Christmas trees are a German tradition. Originally they were “Paradise trees” and were representing the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden in Mystery plays. Typically there are readings around Christmas surrounding the Garden of Eden due to depicting The Fall and why Christ had to come. An evergreen tree was picked, likelt due to practicalities with the fact it was winter, but it also helped that they represented eternal life. They were decorated with fruits and later candles to represent the Light of Christ. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, was German, and he brought the tradition to the UK.
It’s a pagan celebration co opted by the church to expand the influence of Christianity.
December 25th is not even the correct day to celebrate the birth of Christ. That’s other pagan holidays being co opted to fuel conversion of “Savages”.
Yule is not a Christian celebration yet it has been supplanted by Christianity.
The article you provided is written by a creative writer for an interesting website - it doesn’t even make a scholarly backed claim that the Christmas tree is pagan. In fact, it backs up what I was saying:
The Origin Of The Christmas Tree In Europe
Although many countries have declared themselves the home of the Christmas tree, historians have said it’s likely that the real first tree was erected in 16th-century Alsace, in modern-day France.
At the time, however, Alsace was a part of German territory, and so the tradition technically belongs to the Germans.
Historical records show that a Christmas tree was indeed put up in the Strasbourg Cathedral in 1539, and the tradition quickly became popular throughout the region.
So sure, it is possible that pagans decorated their house with trees common in northern europe during their winter festivals, and then Christians decided to erect a single winter tree in their house later on. It doesn’t mean they’re related. Many religions incorporate fire into practices and burning things without actually being linked to each other.
Yule, a scandinavian festival, used to be celebrated later in winter, typically December to February. They then changed the date to fit in with Christianity, not the other way around.
Flax_vert@feddit.uk 4 months ago
Christmas trees are a German tradition. Originally they were “Paradise trees” and were representing the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden in Mystery plays. Typically there are readings around Christmas surrounding the Garden of Eden due to depicting The Fall and why Christ had to come. An evergreen tree was picked, likelt due to practicalities with the fact it was winter, but it also helped that they represented eternal life. They were decorated with fruits and later candles to represent the Light of Christ. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, was German, and he brought the tradition to the UK.
Jarix@lemmy.world 4 months ago
It’s a pagan celebration co opted by the church to expand the influence of Christianity.
December 25th is not even the correct day to celebrate the birth of Christ. That’s other pagan holidays being co opted to fuel conversion of “Savages”.
Yule is not a Christian celebration yet it has been supplanted by Christianity.
Some reading on the practice.
allthatsinteresting.com/christmas-tree-history
Flax_vert@feddit.uk 4 months ago
The article you provided is written by a creative writer for an interesting website - it doesn’t even make a scholarly backed claim that the Christmas tree is pagan. In fact, it backs up what I was saying:
So sure, it is possible that pagans decorated their house with trees common in northern europe during their winter festivals, and then Christians decided to erect a single winter tree in their house later on. It doesn’t mean they’re related. Many religions incorporate fire into practices and burning things without actually being linked to each other.
Yule, a scandinavian festival, used to be celebrated later in winter, typically December to February. They then changed the date to fit in with Christianity, not the other way around.
Here’s some better sourced reading on the topic:
historyforatheists.com/…/pagan-christmas-again/#Y…