Tradition of Christmas tree has roots in solstice rituals
As a kid, we always knew when it was getting close to Christmas. Boxcars filled with fresh-cut Christmas trees would start backing up on the rail line out of town. On the roads, trucks piled high with trees made their way to the sorting yards. After all, Mason County was the Christmas tree capital of the world at the time.
The tradition of the Christmas tree, or rather the use of evergreeens, goes back millennia. It began with pagan rituals to appease the sun gods, who seemed to diminish in power until the winter solstice. Early Egyptians worshipped the sun god Ra and placed evergreen palm branches in their homes to celebrate his return to health as the days lengthened after the solstice. The early Romans brought evergreens into their homes to celebrate the festival of Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the god of agriculture, and the return of growing crops. In northern Europe, the Druids and the Vikings both brought evergreens into their temples as an offering to the sun gods. The Vikings believed they represented everlasting life.
As Christianity replaced the pagan religions of northern Europe, the new religion folded the tradition of the evergreen into its celebrations. In the 16th century, Germans began the tradition of bringing a fresh tree into the house as part of the Christmas celebration, decorated with fruit and simple ornaments. The inclusion of candles on the trees is said to have been created by the Protestant reformer Martin Luther after he walked home on a dark winter night and saw all the stars twinkling among the evergreen trees along his path.
Most early Americans considered the Christmas tree an oddity; the Puritans forbade any celebration of Christmas other than a church service. This strict adherence continued until German and Scandinavian immigrants began to migrate to the United States and influence the wider communities. The popularity of the Christmas tree got a big boost in 1846 when Queen Victoria suggested her German-born husband Prince Albert erect a tree at Windsor Castle. When a drawing of the very popular queen and prince and their children around the tree appeared in the Illustrated London News, the Christmas tree became fashionable in Britain and America. By the early 1890s, Germany was shipping ornate glass ornaments to America and Thomas Edison’s assistant had created a string of electric lights that could burn for days, eliminating the fire hazard of using candles on trees.
In the early part of the 20th century, most people decorated their trees with handmade ornaments and strings of popcorn interspersed with bits of fruit, nuts and marzipan cookies. Communities erected trees in town squares and decorated them with lights. The first tree in Rockefeller Center was put up by construction workers in 1931.
Today, the tradition is shifting again from real evergreen trees to artificial ones. For me, however, they just don’t have the same character. Mine will always be fresh.