A Short History Of Christmas

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Christmas holiday is one of the most popular traditions through the world

. It involves decorating a tree with small ornaments, ribbons, strings of flashing lights and of course the magic of placing gifts for dear ones at the bottom of the tree. The decorated Christmas tree is usually takes place of pride besides the fireplace or corner of the room for weeks. It is finally removed on the Epiphany day.

Ever green trees were considered magical and able of resisting the darkness of winter in ancient northern European cultures before the Greek and Roman empires. The villagers and priests used to gather around the tallest evergreen tree every year at the winter and prayed to their gods to return the sun and the warm weather that was beneficial for their crops and the animals.

It appears to be awkward for the people if 21st century to think that summer would not return during those times but those people only knew that winter was a hard and miserable time. They knew that they came and went back again but their lives were very shaky, they were only able to stockpile enough firewood and food to last through the winter. This was the reason sun was important for them and they would perish if the sun did not return. It is easy to understand about the magic that evergreen trees obviously had.

Early Egyptians also appreciated the value of evergreen trees and would bring palm leafs into their homes and temples during winter. This symbolized the importance of life over death. The concept of resurrection and afterlife was a strong belief of early Egyptians and palm leafs that remained green became a symbol of eternal life.

The customs of decorating the Christmas tree by the pagans are even mentioned in the Jeremiah 10:2-4. These passages have been misinterpreted by many Christians indicating that the Christmas tree is an un-Christian pagan activity that should be terminated. Although many Christian scholars agree that Jeremiah is referring to the pagan practice of cutting and turning wood into an idol and decorating it for worshipping as god. No historical records have suggested that either Christmas tree or any decorated tree was used for pagan traditions of the Holy Land.

The Romans used to traditionally decorate a fir tree and placing gifts under the tree similar to the practice of modern Christians. However the practice was neglected in most parts of the Christian world after the fall of the Roman Empire.

The Catholic Church of that time tried to wipe out all pagan traditions. They were successful in part but in fact the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 550AD and the growth of Islam around the Mediterranean from the early 8th century did more to curb pagan beliefs.

A revival of pagan traditions throughout Europe was seen in the late medieval ages. It led many priests and monks inventing stories that reaffirmed the connection between decorating trees and Christs birth. Medieval tales told of all living creatures attending Christs birth and bringing any gifts they could.

The trees also gave gifts such as dates from the palm tree and olives from olive tree. However the fir tree got tired of travelling from Europe and had nothing to offer. Seeing the disappointed of the fir tree, the angels descended and sat on its branches and casted their light as miniature stars. The baby Jesus was so much amazed by the lights of the angels that he declared the fir tree to be decorated with lights and surrounded with gifts for the rest of the time to bring joy to children.

The tradition of decorating a fir tree at Christmas time was well established in the German speaking nations by the 1800s. Thousands of small factories manufactured small glass balls for decoration of the tree. The tradition of decorating the Christmas tree didnt arrive in the English speaking world until after the marriage of Queen Victoria with German Prince Albert.

Christmas activities were brought by German and English settlers to the US in the 19h century. Some American Christians still refuse to celebrate Christmas and decorate a Christmas tree till today. The Christmas holiday season has become one of the best income periods for US departmental stores resulting in bigger and more colorful displays.

by: Tauqeer Hassan

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