Christmas Botany (Part I)- Oh Tannenbaum

But alas, that is too simple, and I'm afraid maybe a little disingenuous on the part of us Christians who may wish to hide the origins of this time honored custom. Many, many traditions of of decorating trees or bringing trees into the home for religious symbolism can be found. The Druids of England and France were known to decorate the oak tree at the Winter Solstice. Apples and candles were used to honor their gods. This custom may have begun as many as several thousand years ago.

The Romans were known to have trimmed trees with trinkets and candles, topping the tree off with an image of the Sun God. Very reminiscent of the angel and star toppers we Christians use today. Saturnalia was celebrated in December. Could it be that some early Roman Christians decorated trees and adapted the symbol to Christian belief and ritual. It would have been good cover to avoid the rancor the Roman religious authorities of the day.

The celebration honoring the Egyptian goddess of Agriculture, Isis involved the bringing of palm branches into the home. This late December practice celebrated continuing life.

Even in the Christian tradition there are conflicting traditions regarding the origin of the tree. One that seemingly predates the Luther tale involves one Winifred or later known as Saint Boniface, a 7th century monk. from Devonshire in England. Saint Boniface reportedly traveled to Germany as a missionary- to a region known as Thuringia. In the legend, he used the triangular shaped fir tree to illustrate the Holy Trinity. The converts revered the fir tree as "Gods Tree", replacing the oak that was previously revered. Apparently the Thuringians may have been akin to Druids prior to conversion. Winifred is reputed to have cut down the Oak of Geismar before the residents very eyes and saved little Prince Asulf from being sacrificed to Thor under the "Blood Oak". Amazingly a fir tree sprang up and grew thus giving the fir its aurora of godliness. By a strange twist of practice, the fir tree was being hung up-side down from the ceiling in homes by the 12th century in central Europe.

Christmas Trees apparently emerged in England with the arrival of monarchs from Germany. The German immigrants that came along erected Christmas trees in their homes. Adoption of this practice was slow on the part of the indigenous population. Not until the mid 19th century and Queen Victoria,

Go To Page: 1 2 3