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COLUMBUS, GEORGIA
(By Florence Wedge)
A decorated evergreen is one
of the most delightful non-,
essentials of the Nativity sea
son. We can keep Christmas
without it, for the real wonder
of Christmas is a Child born
unto us and a Son given to us
for our salvation. But the tradi
tion of the tinseled tree is here
to stay.
Most of us, at some time or
another, have wondered about
the first Christmas tree. Who
decorated it? When? Where?
What is the connection between
the birth of a Savior and the
presence of an evergreen in our
homes?
LOST IN ANTIQUITY
It would seem that the gene
sis of the Christmas tree is lost
in the mazes of antiquity. Some
scholars believe it had to do
with the worship and invocation
of the “Spirit of vegetation” and
relate it to other ceremonial
trees, such as the Maypole or
the St. John’s tree around which
people of another age danced on
the largest day of the year.
Others associate the Christ
mas tree with the beautiful old
legend of the Tree of Life. When
Adam lay dying, runs the leg
end, he sent his son Seth to the
Garden of Eden to beg for the
Oil of Mercy. This was refused;
however, the angel who stood at
the gate gave Seth a sprig from
the Tree of Life with instruc
tions to plant it upon his fa
ther’s grave. It was long a wide
spread belief that the sprig grew
and produced the wonder
working rod of Moses. Later it
was cut down and cast away;
then, still according to the leg
end, it was recovered and fash
ioned into the Cross on which
Christ was crucified.
There are various accounts of
Christmas festivities dating
back to the Middle Ages, but
scant mention is made of a dec
orated tree. A forest ordinance
from Ammerschweier, Alsace,
dated 1561, ruled that “nt,
burgher shall have for Christ
mas more than one bush of
more than eight shoes’ length.”
From a travel book issued in
and rites of love. The thunder
oak has fallen, and I think the
day is coming when there shall
not be a home in all the land
where the children are not ga
thered around the green fir tree
to rejoice in the birth-night of
Christ.”
THE SONG OF THE ANGELS
Ap interesting fact about the
angelic hymn, Gloria in excelsis
Deo, is that in the primitive
Church it was sung only once a
year, on the anniversary of the
Nativity of Christ. According to
the Liber Pontificalis, Pope Tel-
should be said every Sunday
and on the feasts (natalicia) of
martyrs.” The opening words of
the sacred hymn are those of
the angels at the Nativity, and
the remainder is a paraphrase
and development of the angelic
proclamation.
Another legend of the fir tree esphorus (125-136) ordered that
deserves to be told. One De
cember 24th the Christ Child
knocked at the door of a forest
er’s cottage. Cold, hungry, ex
hausted, the small Traveler was
taken in for the night by the
kind couple. The next morning
“on the Birth of the Lord Mass
es should be said at night . . .
and that the angelic hymn, that
is, Gloria in excelsis Deo, should
be said before the Sacrifice.”
Gradually, the custom of saying
the Gloria often gained ground,
until we find in the same Book
16 05 we learn that “at Christmas He revealed His Divine identity
to them. Radiant and thankful, of the Popes that Pope Sym-
time in Strassburg they set up
fir trees in the rooms, and they
han gon them roses cut of many
colored paper, apples,
gilt, sugar, and so on.”
ST. BONIFACE
There is a popular belief that
the origin of the Christmas tree
dates back to 724 and has to be
attributed to St. Boniface, the
Apostle of the Germans. Many
He told them: “There is nothing machus (498-514) ordered that
I can give you beyond what the hymn, Gloria in excelsis,
wafers you alread y have > except one
thing.” From a fir tree He broke
off a branch and planted it by
the doorsil, where it promptly
bloomed.
“Behold,” continued the Child
of Bethlehem, “My gift to you.
Henceforth it shall always beai
its fruits at Christmastide, wher.
Children of Latin America
traditionally send their letters
to “Baby Jesus, Heaven, Care of
St. Peter.” But North American
symbols of Christmas — Santa
Claus, the tinseled tree, wreaths,
and greeting cards — are be
coming familiar in the cities of
several neighboring countries,
notably Mexico, ’Cuba, and
Puerto Rico.
to whom he revealed the glad ,, , , , . , . . ,
tidings of the Gospel would all the world is empty, and _dead.
have liked to embrace Christi
anity. But fear of the oak-tree
god Thor they had been wor
shiping held them back. On
Christmas Eve of 724, St. Boni
face told them: “The Cross of
Christ shall break the hammer
of the great god Thor this very
night.” Then, with their reluc
tant permission, he hewed down
the oak of pagan worship.
Standing by a young fir tree,
the missionary then proclaimed
what may be called the pane
gyric of the Christmas ever
green:
“Here is the living tree, with
no stain of blood upon it. that
shall be the sign of your new
worship. See how it points to
the sky. Call it the tree of the
Christ Child. Take it up and
carry it to the chieftain’s hall.
You shall go no more into the
shadow of the forest to keep
your feasts with secret rites of
shame. You shall keep them at
home, with laughter and songs
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To you it shall be a sign of
faith that does not die.
In some parts of Germany the
Christmas tree is still made to
typify the Stem of Jesse — the
human genealogy of the Son of
God. Small figurines of Adam
and Eve stand at the front,
while the serpent, also a figur
ine, is twined around the trunk
of the tree. At the top is a star
representing the Light of the
World, the Seed of the Woman
destined to bruise the head, of
the wily serpent.
How the tinsel came to the
tree is not known. But a quaint
little legent tells us that long,
long ago the mother of a large
family trimmed a Christmas
tree with all sorts of shining
things. During the night the
spiders visited the room and
left their webs on every branch.
All this the Christ Child saw,
and His Heart was moved with
compassion for the mother who
had labored long and lovingly
over the tree. To reward her
selfless charity He blessed the
tree and suddenly all the grew
webs turned to silver. And that,
says the legend, was the first
tinsel.
THE CUSTOM SPREADS
Gradually the tree custom
spread across Europe. Finland
adopted it in 1800. Fifteen years
later a princess of Nassau-
Weilburg lighted a Christmas
evergreen at the court of Vienna
and urged Kaiser Franz I to
adopt it .About the same time it
crossed the eastern frontier into
Poland. From there the custom
branched out into Britain
France, Holland, Denmark, and
Norway.
Just when the tree became ac
climatized to America is not
known for sure. Some say it
was brought over by Germans
who emigrated to the United
States in the early 1830’s. But
there is also a story told that
the 30,000 German conscripts
who were hired by England at
25 cents a day to fight the
American colonists celebrated
Christmas with a tree, while
George Washington and his Con
tinentals were wintering at Val
ley Forge in 1777-78. Christmas
trees are believed to have been
first sold in New York City in
1851 by Mark Carr, a farmer in
the Catskills. This suggests that
well over a hundred years ago
the tree was so connected with
the nativity that an enterpris
ing American could make a pro
fit by staffing a Christmas tree
lot.
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