O Christmas tree!

By David Khorram, MD

Have you ever wondered where the tradition of the Christmas tree came from? Stories and legends abound regarding the origins of this tradition. So, what are some of these stories of how the decorated evergreen tree became one of the major traditions of the Christmas season?

The practice of using greenery as part of celebrations seems to be an ancient one. Even here in the Pacific, we use greenery in various ways to commemorate life’s important events. Many ancient cultures regarded the evergreen tree as a symbol of rebirth and of eternal life. Ancient peoples brought evergreens into their homes around the time of the winter solstice. For them, the evergreen may have represented life in the midst of the gloom of winter.

The Catholic Encyclopedia attributes the origin of the Christmas tree to the practice of the Romans. The first day of the Roman months were called “calends.” The Romans used evergreen boughs to decorate their homes for the January calends. One thought is that decking homes with evergreens for the January calends became absorbed into the celebration of Christmas.

One legend has it that St. Boniface, an English monk who lived in the 8th century and who organized the church in Germany, came upon some pagans who were worshipping an oak tree. He felled the oak tree, and in its place sprung up an evergreen, which he declared to be a symbol of Christianity.

Another thought about the origin of the Christmas tree is that it comes from the “Paradise tree.” In the 11th century, religious plays became popular in Europe. They were used to teach the stories of the Bible to the masses who could not read. One of the plays depicted the story of Adam and Eve. The play was typically performed on their feast day, Dec. 24. The play was simple, and the only prop was the tree from which Eve hands Adam the forbidden fruit. The only problem was that an apple tree was not available in the middle of winter, so an evergreen tree was used and hung with apples. It is thought that by the 1400s people were placing “Paradise trees”—evergreens hung with apples—in their homes on Dec. 24 to celebrate the feast of Adam and Eve.

And there is also the story of Martin Luther, the founder of the Protestant faith. Legend has it that he set up the first Christmas tree decorated with candles around the year 1500 after being inspired by the sight of moonlight shimmering on snow covered evergreen trees during a Christmas eve walk.

Another custom of the late Middle Ages that may be related to decorating Christmas trees is the practice of lighting a candle, “the Christmas light,” on Christmas Eve to celebrate the birth of Christ. Although initially a single candle was lit, with time people began to light other smaller candles, often on a pyramid of wood, and also placed decorative items such as small glass balls and tinsel on the pyramid.

The Catholic Encyclopedia points out that the first definitive mention of “Christmas tree” is in 1605. In that year, an unknown resident of Strasbourg, Germany, wrote that, “At Christmas they set up fir trees in the parlors at Strasburg and hang thereon roses cut of many-colored paper, apples, wafers, gold-foil, sweets…” So it is Germany that is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition.

Christmas trees gradually became popular in Europe. In 1841, Prince Albert of England, the husband of Queen Victoria, decorated a Christmas tree at Windsor castle, and within a few years, most of the wealthy people of England were also putting up Christmas trees.

Christmas trees were likely brought to the United States by German immigrants to Pennsylvania and Ohio during the 1700s and 1800s. But the custom spread slowly. The Christmas tree market is said to have begun in 1851 when a farmer, Mark Carr, hauled two ox-sleds of Christmas trees into New York City, and sold them all. By 1900 one in five families in the United States had Christmas trees in their homes. Twenty years later, the Christmas tree was a ubiquitous part of the celebration of Christmas.

(David Khorram MD is a board-certified physician and a columnist for the Saipan Tribune. Questions and comments are welcome. E-mail davidkhorram@hotmail.com.)