| O, Tannenbaum |
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| Written by Amy Pachla | ||||
| Friday, 30 November 2007 | ||||
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With the holiday season officially underway, many families are preparing to (or may have already) put up their Christmas trees. The traditional Yuletime greenery, however, is much more than just a place for Santa to leave his bounty of goodies. The practice of honoring the evergreen at the time when the winter days begin to lengthen has a history that goes far beyond the current traditional and spiritual application. A great many pagan cultures in Europe observed the Winter Solstice with ceremonies including the evergreen tree, which remained green during a time of year when everything else either died or hibernated. These early cultures understood the ongoing vitality of the evergreen tree as evidence of a promise that winter would end and the world would continue. There are also depictions of Dionysus, the Greek god of fertility, returning to triumph over the winter season, riding a chariot drawn by tigers and holding an evergreen bough. Choosing an evergreen tree specifically to observe the Christian holiday of Christmas started in 7th century Germany. As the legend goes, St. Boniface, a Benedictine monk who would become Germany’s patron saint, felled a giant oak tree sacred to the Norse pagans with one stroke from his axe. In the oak’s place, a young fir tree immediately sprang up. Boniface told the people that this tree, with its branches pointing to heaven, was a holy tree. The modern custom of keeping and decorating these trees also began in Germany in the 16th century. At first it was only customary to have a decorated tree in a town center or guild-house. By the 17th century, the tradition had moved into the family home. These early Christmas trees were decorated with fruits, cheeses, little cakes and other small edibles, as well as candles. The exact time and place of the first Christmas tree in America is an issue of some debate, with several American towns each claiming the honor. Windsor Locks, Connecticut, Easton, Pennsylvania, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Boston, Massachusetts all credit themselves as having had the first American Christmas tree. One Christmas tree tradition that is truly American is the candy cane. In Wooster, Massachusetts, German immigrant August Imgard decorated his Christmas tree with plain white candy canes. The National Confectioners’ Association has officially recognized Imgard as the first person to do this. Today, there are many well known Christmas trees in America. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York, the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C., and the community Christmas trees in every big city and small town in America. From sea to sea, Christmas trees are decorated and displayed with both joy and reverence for the season. Our modern trees, both public and private, are decorated with a fantastic variety of colorful things. Tiny lights, tinsel, ribbons, glass ornaments, wooden ornaments, paper rings, strands of popcorn and cranberries, stars, angels, the ever-popular candy cane, and, in feline-friendly homes, the occasional housecat. For such a venerable yet simple tradition, the Yuletime tree has raised all sorts of controversy lately. Real or plastic? Christian observance or pagan ritual? ‘Christmas’ tree or ‘holiday’ tree? Everyone has an opinion, but one thing is certain. This December 25, just as has happened every year for hundreds of years, children around the world will wake up to the proof that they are indeed good little boys and girls, and we will all believe, if just for a moment, that yes, there is a Santa Claus... somewhere.  Add as favourites (0)
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