The beginning of the Christmas tree is attributed to Boniface (680 - 754 AD), a monk from Crediton, Devonshire, who traveled to Germany to teach the Word of God. He did many good works there, and spent much time in Thuringia, an area which was to become the cradle of the Christmas Decoration Industry. Legend has it that he used the triangular shape of the Fir Tree to describe the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The converted people began to revere the Fir tree as God's Tree, as they had previously revered the Oak. By the 12th century it was being hung, upside-down, from ceilings at Christmastime in Central Europe, as a symbol of Christianity. At this point, the tree remained undecorated.
1510 was the year of the first decorated tree in Riga, Latvia. It was decorated with paper flowers and placed in the town square. A celebration of some kind took place and then the tree was added to the bonfire, which was a common tradition in those days. Today, there is a large stone marker in the town square which marks the place of that first tree, and upon which a huge tree is placed each year and decorated.
It was also around that same time that Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) celebrated with his first Christmas tree. According to legend, he was walking outside one night and was inspired by the stars twinkling through the trees. He cut one of the trees down, took it indoors and decorated it with candles to recreate the outdoor effect.
Two more ornaments are traced to the Middle Ages. Medieval mystery plays, which entertained the masses while teaching them Christian doctrine, often featured "paradise trees" decorated with apples which represented the forbidden fruit and unconsecrated Communion wafers which represented the antidote to the forbidden fruit.
Families eventually brought trees into their homes and decorated them with apples, paper roses and wafers shaped like stars, angels, hearts, flowers and bells. Tree decorations were symbols of the new-born Christ. The star placed at the top of the tree recalled that first Christmas night.
There remains a written description of a Christmas tree set up in a home in Strasbourg (or Strassburg), Germany in 1605, which was decorated with roses made with colored paper, apples, wafers, yellow mica and sugar treats. During the 17th century, citizens of Germany began adding nuts, cookies and sugary sweets to their annual Christmas trees.
The early Christmas tree traditionally stood on a table and customarily decorated with ornaments made of food, principally wafers, cookies and candy. The gift-giving custom began when little items were hung on the tree such as tin cutouts, dolls, books, gilded nuts, fiddles and drums, work boxes, needle cases, pen wipes, ribbon, lace and paper chains.
Candles commonly continued to be used in decorating Christmas trees as well. The candles replaced bonfires as a symbol of the returning sun and the illuminated tree served as a purification or destruction of evil forces. In the Christian tradition, candles represented Christ as the Light of the World. An early version of a tree with candles was the "lichtstock," a wooden pyramid, trimmed with green sprigs and candles.
The poet Goethe saw his first Christmas tree in 1765 in Leipzig. In his best-selling novel published in 1774, "Die Leiden des Jungen Werther (The Sorrows of Young Werther)," he describes the candle-lit tree. As the earliest known description of a Christmas celebration contained in German literature, it is purported to have spread the custom of decorating the Christmas tree with candles.
The Christmas tree began appearing in France in about 1840, and the tradition probably began appearing in the New World (America) in the late 18th century when massive immigration began. Southeast Asia now has the market on machine-produced ornaments while Russia is the largest producer of hand-made ornaments. The humble beginnings of the Christmas tree are a far cry from the decorations used world-wide today.
As we decorate our Christmas trees this year, let us not forget the Reason for the Season.
