The Story of the Christmas Tree: Histories and Traditions from Different Cultures

In millions of homes around the world, the Christmas tree is at the center of Christmas celebrations and is associated with the joy of receiving gifts, love, and family. There are legends, traditions, and trends in all cultures about decorating it and the magic of Santa Claus's arrival.

Since ancient times, plants and trees that keep their leaves green in winter have symbolized life for people.

Ancient Egyptians believed that the Sun was a god and when it became ill and lost its radiance in winter, as a sign of reverence for the sun-god Ra and as a symbol of life's triumph over death, they decorated and brought green palm branches into their homes.

And ancient Romans decorated their homes with laurel and green fir garlands from mid-December until January 1st, when they celebrated Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture, so that after the winter solstice, the fields and orchards would turn green again.

The ever-green fir tree was also honored by the Vikings in Scandinavia, who considered it a symbol of the sun god Balder, and the Druids in Northern Europe decorated their temples with fir branches adorned with mistletoe during winter rituals.

A legend says that Saint Boniface, who converted the Germans to Christianity, was in Thuringia around 720, and passing by a group of people worshiping an oak tree, he was very upset by this pagan practice and struck the tree with an axe.

Inside it, a fir tree had grown, and Boniface believed it was a miracle and interpreted its triangular shape as the Holy Trinity. The news spread and the fir tree became a symbol of Christian faith and Christmas in Germany.

In the 12th century, it was customary for fir trees to be hung from the ceiling upside down on Christmas Day, as a symbol of Christianity, and only two centuries later did practicing Christians begin to decorate fir trees.

Around 1500, people began to see the Christmas tree as a symbol of the Tree of Paradise and hung red apples on it, symbolizing original sin, and placed a candle at the top representing the Light of the World.

The first Christmas tree is said to have been decorated in 1510 in Lithuania.

The tradition of bringing the fir tree into the house and decorating its branches with candles comes from Germany.

It is said that at the beginning of the 16th century, Martin Luther - the first Protestant reformer - walking home on a Christmas night saw a snow-covered fir tree sparkling beautifully in the moonlight. He brought the fir tree into the house and decorated it with candles to make it equally bright. The tradition of Christmas markets also comes from Germany, appearing around the mid-16th century, where baked dough figures and colored paper garlands were sold to be hung on the fir tree as decorative items.

From Germany, the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree indoors spread to Finland, France, England, and the United States.

Around 1605, in Strasbourg, France, fir trees were brought into homes at Christmas and adorned with candies, nuts, gingerbread, paper and silk flowers, and of course, candles.

In Paris, the custom of the decorated Christmas tree was introduced only in 1837, by Princess Helene of Mecklembourg.

In England, at Christmas 1841, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, gave the royal family a Christmas tree, decorated according to German custom. Then, the custom of decorating a Christmas tree quickly spread among the middle class in England, reached the homes of workers, and then also the colonies of the British crown.

In 1850, Charles Dickens described decorating the Christmas tree as a rather expensive tradition, because in those times dolls, fruits, swords, jewelry, small musical instruments, miniature furniture, and toys were placed on the tree.

The Victorian era brought the fashion of placing the Christmas tree not on the table, but on the floor.

The tree had to be as tall and rich as possible and adorned with as many ornaments as possible, to show the family's social status.

Around 1900, after the death of Queen Victoria, the era of very large fir trees came to an end, and for reasons of economy or to protect fir forests, plastic fir trees, also invented in Germany, were used as Christmas trees.

In European Russia, Christmas Eve was celebrated in fir forests, where the most beautiful tree was chosen and decorated with lit candles, candies, and toys. In Poland, the fir tree was decorated with stars, angels, and birds; in Czechia, with colored eggshells; and in Ukraine, the traditional fir tree was adorned with a spider web for good luck. In Sweden, colored wooden figures representing animals, children, or angels were placed on the fir tree; in Denmark, small flags, bells, snowflakes, and hearts were used; and Lithuanians covered their fir trees with stars, geometric shapes, and bird nests.

In the United States, the custom of decorating the Christmas tree was brought by German settlers established in Pennsylvania and was seen as an oddity. The first tree was decorated around 1830, but American Puritans considered it a symbol of paganism and rejected it. Tree decoration was legalized only in 1836 by the state of Alabama, from 1850 trees began to be sold before Christmas, and then a real industry related to Christmas ornaments was created in all American states.

In 1853, Franklin Pierce, the 14th American president, brought the tree fashion to the White House, a tradition interrupted between 1901 and 1909 by Theodore Roosevelt, who wanted to protect the environment, and resumed in 1923 with the inauguration of President Calvin Coolidge.

The 20th century brought all sorts of ornaments: garlands, baubles, lights, angels, and bells placed on the tree to ward off evil spirits.

Electric lights on the Christmas tree were invented in 1917 by an American teenager, Albert Sadacca, who thought of transforming the dark tree into a sea of lights and adapted some of the decorations sold by his family into lights that could adorn the tree.

In the first year, only 100 sets were sold, but in the following year, sales brought him millions of dollars in revenue, and thus began one of the most profitable businesses in the world: Christmas tree lights.

Decorating the tree with all sorts of baubles or ornaments, tinsel garlands, ribbons or beads, and electric lights has spread throughout the world, and year after year, creators and designers compete to decorate the most beautiful tree.

The first tree in Rockefeller Center was brought in 1931; it was quite small and undecorated, but two years later it was replaced with a taller, electrically lit one. In 2016, the Christmas tree had more than 30 thousand lights and was adorned with Swarovski crystals.

The fashion for colors and decorations for the Christmas tree changes from year to year, just like any other fashion.

The tradition of the decorated fir tree among Romanians

The custom of decorating trees has existed since the time of the Dacian ancestors, at birth, at weddings, or at death. At the birth of a child, a fir tree was planted, with which the infant was symbolically twinned, or it was customary for the newborn to be presented by the midwife in front of a fir tree. At weddings, in many regions, a fir tree was decorated and carried with great honor by the best man. At funeral ceremonies, especially for unmarried individuals, a decorated fir tree was carried in front of the funeral procession.

The connection between the fir tree and the Christmas holiday, however, is relatively recent, dating from the mid-19th century, and comes from Western Europe.

The first Christmas tree is said to have been decorated by the German governess of the children of a boyar in Bucharest. The tree, decorated as in Germany, would have pleased the guests so much that from the following year, a Christmas tree was decorated in their homes as well.

The first Christmas with a tree at the Royal Court was organized in 1871, for the birthday of Princess Marioara, daughter of Carol I and Queen Elisabeth.

In "Memoirs," Prince Carol recalled Christmas Eve of 1874, which was "of brilliant beauty" and when, for the first time, 14 beautiful fir trees were decorated by Princess Elisabeth in the Throne Room, according to the custom of the Nordic countries, and all the high society of Bucharest was present and received symbolic gifts.

And Carmen Sylva, the literary pseudonym of Queen Elisabeth, wrote about this Christmas that shone in her memory as an irreplaceable memory, the only truly happy Christmas.