History behind the Christmas tree

Did human beings worship trees in prehistoric times? Undoubtedly they did since the earliest records from the Middle East certainly record tree worship. The ancients thought of the tree as something alive. In any case they thought many inanimate objects were actually animate - stones, rivers, flowers, trees. The earliest record of a tree and its importance as the giver of eternal life can be dated to some 3,000 years ago and the Epic of Gilgamesh in which the hero has the tree of life stolen from him by an evil serpent.

By the time the ancient Greeks came on the scene, a whole body of fables existed and many of these have come down to today. For example, the beautiful young boy who admired his reflection in water to such an extent, he was changed into a narcissus. From early times we see trees of life being worshipped perhaps or at least being tended by two men or sometimes a king. And we can trace the tree of life through the millennia, even in kilims and carpets and next year on the Turkish five-kuruş coin.

The Egyptians had their own legends about trees and the ancient Greeks even believed that their gods could turn people into trees. The Roman poet Ovid relates in detailed in his Metamorphoses that Bacchus was infuriated by the women of Thrace who had torn his favorite poet to death and turned them into trees. The wind blowing through trees could sound like a human voice moaning, crying ghostly perhaps but sometimes superstitious people might believe were sounds coming from humans. Try Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and you’ll find yourself believing too. Some people believed that trees were haunted by genies and if you slept below them, they might help you with some problem, grant your wish or the like.

Homes and even villages might have a special grove that served to protect the people living there. Planting trees in cemeteries were to serve the same purpose - providing a home for the departed spirits.

Magical aspects of trees
Perhaps it was the seasons - tree leaves would die and in spring appear again. It would have its magical aspects as you would want the trees to become green again so you would pray for it the way people today hold prayer services for rain. Today there are a few remaining cedar trees in Lebanon that are hundreds of years old and are even on that nation’s flag. [Few trees live as long as the giant sequoia in the U.S. that can claim a longevity of more than 2,000 years; however, no one seems to have worshipped these except as a good type of wood to use in buildings and furniture.] Another holdover is tying ribbons or small scraps of paper with prayers on them to a tree for example, young women bring notes to Tel Baba, a tree near Rumeli Kavağı, in hopes of having a child. How about tying yellow ribbons around trees in the U.S. to ensure that the U.S. soldiers sent to the Gulf during the First Iraqi War would come home safely.

How did the Christmas tree become the Christmas tree? More to the point, how did Christmas become Christmas? The celebration of the Equinox when the day begins to lengthen is obvious since astronomy and astrology were particularly important branches of study whether in China or the Middle East or even in Central and South America. Not that the Americas were known for celebrating events around the end of December.

The gift giving, candle burning and feasting has been linked to pre-Christian or non-Christian celebrations such as the Roman Saturnalia that must have been quite an event. It took place in mid-December. The candles were important as lights and fires that burned all night were associated with the winter solstice on December 21. Gift giving might not be right on December 25th itself since it was in some cultures considered a religious day. It might be on the evening before or perhaps postponed until New Year’s. The Yule log and the wassail bowl had Germanic roots while mistletoe, holly and ivy were of Saxon origin.

But finding the beginnings of the Christmas tree is rather more difficult because no one really knows for sure. It seems not to have been part of Christmas celebrations until the 16th century when mention is made of it in German records. Some say it was St. Boniface who began the tradition while others associated Martin Luther, the founder of the Lutheran Church, with adding the tree to Christmas celebrations. In spite of this attempt to justify the tree, many critics identified the tree with pagan celebrations although there’s no clear evidence for what pagan celebration might have been the origin. Decorations were cookies and toys for the workers’ children. From there it was a quick leap to "decorations" specifically for Christmas and in areas where lights were associated with Christmas, candles were used on the trees for lighting. Unfortunately it wasn’t unusual for fires to break out if the candles were used carelessly. Another symbol of Christmas, the manger scene with the Christ child, was often placed in front of the Christmas tree put up in the church. In the 18th century once the English took up the custom, it spread to British colonies like America and Australia.
Christmas trees for non-Christians

Today the tree has become a symbol of the Christmas holiday but disconnected from its religious meaning. Some countries celebrate Christmas, some don’t and some are a complete surprise. CNN International has even been showing a Christmas tree put up in Baghdad by the Iraqi Interior Ministry and children enjoying themselves there. As a grinning officer who was the Ministry’s spokesman said, "Today we are all Christians." And meanwhile in Dubai, 1500 Christmas trees were exported there from Yorkshire, England, and not just for ex-pats.

The Christmas tree has morphed into a New Year’s tree for Muslims who say they are ready to celebrate holidays even if they belong to a different religion.

As an overwhelmingly large proportion of the population are Muslims and shouldn’t be celebrating Christmas, the tree became a New Year’s tree instead in the late 1920’s even though the country’s Christian population had adopted the tradition long before. The tree is decorated in the same way that one erected for Christians might be and the time is one for giving gifts.

Jews have also found that they have to accept the Christmas holiday especially in western countries and as a result Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday that celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the second century B.C. and takes place at approximately the same time has become more important than it used to be. The Christmas tree for them becomes the Hanukkah bush. Even gifts have become a part of the celebration, as parents couldn’t bear to see how disappointed their children were when they couldn’t participate in Christmas events.

Today selecting a Christmas tree is big business. One wonders though how well the people who grow and sell trees will do this year given the economic crisis. Perhaps the argument over whether to get a plastic tree or a live one will be won by the former. Will one you can use over and over until it becomes too tawdry to show win out? Making it apparently will leave a large carbon footprint.

In America the live tree business is in the hands of thousands of farms and the business is worth billions. An Englishman however has had a good idea - he rents Christmas trees, hand delivering them and then picking them up to be re-used by the same people the next year. He even advises the recipient on how to water the plant. An interesting idea that avoids having to look at the sad sight of dried out trees sticking out of garbage bins. Maybe there should be more people helping green our Christmas this year and in the future.