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Christmas Tree In
the 8th century, the Christian missionary Boniface was contending
for the Faith against Thor. Since evergreens live in the
dark winter, Boniface reasoned, it shows us God's power that overcomes
evil. Therefore, Boniface told the folk to bring in their
homes evergreens to celebrate. The Christmas pyramid made
its appearance before the Christmas tree which was decorated with
greenery and ornaments. Gifts, food, or a manger scene could
be placed on its shelves. The Middle Ages' "mystery"
or "passion" plays had the Paradise Tree, the symbol
of Christ, which was an evergreen hung with red apples and was
the symbol of the feast of Adam and Eve held on 24 December. These
plays were used to teach the illiterate about the Bible similarly
how many use many forms of the media today (e.g., videos, radio,
books, etc.). During this time, the Germans brought the
Paradise Tree into their homes on Christmas Eve.
One legend has it that Martin Luther,
the great Reformer, conceived the idea of having Christmas trees
while walking outside on Christmas Eve. Martin Luther has
been attributed by scholars to have attached lighted candles to
a small evergreen tree symbolizing the heavens over Bethlehem
on the night of Christ's birth. The first record of a Christmas
tree was in 1603 in Strasbourg, Germany (now part of France),
which was hung with painted hosts or Eucharistic wafers symbolizing
the body of Christ which were later replaced by painted cookies,
first fruits another symbol of Christ and candles symbolizing
Christ as the Light of the world.
During the American War of Independence,
the concept of Christmas trees were brought by Hessian soldiers,
the mercenaries hired by England to put down the rebels. Legend
has it that while the homesick Hessians abandoned their posts
in order to be around a candle lit evergreen tree, Washington
attacked and defeated them. US soldiers stationed at Fort
Dearborn (now Chicago), hauled trees from the woods to their barracks
during Christmas in 1804. When Victoria married Albert of
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1840, he brought the Christmas tree to Windsor
Castle, England, and it quickly caught on. In 1842, the
custom of decorating trees began in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Franklin Pierce, 14th president, brought the Christmas tree to
the White House and in 1923, Calvin Coolidge, 30th president,
started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.
Even humanists, have acknowledged
a form of the Christmas tree even while in darkness. Long before
there was the celebration of Christ's birth, the ancient Egyptians
brought green palm branches in their homes on the shortest day
of the year in December symbolizing triumph over death. During
Saturnalia (a winter festival honoring Saturnus, the Roman god
of agriculture), the Romans festooned their homes with evergreens.
It is said that the Druid priests decorated oak trees with
golden apples for their winter solstice as well.
Yet, victory is at hand! Now, most
of those descendants of the ancients know that it is our Triune
King that is to be thanked. Many of these descendants of
the ancient humanists celebrate the victory in the True meaning
of Christmas!
The Word Christmas
The word Christmas comes from the Old English "Christes maesse" or the Christ Mass.
Christmas tree ornaments at first had real fruit (symbolizing Christ as the First-Fruit) and flowers (e.g. the Rose of Sharon). Luther is attributed to first placing lighted candles on the tree to represent Christ as the Light of the world as well as the heavens during the night of His birth.
An Indiana candy maker wanted to witness to others about His King. First, he made his cane in a "J" for Jesus and to symbolize the staff of the Good Shepherd. The white symbolizes purity, the Virgin Birth, and the sinless nature of Christ (Hebrews 4:15). The hardness of the candy is to remind the recipient of the Solid Rock (Matthew 16:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:24), the foundation of the church and God's firm promises. The three (3) small stripes symbolize the scourging of Christ by which we are healed (Isaiah 53:5) and the large stripe represents the blood shed by Christ on the cross (John 19:34-35) so His people could have eternal life.
Throughout Christendom and today, candles are frequently brought out during the Christmas season. These candles have and for many still do symbolize Christ as the Light of the world.
The Christ Child is our Triune King's gift to His people. The first recorded evidence of gift giving at Christmas by His people was by the three kings of the orient. In antiquity, emperors/kings of lands were feted and celebrated on their birthdays. Thus, our Triune King caused the celebration of gift giving to the Son by the gifts of the Magi. Gold symbolizes royalty, frankincense represents divinity and myrrh foreshadowed death. This practice is also recognized when we give gifts to family members on their birthdays, baby showers, weddings and anniversaries. At Christmas time and during other special events in life, Christians celebrate our victory in Christ by giving gifts to others modeling the behavior of a servant-leader.
The holly's prickly leaves symbolize the thorns that pierced Christ at the crucifixion while the scarlet berries remind us of His blood that He shed for us. Overall, holly symbolizes for the Christian the high price that Christ paid. Many Christians object to the use of holly during the Christmas season due to the ancient humanistic belief that holly would ward off evil spirits. However, since our King created all things and He owns the earth, Christians reclaimed what the ancient humanists did void of the Truth or understanding. In the past, holly hung over doors in France and England which testified to Christ residing in the home.
The circular wreath symbolizes the Alpha and Omega as there is no beginning and no end. The wreath was originally part of family worship where each member contributed to the wreath (cones, nuts, evergreen boughs, etc.). It also symbolizes the eternal victory we have in Christ. Therefore, Christians hung wreaths and continue to hang wreaths on their doors to give testimony to the resurrected Lord.
