"For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree
out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They
deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers,
that it move not."
(Jeremiah 10: 3-4, KJV)
The Christmas Tree is perhaps one
of the biggest symbols that is practiced
in most homes in North America today. Many
people will either buy or go out into the woods and cut down a fir or pine tree
to erect up in their homes. Usually the living room. Still others prefer less
of a mess in cleaning up pine needles, so they will purchase an artificial
Christmas tree. They will decorate the tree with colorful Christmas bulbs,
lights, and silver and gold foil to wrap around the tree. And as a last touch
such families will add what is called angel hair made of cotton. Sometimes fake
snow from a can would be added to the branches on the tree for extra effect.
Lastly, either a star or angel would be placed on top of the tree. The
"star" depicts the star that lead the shepherds and the magi to the
Child Jesus, while the "angel" represents the angel who declared the
glad tidings of the birth of Christ to the shepherds (see Matt. 2: 1-12; Luke 2 : 8-18
Sadly, there are a number of
fellow Christians as well as cultists who believe the Christmas tree originated
from paganism. And any Christian who erects a Christmas tree in their home is
guilty of practicing a pagan custom of worship. Often, the passage in Jeremiah 10 : 2-4Jeremiah 10
forbids Christians from having a Christmas tree in their homes. Hence, many of
God's dear people have been troubled by these verses from Jeremiah 10 thinking it wrong to have a Christmas
tree in their homes. So is it true? Does
the Christmas tree that is in most people's homes during Christmas have its
roots in paganism? Let's consider this topic in today's blog and see what we
can learn.
The Early Historical Roots of the Christmas Tree.
Like most holiday customs and
practices today, each has its origin from either a negative or positive source.
So it is with the Christmas tree. Here in North America, the historical roots
of the Christmas tree was brought over by some puritans of German descent in
the 17th Century, and originated in Germany
as early as 1521 in the region of Alsace
"Several
conclusions can be gleaned from these quotations. First, we are told some of the items with which the first Christmas
trees were decorated: paper roses, apples, Communion wafers, gold, foil,
sweets, and dolls. Second, even in
1650 a noted scholar like Dannhauer did not know the origin of Christmas trees.
Third, not all Christians approved
of these trees, even in the beginning. Fourth,
the first Christmas trees, as far as we know, did not have lights. According to
Weiser, the first mention of lights (candles) on a Christmas tree is in the
seventeenth century."[1]
No doubt, this is somewhat
different than how we today decorate our Christmas tree. Nevertheless it gives
us a glimpse into the past in how our fellow brethren erected and decorated
their tree at Christmas time on December 25th. Again, quoting from Dr. Bucher's
article:
"From the
mid-seventeenth century on the Christmas tree slowly grew in popularity and
use. However, it was not until the beginning of the 19th century that the use
of the Christmas tree grew into the general German custom that it is today.
Also at this time it spread to the Slavic people of eastern Europe. The
Christmas tree was probably first used in America about 1700 when the first
wave of German immigration settled in western Pennsylvania. During the War of
Independence, Hessian soldiers supposedly set up Christmas trees. It is widely held that the Christmas tree was first
introduced into France in
1837 when Princess Helen of Mecklenburg brought it to Paris England
when Prince Albert of Saxony, the husband of Queen Victoria ,
set up a tree in Windsor
Castle
(To be Continued...)
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