Why do you decorate Christmas trees?

Answer 1

Some have attributed the first "Christmas tree" to 15th century BC Babylon, spoken of in Jeremiah 10. However, Jeremiah is speaking of idol worship, and more specifically, idol construction. The reference to "tree" should be interpreted as "wood" or "lumber", as a construction material, which was shaped with a chisel (v. 3) and adorned (or decorated) with hammered (v. 9) silver and gold and attached with nails (v. 4), much like the "golden calf" in Exodus 32.

The true Christmas tree obviously had to originate after Christ! The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree (which is what we associate with a "Christmas" tree) started in Germany and Livonia in the 16th century. Lights (originally candles), ornaments, garlands and candy canes are very much from Germany, where they have shops selling Christmas items all year round.

Why did they use an evergreen tree? Just listen to the words of "O Tannenbaum" to get an idea of how cool the Germans think evergreen is (even though the words of the song were not written until 1824).

Answer 2

This tradition started in Germany. Martin Luther, a German monk in the 1500s, decorated fir trees with symbols of the Christian faith - apples to represent the fruit from the Garden of Eden, wafers to represent the sacraments, a star to represent the one that led the wise men to Jesus for the top, etc. - and he called them Paradise Trees. A Fir tree was chosen because it is always green, symbolising God's everlasting love for humanity. The tree changed and became more personal over the years and became of part of our Christmas traditions.

Answer 3

The Christian tradition of decorating trees for Christmas, is a way of praising or honoring Christ and the Trinity.

Related Information:

The tradition of the Christmas tree is somewhat obscure, but it appears that it was a pagan tradition that was absorbed by the Christian Church. The Church often incorporated pagan traditions and symbols, imbuing them with Christian significance, as part of the process of conversion.

Before the arrival of Christianity, evergreen trees were idolized in ancient European cultures. Because they remained green when most other plant life had withered and died during the winter, those agricultural people thought that the tree contained the power of life and was connected to a god. They would decorate and venerate the tree in order to honor it and the associated god.

Answer 4

The Christmas tree dates back to over a thousand years. The ancient Celtic tribes saw the evergreen as the only living plant in the dead of winter, so for the solstice they would bring the evergreen branches into their homes. The Romans used fir trees to decorate their temples at the festival of Saturmalia. When Christian monks converted the Celts they kept some of the solstice customs like the evergreen. For the celebration of Christ Mass they used the tree to teach the idea of the trinity. The shape of the tree has three points to it and the Christmas celebration was 3 masses on the day that was chosen to be Christmas. After the masses they would eat dinner. The first documented use of a tree at Christmas is from Eastern Europe. A picture from Germany in 1521 shows a tree being paraded through streets with a man riding a horse behind it. The first person to put a Christmas tree into the house may have been in the 16th century. The first trees were decorated with edible things like gingerbread and gold covered apples. Then, glass makers made special small ornaments to hang in the tree. In 1830 the British had Christmas trees and Queen Victoria had one at Windsor Castle. A drawing was made of the tree and this helped Christmas trees to become popular in the U.K. and the United States. Candles were added to the tree at this time and tinsel.

Answer 5

people decorate Christmas trees because it is a tradition to Germany.

Answer 6

Because it is a tradition that spread form Germany when Prince Albert became the consort to Queen Victoria.

Answer 7

You decorate your tree to celebrate Christmas and to personalize your space.