O Tannenbaum

Most of us know that the origins of the Christmas tree are European, with some very strong German roots. If not, here you go….

The Christmas tree tradition can be traced to Northern Europe, but theories vary on what first inspired people to brighten the dead of winter by bringing nature into their homes. In the Middle Ages, some historians believe, Germans and Scandinavians began placing evergreen trees in their houses or outside their doors in winter as a sign of hope for the coming of spring. By another account, the English missionary Boniface, who came to Germany in the 8th century, introduced the practice of decorating a fir tree in honor of the Christ child to replace the pagan ritual of worshipping at an oak.

The first recorded appearance of a Christmas tree - Tannenbaum - was recorded in 1605 in Strasbourg, and the record said that "...people set up Christmas trees in their rooms...". The decorations hung on a tree of that time were "roses cut of many-colored paper, apples, wafers, gilt, sugar". People used different festive ornaments, nuts, candies, and candles to decorate the tree.

It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the sixteenth-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling among the evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.

The practice of putting up Christmas trees spread from Germany to North America with German immigrants settling in Pennsylvania and Ohio. German settlers in Pennsylvania began to decorate community trees and take trees into their homes in the 1700s. When a London newspaper published an image of Queen Victoria and her husband, Germany’s Prince Albert, and their family gathered around a Christmas tree in 1846, the custom suddenly became fashionable in both England and America.

Interestingly, many of the trees in Germany are not put up and decorated until Christmas Eve night when the family gathers together for the family meal and the opening of gifts. I saw many Christmas trees being delivered on 12/23 in the neighborhood. Budman and I decided, however, that we needed more “quality time” with our tree than that, having now enjoyed it for over 3 weeks…complete with only German ornaments.