Reply #40: Some don't think it is a Christian tradition. See below [View All]

A beautifully decorated evergreen tree, with colored lights ablaze inspires in many warm memories of Christmases long past. The Christmas tree has become one of the most beloved and well known holiday symbols.

Christmas Tree The tradition of a holiday tree has been around since ancient times and has played an important part in winter celebrations for many centuries. Many pagan festivals used trees when honoring their gods and spirits. In Northern Europe the Vikings considered the evergreen a symbol and reminder that the darkness and cold of winter would end and the green of spring would return. The Druids of ancient England and France decorated oak trees with fruit and candles to honor their gods of harvests. At the festival Saturnalia the Romans decorated trees with trinkets and candles.

There have also been many legends surrounding the lore of the Christmas tree. In one story Saint Boniface, an English monk, came upon a group of pagans who had gathered around an oak tree and were preparing to sacrifice a child. To stop the sacrifice and save the child, the Saint flattened the oak tree with one blow of his fist. A small fir sprang up in its place, which Saint Boniface told the pagans was the Tree of Life and represented the life of Christ.

http://www.jinglebellranch.com/orgin.htm


This focal point of a holiday tradition signifies different things to different people. Christmas trees first appeared in the United States during the mid-1800's. Christmas tree myths are traced back to pagan traditions where the evergreen symbolized the presence of life in the dead of winter. The evergreen tree was central to pagan beliefs and its significance in these cultures has been documented by archaeologists and anthropologists to at least 4000 b.c. Pagan beliefs about the orgin of the universe formed a basis for many of today's religious practices, myths, secular customs, legends, and fairy tales. To learn more about this interesting topic, you can read: The Solstice Evergreen by Sheryl Ann Karas.

http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/christmastrees1.html