where did the practice of decorating Christmas trees come from?
Answers:
Actually, the whole practice of a "Christmas" tree comes from the early beginnings when christans were trying to convert pagans (partially Celts and druids)...you see the Winter solstice happens in late December, and is/was a huge marker in pagan religions throughout the world. In Celtic mythology the "Oak King" and the "Holly King" were twins, pitted against each other in a never-ending fight for supremacy. Oak trees, sacred to the Celts, are deciduous, while the English Christmas holly trees (Ilex aquifolium) native to their lands are evergreen. As cold weather approached, the Celts marveled at how the evergreen Christmas holly trees, hidden amongst the leafy oaks the rest of the year, now stood out prominently on an otherwise barren landscape. The Holly King had won out, as it were, as the incarnations of his twin brother had shed all their leaves and stood naked in defeat.
But on the winter solstice the Oak King rallies -- albeit imperceptibly -- and begins to establish his renewed supremacy. The Oak King's supremacy won't reach its zenith until the mid-summer, when the oaks will be in full leaf again. At which point, it is now the Holly King who rallies, laying the foundation in the summer heat for a reign that will last till the next winter solstice. Thus ironically, whenever either king reaches the height of his dominance, at that very time he is doomed to be supplanted. Which is why we daylight-cravers have reason to be of good cheer as the winter solstice approaches: at our darkest hour, time will soon again be on our side.
For the Romans, Christmas holly trees were sacred to Saturn, and holly wreaths with bright red berries were given as gifts during his holiday -- the Saturnalia, upon which the Christmas holiday was directly modeled. Christmas holly and other evergreens were adopted by common Christians as a Christmas decoration, in spite of protests from Church Fathers such as Tertullian. A tiny flicker of this age-old Christmas controversy still burns today.
In Christian folklore the prickly leaves of Christmas holly trees came to be associated with Jesus' crown of thorns, while their berries represented the drops of blood shed for humanity's salvation. This symbolism can be found, for example, in the Christmas carol, "The Holly and the Ivy". Christian folklore also identified Christmas holly wood as the wood used to build Jesus' holy cross. In fact, some scholars think that the word, "holly" is simply a corruption of "holy," although there is no general consensus on this point. Historians now believe that Jesus was really born sometime in February (which if you think about it, because February is associated with pieces the fish ere go why fish have such a strong connection to the new testament and Jesus), and that Christian leaders transplanted their holidays and festivals to concede with pagan ones in order to make conversion an easier transition. That’s also why we have Easter and Halloween. For more information check out these sites...
Other answers:
Let's resolve this overdue question by bringing it to a vote.
Let's resolve this overdue question by bringing it to a vote.