Why do we have a christmas tree?

[Mizzou]

Interesting fact about christmas

keep in mind Im not aiming to offend anyone.. im just starting up a new topic I dont think any of you know about so I apologize if i do.

my source is very reliable... so I wouldnt be suprized if im right. (I dont have anything to back up what I say)
I got it from my english teacher... he was talking about english stuff, and got off topic and so we went for a lecure on this stuff... 1- because it was interesting 2- so we would use up class time :lol:

dureing christmas... im not sure if you guys do it or not.. but even non-christians over here do it. anyway.. have you ever asked yourself.... why do we have a tree?
well.. I just learned this yesterday why we actualy have a tree when celebrateing christmas... as you all know.. its a christian beliefe that jesus was born christmas day and thats why we celebrate it.. but why the tree?

this is why we have the tree... a long time ago, I dont remember the year, but Druids believed that there was tree spirits (they still do most likely but thats not my point) anyway, they would give offerings to the trees to please the tree spitits... what do ya know. the christians actualy thought this was cool, so they decided to do it aswell (partly because the christians were descriminated against, and they wanted to find excuses to worship god.

hence: jesus' birth day is believed to be in Augest by reseachers... but they celebrate it in december because thats when all of the partys happened within the 10 day period till the new year... so if a roman came over and said, what are you doing! they could just say that they are celebrateing whatever the romans were.. cuz it was the right time of the year. and thats why we celebrate christmans in December.

... ok... sorry about that, now back on topic..
the tree giveing actualy died out... but throughout time, the germans discovered it... and decided .. hey thats cool! lets do it, and began hanging stuff on trees over presants... this tradition moved over to europe... north america.. and anywere else.

and THATS why we hang stuff on our christmas trees. interesting? I think so
... what about frosty the snowman? santa clause? how many things do we do as a tradition and not know were they come from? im sure you would be suprized :lol:

[LadyTrinity]

I think they were invented so that we had to clean up mess! :whatmewor haha

[Emerald Oak]

I once read that we hang ornaments on trees because they symbolize the severed heads of our enemies :bug:

People supposedly did that at one point in time. 'Course, I can't garauntee that my source is reliable. I forget her name, but she's supposed to be a real bad Pagan :blushake:

[soilsigh aingeal]

hmm I thought it was the opposite, they used to do the tree stuff outside, but when Christianity started making it's way, they all started taking the trees inside to celebrate so they wouldn't get killed.

[Flaire-FireStar]

I think they were invented so that we had to clean up mess! :whatmewor haha

:rollingla

[Tsuchimaru]

Hmm....that's pretty interesting..... :bouncingb

[aefentid]

Sorry I have to disagree.

The Christmas tree is not Celtic in orgin, but is from Germanic Yule customs. Here's a short excerpt from Our Troth's article on Yule:

The Yule tree is a southern German custom (almost certainly stemming from Heathen roots), which only reached Scandinavia in the last century; Edred Thorsson suggests that this tree was originally the same as the live Bairn-Stock, which was only cut down and brought inside when it became unsafe to hang the gifts to the alfs and idises upon a tree in public. The earlier-quoted description of the Lappish gifts to the "Yule-folk" lends strength to this theory: the tree was the center of the holy feast, the means of making the offering to the god/esses and ghosts as well as itself being a mighty wight to whom offerings were given. In modern Ásatrú, as well as seeing the Yule tree as the kin-tree, many folk also see it as the embodiment of the World-Tree, so that it is sometimes crowned with an eagle and has a wyrm or dragon wrapped about the bottom.
http://www.thetroth.org/resources/ourtroth/yule.html

in frith,
Æfentid

[Ghreyd]

Hey, I know where the tradition of Santa Clause came from.

I believe it took place in Holland. Clause came from a man with the last name of Clause (pronounced claws) who was a very weathy man. Children would place there shoes outside the house one night out of the year and Mr. Clause would go around the village and put small gifts in each child's shoes. I'm not sure why he did this, but he was the basis for the modern day Santa Clause.

[Storm~Raven]

I once read that we hang ornaments on trees because they symbolize the severed heads of our enemies :bug:

:jawdrop:

[charmedkisses1]

cool! i keep forgetting christianity was illegal back then! :broomride

[charmedkisses1]

Sorry I have to disagree.

The Christmas tree is not Celtic in orgin, but is from Germanic Yule customs. Here's a short excerpt from Our Troth's article on Yule:
The Yule tree is a southern German custom (almost certainly stemming from Heathen roots), which only reached Scandinavia in the last century; Edred Thorsson suggests that this tree was originally the same as the live Bairn-Stock, which was only cut down and brought inside when it became unsafe to hang the gifts to the alfs and idises upon a tree in public. The earlier-quoted description of the Lappish gifts to the "Yule-folk" lends strength to this theory: the tree was the center of the holy feast, the means of making the offering to the god/esses and ghosts as well as itself being a mighty wight to whom offerings were given. In modern Ásatrú, as well as seeing the Yule tree as the kin-tree, many folk also see it as the embodiment of the World-Tree, so that it is sometimes crowned with an eagle and has a wyrm or dragon wrapped about the bottom.
http://www.thetroth.org/resources/ourtroth/yule.html
in frith,
Æfentid
no one really- knows it sounds similar to the first- i heard the first story online alot more.

[Mòrag Elasaid Ní Dhòmhnaill]

Actually charmedkisses, historians are pretty much positive that the information Aefentid posted is accurate. There is historical evidence to back that up.

[Leander]

Sorry I have to disagree.

The Christmas tree is not Celtic in orgin, but is from Germanic Yule customs. Here's a short excerpt from Our Troth's article on Yule:

The Yule tree is a southern German custom (almost certainly stemming from Heathen roots), which only reached Scandinavia in the last century; Edred Thorsson suggests that this tree was originally the same as the live Bairn-Stock, which was only cut down and brought inside when it became unsafe to hang the gifts to the alfs and idises upon a tree in public. The earlier-quoted description of the Lappish gifts to the "Yule-folk" lends strength to this theory: the tree was the center of the holy feast, the means of making the offering to the god/esses and ghosts as well as itself being a mighty wight to whom offerings were given. In modern Ásatrú, as well as seeing the Yule tree as the kin-tree, many folk also see it as the embodiment of the World-Tree, so that it is sometimes crowned with an eagle and has a wyrm or dragon wrapped about the bottom.
http://www.thetroth.org/resources/ourtroth/yule.html

in frith,
Æfentid

I think that this is about right. I was always told that in Germany (and that part of the world in general), they have had Christmas trees for thousands of years. It only entered mainstream culture in the late 1800s when Prince Albert (Queen Victoria's consort) brought one over from his country to Engalnd one year and had his servants get their hair and clothes full of needles to set it up in Buckingham Palace for his dear queeny wife. Then, being full of individualism, the Britis public copied them (why? To get full of needles?), and the tradition spread from there.