12/14/22

Sitting on my back porch, wrapped in a blanket with my cup of coffee, I can see the twinkling lights of my Christmas tree through the window of my den. I’m reminded of the lyrics of the German Christmas carol:

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
We learn from all your beauty;
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
We learn from all your beauty.
Your bright green leaves with festive cheer,
Give hope and strength throughout the year.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
We learn from all your beauty.

What do we learn? 

Recently, I told the story of my dad’s annual reading from Jeremiah 10 while mom and I decorated our Christmas tree:  “For the customs of the peoples are false: a tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan; they deck it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammers and nails so that it cannot move.”

Of course he knew this passage wasn’t really about Christmas trees! Jeremiah is writing about idols. But I’ve seen some people online use this as a weapon against Christmas trees! A principle I learned early in my studies is that a text without a context is a pretext! The context makes it obvious that Jeremiah is really writing about: idols. If you read on, in the next verse the prophet says, “Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor is it in them to do good. “

So, no, there’s no scripture against having a Christmas tree! (unless you bow down and worship it. . . then we need to talk!) 

There are those who still insist Christmas trees are pagan.  

The last few weeks I’ve been writing about the origins of our Christmas traditions. What sparked it are the MANY people I run across on the internet screaming about the pagan origins of Christmas. True, some of our traditions around Christmas may have – MAY have – pagan origins (some things we can’t say for sure), but the celebration itself, the date of the celebration, and our most beloved traditions have nothing to do with paganism. 

Take the Christmas tree, for example. Secularists make a big deal about its pagan origins, but like tying December 25 to some Roman Festival, it’s just not true. It is true, however, that evergreens have been used in just about every culture’s wintertime celebrations, from the Chinese to the Egyptians – even the Hebrews used evergreen branches in the celebration of Sukkot (also called the festival of Booths or Tabernacles). They’re everywhere, and they stay green in the winter, so of course, people would use them to celebrate life in the dead of winter. But when and why did Christians add trees to Christmas? 

In medieval times, most folks were illiterate. The clergy began to perform plays to tell the stories of the Bible so the people could learn them. In time, these “mystery” plays were performed outside in the town squares, and average folks began to play the roles. These plays were very popular – you could say they were the Netflix of the time!

The Christmas tree originated in 12th century western Germany as the central prop of one of the popular medieval plays. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Church building its calendar around events in the life of Christ. As time went on, the calendar was expanded to include feast days celebrating other biblical characters and various saints, and the appropriate mystery play was performed on the particular feast day. 

One of these plays was performed on the feast day of Adam and Eve, December 24th, and told the story of creation and the sin of Adam and Eve, ending with the promise of a coming Savior – which made it perfect for Advent. In the early years, when the play was performed in the church, and in the center of the chancel was a “paradise tree,” a fir tree hung with apples, that represented the Garden of Eden. Later, Germans set up a paradise tree in their homes. At first, they hung wafers on it (symbolizing the bread used in Communion); in a later tradition the wafers were replaced by cookies of various shapes (hearts, angels, stars and bells) and later, cherries and paper roses - both references to the Virgin Mary. 

In the same room was the “Christmas pyramid,” a triangular construction of wood that had shelves to hold Christmas figurines and was decorated with evergreens, candles, and a star (if you’ve watched the movie Christmas Vacation, when Cousin Eddie walks into the Griswold home, the first thing he destroys is a Christmas pyramid - you can still buy them). By the 16th century the Christmas pyramid and the paradise tree had merged, becoming the Christmas tree.

It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree (I would not suggest you try this at home – especially on a dry tree!). Walking home one winter evening, Luther was struck by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. According to tradition, Luther brought the symbolism and beauty of the starry light through the evergreen boughs into his home to encourage his wife and children through a cold dark winter. For Luther, the evergreen represented the eternal love of God and the steadfastness of their own faith.

So, no, Christmas trees were not invented by pagans. Nor are they merely a decoration! From the beginning, they were used to remind us of the story of redemption and the faithfulness of God. Their triangular shape of the fir tree reminded the people of the three persons of the Trinity. The decorations originally pointed to Christian themes.  Truly, as the old German (of course!) carol says, “We learn from all your beauty.”

Blessings,
Pastor Terry