored in the center of a large tub. The branches were decorated lavishly with sweetmeats, almonds, raisins, fruits, and toys. Each little royal was allowed to take home a portion of the treats from the tree. The Christmas tree was a hit, but it didn’t take hold outside the royal family until another German-born British royal, Prince Albert, began displaying a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle. In 1848, a photograph of the royal family in front of their tree was published in The Illustrated London News, generating enthusiasm among the general population. Prince Albert soon began distributing fir Christmas trees to Army barracks, further popularizing the fir Christmas tree.
The earliest Christmas tree displays in America may pre-date those in Britain, though they weren’t featured in homes as a matter of course until the late 19th century. The German originators continued putting them up when they immigrated to America, with the earliest recorded instances taking place in Pennsylvania in the 1740s. But, as in England, it took a national display for the masses to follow suit. President Grover Cleveland decorated a tree with electric lights in the White to celebrate Christmas in 1895. Christmas trees filled the living rooms in homes across the United States thereafter.
It’s no wonder fir Christmas trees are a Christmas décor staple today, given their royal and presidential promotion. But if it weren’t for those ancient pagans in Germany, and Winfrid, the evangelist, evergreen trees would never have achieved icon status.