The bows on our gifts serve to remind His people of the Gift our Lord gave to us.
St. Francis of Assisi, in 1224, is attributed to having the first creche where he used live animals and people.
England's Queen Elizabeth I is credited with creating gingerbread people in the 16th century as she ordered cakes spiced with ginger to be bake in the shapes of her friends.
Carols were originally songs accompanied with dancing outside and traditionally date from the Scriptural account of the song sung by the heavenly hosts at Christ's birth. Carols are generally a song of religious joy associated with a season, especially Christmas. The carol continued as a popular religious song in the 15th century where it began to develop as art music and in literary form. The carol was public music and different carols are thought to have different social functions.
Use of evergreens, wreaths, and garlands as a symbol of eternal life was an ancient custom of the Hebrews.
Wassail combines Old English and Old Icelandic phrases meaning "good health and fortune". Traditionally, it is served at Christmas with family and friends being saluted with the toast "Wassail".
Recipe:
16 cups apple cider 1/2 cup granulated or packaged brown sugar
2 teaspoons whole cloves 2 teaspoons whole allspice
2 three-inch cinnamon sticks 2 oranges, studded with cloves
Heat cider, sugar, cloves,
allspice and cinnamon to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and
simmer 20 minutes.
Strain punch into punch bowl. Float clove-studded orange slices
in bowl. (32 servings)
(NOTE: Dry red wine may be substituted for cider. Use 10
cups dry red wine & 6 cups of apple cider.
The alcohol in the wine is burned off during the heating process).
The early Church developed its own calendar based on a specific Christian understanding of time and history. Thoughts have consequences! The seven day week, a work free Sunday (Lord's Day), and the celebration of Christian festivals have been accepted even by non-Christian cultures. (Talk about taking dominion!)
St.
Nicholas has been a popular saint since the Middle Ages. The
most consistent story tells of how St. Nicholas was from a very
wealthy family. His parents had prayed for years that God would
bless their home with a son. God heard their prayers and
Nicholas was born. By all accounts, Nicholas possessed the
character traits all parents desire in a child (and still be human).
However, the plague went through the land and Nicholas'
parents died leaving him alone. All the wealth of his family
was inherited by Nicholas.
In the town where Nicholas lived
was a noble, financially strapped family with three daughters
of marriageable ages. Due to the plague, suitors with a
proper dowry were hard to come by. (A dowry is where the
potential bridegroom gives the bride approximately 3 years salary
in hard cash for the bride to do with whatever she desired. Otherwise,
the woman is a concubine — a wife without a dowry).*
One night, Nicholas happened to
be walking under the window of this financially poor noble family
with three daughters and overheard how heartbroken they were.
Apparently, each had fallen in love with men of noble birth
who were unable to provide a dowry due to financial strains brought
on by the plague and other extenuating circumstances. Without
a dowry, there could be no marriage. Nicholas was acquainted
with the three different suitors and their families and knew they
would perceive acceptance of money for a dowry to be dishonorable.
So, instead, on three successive nights, Nicholas threw
gold in bags through the open window addressed to each of the
three daughters individually — eldest to youngest —
with a card stating the gold was their dowry from their suitor.
The daughters were able to marry the men they were in love with
and still have the necessary dowry.
*Note:
Dowries enabled many European immigrants to come to the USA with
some of the wives being able to begin a business. Unfortunately,
by World War II, the life insurance policy had taken the place
of hard cash. Today, we see the consequences of such behavior
— a rise in divorce rates as men no longer considered the
commitment/investment of a wife; female widows and divorcees unable
to provide for their families; when husbands become disabled,
the family is no longer able to financially function; the rise
of feminism; etc. Dowries helped to protect a female from
an unfaithful husband as well as helping to preserve the family
by making it a strong, stable unit able to withstand misfortune.
Began by Sir Henry Cole (England) in 1843. The card was designed by J. C. Hensley with 1000 sold in London. William Egley made another popular card in 1849.
Christmas Star
Not only is Jesus the "bright and morning star", but it serves to remind His people and bear testimony to the star that appeared over Bethlehem and served as a guiding light to lead the wise men to the Christ child.
This native Mexican plant was named in honor of the USA's first ambassador there, Joel Poinsett, who brought the plants back home in 1828. The Mexicans held that the plants were symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem.
This Greek abbreviation where "X" stands for Xristos. In the 16th century, many Christians began using "X" for quick note taking purposes. However, even though early Christians would have understood this abbreviation, later Christians mistook "Xmas" as disrespectful.
This interesting tradition began in Scandinavia and Germany which counts down the time until the birthday of our King. The wreaths consist of varying color candles signifying various Christian doctrines while a door opens on each day of December for a child to discover some treasure (a Bible verse, picture, small toy, candy, etc.). For an example click Worldwide Advent Calendar (Let's hope that some industrious Christian who provide an internet Advent Calendar!)
Christmas Trivia Game (multiple choice questions) Play the Christmas Trivia Game!
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