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What is the concept behind the beautiful "Christmas tree"?

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Question added by Shahan Khan , Officer GSP , WWF-Pakistan (Corporate Relations)
Date Posted: 2014/12/27
Ghanendra Mishra
by Ghanendra Mishra , Social Worker , International Organization for Migration

I did not know the concept so I looked it up on the internet and found the story below:

 

The evergreen tree was an ancient symbol of life in the midst of winter. Romans decorated their houses with evergreen branches during the New Year, and ancient inhabitants of northern Europe cut evergreen trees and planted them in boxes inside their houses in wintertime. Many early Christians were hostile to such practices. The second-century theologian Tertullian condemned those Christians who celebrated the winter festivals, or decorated their houses with laurel boughs in honor of the emperor:

"Let them over whom the fires of hell are imminent, affix to their posts, laurels doomed presently to burn: to them the testimonies of darkness and the omens of their penalties are suitable. You are a light of the world, and a tree ever green. If you have renounced temples, make not your own gate a temple."

But by the early Middle Ages, the legend had grown that when Christ was born in the dead of winter, every tree throughout the world miraculously shook off its ice and snow and produced new shoots of green. At the same time, Christian missionaries preaching to Germanic and Slavic peoples were taking a more lenient approach to cultural practices—such as evergreen trees. These missionaries believed that the Incarnation proclaimed Christ's lordship over those natural symbols that had previously been used for the worship of pagan gods. Not only individual human beings, but cultures, symbols, and traditions could be converted.

Of course, this did not mean that the worship of pagan gods themselves was tolerated. According to one legend, the eighth-century missionary Boniface, after cutting down an oak tree sacred to the pagan god Thor (and used for human sacrifice), pointed to a nearby fir tree instead as a symbol of the love and mercy of God.

Paradise trees

Not until the Renaissance are there clear records of trees being used as a symbol of Christmas—beginning in Latvia in1510 and Strasbourg in1521. Legend credits the Protestant reformer Martin Luther with inventing the Christmas tree, but the story has little historical basis.

The most likely theory is that Christmas trees started with medieval plays. Dramas depicting biblical themes began as part of the church's worship, but by the late Middle Ages, they had become rowdy, imaginative performances dominated by laypeople and taking place in the open air. The plays celebrating the Nativity were linked to the story of creation—in part because Christmas Eve was also considered the feast day of Adam and Eve. Thus, as part of the play for that day, the Garden of Eden was symbolized by a "paradise tree" hung with fruit.

These plays were banned in many places in the16th century, and people perhaps began to set up "paradise trees" in their homes to compensate for the public celebration they could no longer enjoy. The earliest Christmas trees (or evergreen branches) used in homes were referred to as "paradises." They were often hung with round pastry wafers symbolizing the Eucharist, which developed into the cookie ornaments decorating German Christmas trees today.

The custom gained popularity throughout the17th and18th centuries, against the protests of some clergy. Lutheran minister Johann von Dannhauer, for instance, complained (like Tertullian) that the symbol distracted people from the true evergreen tree, Jesus Christ. But this did not stop many churches from setting up Christmas trees inside the sanctuary. Alongside the tree often stood wooden "pyramids"—stacks of shelves bearing candles, sometimes one for each family member. Eventually these pyramids of candles were placed on the tree, the ancestors of our modern Christmas tree lights and ornaments.

Nasir Hussain
by Nasir Hussain , Sales And Marketing Manager , Pakistan Pharmaceutical Products Pvt. Ltd.

I dont have much interest to know about its history.............. Thanks for inviting me to answer but i am helpless.

VENKITARAMAN KRISHNA MOORTHY VRINDAVAN
by VENKITARAMAN KRISHNA MOORTHY VRINDAVAN , Project Execution Manager & Accounts Manager , ALI INTERNATIONAL TRADING EST.

Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness

LABIB KOOLI
by LABIB KOOLI , Director of the Sectoral Center for Training in Hotel Technologies at Southern Hammamet , Tunisian Vocational Training Agency (ATFP)

May be that is a hoping sign for the new year's good harvests 

Karan Jolly
by Karan Jolly , Sr. SALES & MARKETING , TECH LIVE CONNECT

 concept behind the beautiful "Christmas tree"?
  • TO BUILD RELATIONS AT ALL LEVEL SUCH AS PERSONAL, INTELLECTUAL, PROFESSIONAL SO THAT YOU FEEL ACCOMPLISHED IN ALL SCENARIO.
  • WHICH MEANS BRANDING YOURSELF IN ALL DOMAINS OR A PRODUCT IN ALL DOMAINS SO THAT YOU OR THE PRODUCT GET ITS OWN IDENTITY  

 

Vinod Jetley
by Vinod Jetley , Assistant General Manager , State Bank of India

The custom of the Christmas tree developed in early modern Germany (where it is today called Weihnachtsbaum or Christbaum or "Tannenbaum") with predecessors that can be traced to the16th and possibly15th century, in which devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. It acquired popularity beyond Germany during the second half of the19th century, at first among the upper classes.

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