O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree! Historically, the origins of the custom of the Christmas tree are rooted in the traditions of ancient Egypt and Rome. Egyptians treasured and worshipped evergreens. When the winter solstice arrived they brought greens into their homes to symbolize life’s triumph over death. The Romans celebrated the winter solstice with a feast called Saturnalia in honor of their god of agriculture. They decorated their homes with greens and lights and exchanged gifts. They gave coins for prosperity, pastries for happiness and lamps to light one’s journey through life. Centuries ago, in Great Britain, woods priests called Druids used evergreens during mysterious winter solstice rituals. The Druids used holly and mistletoe as symbols of eternal life and placed evergreen branches over doors to keep away evil spirits. The custom of erecting a Christmas tree can be traced to 16 th century Germany where the earliest use of a tree decorated for Christmas was in 1521 in the Alsace region. In the Cathedral of Strasbourg in 1539, the church records mention the erection of a Christmas tree. The same record also mentions the erection of Christmas trees in front of their guildhalls. These early trees were decorated with apples, nuts, dates, pretzels and paper flowers for the benefit of the guild member’s children who gathered these gifts on Christmas Day. In many places the use of trees and evergreens as Christmas decorations were considered pagan rituals. In 1659, the Puritan General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making the observance of December 25 th (other than a church service) a penal offense. Several cities in the United States with German connections lay claim to the first use of Christmas trees in this country. Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where German settlers purported to erect a Christmas tree in 1821 lays claim to the first Christmas tree in America. In the early 19 th century, the custom of erecting a Christmas tree became pop- ular among the nobility and spread to royal courts throughout Europe. A wood- cut of Queen Victoria and the royal family with their Christmas tree was pub- lished in London in 1848 and was printed in the United States in 1850. It is thought that this helped to popularize Christmas trees in Britain and in the United States. In the early 20 th century, Americans were decorating trees with mainly home- made ornaments. Electricity brought Christmas lights making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days on end. With this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country and housing a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition. O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!
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