Christmas Tree: A Tradition Through the Ages
Ornamented evergreen trees are a favorite symbol of Christians during Christmas. On the other hand, history reveals that conifer trees were worshiped by different societies long before Christians got the idea.
The earliest Egyptians were one of the first known civilizations to value the conifers. During winter solstice, the Egyptians used to move green date palm leaves inside to represent life over death. When Romans celebrated their winter solstice festival, Saturnalia, they festooned their homes with greenery and lights as a way of giving thanks for a bountiful season and keeps on praying for another upcoming abundant season. It has been said that the Druids used evergreens in their winter solstice ceremonies. They placed evergreen branches over doors to fend off evil spirits and stop them from entering their homes.
The evergreen tree’s connection with Christianity dates back about 500 years ago to the early 16th century. As the story goes, St. Boniface was wandering through the woods, which today is northern Germany, when he stumbled across a group of pagans that were devoting an oak tree. Seeing this, St. Boniface was so angered that he cut the oak tree down. It is said that in the oak tree’s place, a conifer tree grew in a little while. Astonished, St. Bonifice acknowledged this to be a holy sign of the Christian faith, and since then on, conifer trees began to be linked with Christianity. In due course, German people began to take coniferous trees indoors at Christmastime and adorn them with candles to observe the holiday.
When Prince Albert of Germany married Queen Victoria of England, he transported his German practice of the Christmas tree to England. The first year he was