The History of the Christmas Tree
By Justin Yeater and Gene Aguila
The Christmas Tree
The Christmas tree was used for winter festivals, Christians, and Pagans. Christians used the Christmas tree as a sign of everlasting life with God.
The Christmas tree is a ever green fir tree. It is mainly found in north and Central America.
Back then, people believed that evergreen trees would keep away bad or evil spirits
Martin Luther
A popular story of the Christmas tree is the story of Martin Luther King Jr. This story states that Martin Luther created the Christmas tree. In 1536, Luther was wondering through a pine forest near his home in Wittenburg. He looked up, and saw hundreds of stars glitter among the branches of the tree. This inspired him to create the Christmas Tree. Martin Luther was the first person to bring in a Christmas tree into a house
A legend from Germany
On a chilly Christmas Eve night, a foster and his family huddles around a fire for warmth. The foster heard a knock on the door. When he opened the door, he found a poor little boy that was lost and scared. The foster let the boy into his house, fed for him and washed for him. The next morning the boy changed into Jesus, and as a gift of thankfulness for caring for him, he broke a branch off of a evergreen fir tree. Ever since then, people remembered this night by bringing a Christmas tree into their houses
Ancient Origins
Druids
In Great Britain, wood priests named "Druids," used evergreen tress during solstice rituals. To them, holly and mistletoe symbolized eternal life, so they would place evergreen branches over doors to keep away bad spirits.
Egypt
Egyptians believed in a culture that worshiped and treasured evergreens. When winter arrived, they brought green date palm trees into their homes to represent life's triumph over death.