Pets Information
Google
 

The Origin of the Christmas Tree


Have you ever wondered why we decorate a tree for Christmas? What sense does it make? We cut down a perfectly good tree, bring it in the house, decorate it with glass balls, twinkle lights, embarrassing arts and crafts from our youth and put a big star on top - why? No one knows for sure. But the Christmas tree does have a long, if not mythological, history.

Get beyond the commercialism and secular nature Christmas has become and get down to the symbolism Christmas trees represent and you will get closer to the actual truth. The fir tree, the first tree widely used throughout Europe as a Christmas tree, was originally chopped down and placed indoors in an effort to promote good cheer and hope. When everything else on the horizon is dead and covered with mountains of snow, the Evergreen color reminded us of good things to come?the rebirth of the Earth at springtime.

In 1882 however, Thomas Edison's assistant decided to use his boss's invention to add a more "twinkly" effect to the Christmas tree - lights that ran on electricity. This innovation made outdoor Christmas lights possible as far back as the early 1900s. And don't you just know, even then, there was that one annoying neighbor down the street who refused to take his Christmas lights down until long past Easter.

But what about the tradition of the ornaments we decorated the tree with? You know what I am talking about... all the little doodads, candy canes, and the embarrassing arts and crafts your parents "insist" on putting on the tree every year - where did that tradition originate. Simple - all of those ornaments morphed from eight distinct decorations.

  • The Star - symbolically means, "The shining hope for all mankind."
  • The color red - red is used not just on trees, but also on nearly every other piece of Christmas decoration to come down the pike since the beginning of time. Red symbolizes Jesus Christ's sacrifice for all.
  • The Fir Tree - green, the second color of Christmas symbolizing everlasting light and life. The needles point up to Heaven.
  • The Bell - actually symbolizes the ringing of a bell more than the bell itself. The bell rings out to guide lost sheep back home.
  • The Candle (and later electric lights) - symbolizes our thanks to the star of Bethlehem.
  • The Bow - is tied as we should all be tied together in the bonds of goodwill forever.
  • The Candy Cane - symbolizes the shape of the Shepard's crook, used to bring lost lambs back to the fold.
  • The Wreath - symbolizes everlasting love with no beginning and no end.

But that still doesn't explain the embarrassing decorations we are forced to look at year in and year out. Where did that tradition come from? Simple - parents have been embarrassing their kids for generations - why should Christmas be any different.

Allen Shaw is a successful author who provides information on Christmas and Christmas trees. "I am the news director at USA News Network and have been working as freelance writer for 2 years. I've been published in a few magazines, newspapers and websites and my specialty up to this point has been movie and music reviews."


MORE RESOURCES:

Newsarama

GameStop holiday sales surge, shares jump
The Associated Press - 17 hours ago
NEW YORK (AP) — In what was a dismal holiday season for many store chains, video game retailer GameStop Corp. proved an exception. The company said Thursday ...
GameStop scores big during the holidays Fort Worth Star Telegram
GameStop announced record holiday sales Neoseeker
GameStop posts $2.8 billion holiday seasons GameSpot
Kotaku.com
all 122 news articles


Retailers Have Not-So-Merry Holidays
CNNMoney.com - 22 hours ago
(TGT), saying markdowns during the holiday shopping season put pressure on profits. Retailers' November results were terrible, made worse by the fact that ...
Video: Jan 8: Stocks Boosted by Mortgage Deal AssociatedPress
Little joy in holidays for slumping retailers Chicago Tribune
Holiday Sales Were Dismal, Data Shows New York Times
Minneapolis Star Tribune - The Associated Press
all 2,160 news articles


Editorial: Aim to trim government workers' paid holidays is ...
San Jose Mercury News,  USA - 11 hours ago
With 14 holidays a year, 13 of them on fixed dates, state workers often have a day off while the rest of us are wondering why the local DMV is dark. Gov. ...
Schwarzenegger takes aim at state workers' paid holidays San Jose Mercury News
all 15 news articles


The Money Times

Schultz took Starbucks' new jet to Hawaii for the holidays
Seattle Times, United States - 13 hours ago
Howard Schultz apparently used Starbucks' new corporate jet to spend the holidays in Hawaii with his family. The Seattle company bought. ...
TIMES: As stores close, Starbucks buys a jet Northwest Cable News
all 23 news articles


Williams-Sonoma holiday same-store sales tumble
Forbes, NY - Jan 8, 2009
During the holiday period, Williams-Sonoma said retail revenue fell 22 percent to $606.7 million from $471.7 million. Direct-to-customer revenue slid 23 ...


BBC News

Aldi moves into holiday market
BBC News, UK - 3 hours ago
Cut-price supermarket Aldi has begun to offer beach holidays and city breaks to cash-strapped consumers. The move comes as the travel industry enters its ...
Discount supermarket to sell holidays Financial Times
The arrival of the supermarket holiday World Travel Guide
We're all going on a summer Aldi... Budget chain offers four-star ... Daily Mail
all 6 news articles


More chartered flights to operate across strait during Lunar New ...
Xinhua, China - 17 minutes ago
More passenger flights are needed for the Spring Festival holidays as there will be a large number of people traveling across the strait for family reunions ...


WOWK

Winter Park Resort holiday visits surpass 2007
Sky Hi Daily News, CO - 14 hours ago
BY Katie Looby Skier and snowboarder visits to Winter Park Resort were high but not record-breaking during the holidays, said Communications Manager Jenn ...
Snow trumps recession over holidays for resorts Denver Post
State's ski resorts had good holiday season, report says Daily Mail - Charleston
WV Ski Resorts Going Strong WOWK
WHSV
all 10 news articles


Holiday with kids is never too long
Baltimore Sun, United States - 6 hours ago
We have truly reached a new low in our society when a two-week holiday vacation from school is seen as a source of parental stress rather than joy and ...


After the holidays, blood banks ask for gifts
The Patriot-News - PennLive.com, PA - 10 hours ago
BY ERICA DOLSON The period during and after the winter holidays is annually a difficult time for the blood supply, said Jay Wimer, a spokesman for the blood ...
Blood bank reports shortage PennLive.com
all 2 news articles

Holidays - Google News

Français Español 日本語 [أربيك] Italiano Deutsch 汉语 漢語 Nederlands 한국어 PortРусско
Ελληνικά Swedish Indo Romanian Polish Norwegian Hindi Finnish Danish Czech Croatian Bulgarian English - Original language website translator

home | site map

Powered By: Free Work At Home Business Opportunity!

© 2006