Whatever the reason our winter holidays provide us with an abundance of plant symbolism that we eagerly bring into our homes. In these articles I will touch only briefly on the each of the many botanical delights that we use as Christmas décor. Yes, much of this is borrowed and adopted from other religions. But the symbolism embodied is very real to the Christian practitioner, just as it is very real to the originating religion. In many cases the symbolism is amazingly similar in its true meaning. As Christianity spread, it was very malleable. It annexed many of the customs and practices of the cultures it adopted- The use of flora being one of the most adopted customs. So let's begin with ....
Oh Tanenbaum, Oh Tanenbaum - The Christmas Tree, perhaps the most common botanical symbol of Christmas in the western world, at least in North America. There seem to be many legends surrounding the beginning of the custom of cutting an evergreen tree and bringing it indoors to celebrate a holiday. One of the more prevalent myths regarding the first Christmas Tree revolves around one of the lions of the reformation. In 1510 Martin Luther, was reported to have been awed by the beauty of winter evergreen trees on a clear crisp starry night and was inspired to cut a fir tree and decorate it with candles in his home. The lights were to represent the stars in the heavens over the manger. Supposedly the first record of a Christmas tree can be found in a German book dated 1604. However a visitor to Strasbourg in 1601 wrote of a tree decorated with "wafers and golden sugar twists and paper flowers of all colours".
