Why Do We Have Christmas Trees?

Several cultures around the world have used evergreen trees, garlands, and wreaths in their homes during the winter season to symbolize various local customs and beliefs. It is hard to pin down any one lineage that led to our current way of using Christmas trees, but there is no doubt that the practice precedes Christianity and has roots in several pagan traditions, including tree worship. Evergreens were said to ward off evil spirits and were associated with fertility in some cultures.

Most likely the modern Christmas tree can be traced back to the regions that are now central to northern Europe, where art and folklore indicate the use of Christmas trees for decoration as early as the 16th century. Although some early Christians rejected the idea of incorporating these older pagan traditions into their religion, the custom persisted, and eventually the Christmas tree became one of the most iconic symbols of the season.

It is easy to understand why people are attracted to the idea of having Christmas trees in their homes. During the long, dark, cold days of winter, there are few signs of life and not much color to be seen. Having an evergreen tree inside the home, especially one that is decorated with tingling lights and festive ornaments, reminds us of the greenery that will come back in the spring. Not only that, but the scent of evergreens brings freshness into the air of a home that might feel stuffy over the winter.

Why Do We Decorate Our Christmas Trees?

As with many ancient traditions, it’s hard to say exactly how or why people first decided to bring evergreens into their home during the winter, or how and why they started to add decorations. Some stories suggest that the Protestant reformer Martin Luther was the first person to bring a tree into his home, and then to add candles to it in order to replicate the feeling of seeing stars outdoors. Lighted trees were also meant to symbolize the starry sky over the nativity scene when Jesus was born. Due to the obvious hazards involved in using fire so close to trees, lighted candles have now been mostly replaced by small electric lights.
Early Christians may have decorated their trees with apples to represent the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. Many people trace the history of modern Christmas ornaments to Germany in the 1800s, when a glassblower named Hans Greiner used blown glass to create “baubles” that quickly became popular as tree decorations instead of the fruit and nuts that most people used at the time.
The ornament placed at the very top of the tree often has a religious connotation relating to the story of the nativity: a star to represent the Star of Bethlehem or an angel that symbolizes the angels who announced the birth of the messiah.

Why Are Poinsettias the Official Christmas Flower?

If there’s one flower that comes to mind when thinking of the Christmas season, it must be the poinsettia. A huge number of these colorful plants are sold each year, making it one of the best-selling potted flowers in the world. While the traditional variety is a bright, vibrant red, there are a number of other color variations available as growers seek to add options that will suit any customer’s tastes.

But how did this colorful plant come to be associated with Christmas? Well, there is a legend from Mexican folklore that provides a poetic explanation. According to the story, there was a young girl named Pepita who was too poor to purchase any offerings to take to a Christmas Eve service. Lacking any other option, she gathered a handful of common weeds and carried them into the church. After placing the humble bouquet in front of the nativity scene, they were suddenly transformed into brilliant red flowers. This story gives the plant its Spanish name, flor de Nochebuena.

The real story is probably a bit more pedestrian. In the first half of the 1900s, a commercial grower in southern California found a method to increase the color, hardiness, and longevity of cultivated poinsettias. In order to capitalize on these new and improved plants, the company started a campaign to make the poinsettia the unofficial flower of Christmas. Poinsettia plants were sent to magazines, television studios, and holiday musicals to be included in their Christmas productions. The public saw poinsettias in this context and started buying them for their own homes. Due to the success of this campaign, poinsettias are now inextricably tied to the Christmas season.

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