Quotation:
John Silber: "Many Americans celebrate both Christmas and Xmas. Others celebrate one or the other. And some of us celebrate holidays that, although unconnected with the [winter] solstice, occur near it: Ramadan, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa."1
Note: Silber's statement was correct when he wrote it in the year 2000. The first day of Hanukkah (a.k.a. Chanukah) occurs on the twenty-fifth day of the Jewish month of Kislev, which can fall between NOV-28 and DEC-26. The first day of Kwanzaa each year falls on DEC-26. However, Islam follows a lunar calendar, in which its holy days move earlier each year by about 11 days. Thus, by 2015, the first day of Ramadan had moved to the evening of JUN-17. Circa 2026, it will return to late December.
Overview:
Some have traced the Christmas tree back at least as far as theProphet Jeremiah who wrote the book Jeremiah in the Hebrew Scriptures(Old Testament).
Opposition to the Christmas tree was intense in past centuries. The early Christian Church in the third century CE strictly prohibited the decoration of their houses with evergreen boughs. The decorated Christmas tree only caught on in the mid-19th century.
Modern-day opposition continues: some condemn the Christmas tree because they believe that the custom of cutting down a tree, erecting it in the home and decorating it is a Pagan custom. 1
For many people today, it is primarily as a secular symbol of hope for the New Year and the future return of warmth to the earth. Its future is assured in spite of opposition.
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Objections to the Christmas Tree:
In the past, there have been many objections to Christmas trees:
Hank Hanegraaff of the Christian Research Institute commented:
"This Christmas season, as in those gone by, it is commonplace to hear Christians condemn trees adorned with ornaments as idolatrous. The following passage from Jeremiah is often cited as support for the condemnation:
Jeremiah 10:2-4: "Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not." (King James Version).
While this passage may sound to modern ears like an uncanny description of Christmas trees from the sixth century [BCE] ..., the historical and biblical context precludes this anachronistic reading of the text. The very next verse precludes the pretext:
Jeremiah 10:2-4: 'Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk...''
Jeremiahs description of a tree cut out of the forest and adorned with silver and gold and fastened with a hammer and nails so that it would not totter is, therefore, a reference to wooden idols, not Christmas trees."
 | In Europe, Pagans in the past did not cut down whole evergreen trees, bring them into their homes and decorate them. That would have been far too destructive of nature. But during the Roman celebration of the feast of Saturnalia, Pagans did decorate their houses with clippings of evergreen shrubs. They also decorated living trees with bits of metal and replicas of their God, Bacchus. Tertullian (circa 160 - 230 CE), an early Christian leader and a prolific writer, complained that too many fellow-Christians had copied the Pagan practice of adorning their houses with lamps and with wreathes of laurel at Christmas time. 8,9,10,11 |
| The English Puritans condemned a number of customs associated with Christmas, such as the use of the Yule log, holly, mistletoe, etc. Oliver Cromwell preached against "the heathen traditions" of Christmas carols, decorated trees and any joyful expression that desecrated "that sacred event." 2,4 |
| In America, the Pilgrim's second governor, William Bradford, a Calvanist, tried hard to stamp out all "pagan mockery" at Christmas time. 4 Christmas trees were not generally used by Puritans incolonial times. However, if they were, they would certainly have beenforbidden. |
| In 1851, Pastor Henry Schwan of Cleveland OH appears to have been the person responsible for decorating the first Christmas tree in an American church. His parishioners condemned the idea as a Pagan practice; some even threatened the pastor with violence. But objections soon dissipated. 2 |
Even today, the complaints continue:
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Origins of the Christmas Tree:
| Pagan traditions: Many Pagan cultures used to cut boughs of evergreen trees in December, move them into the home or temple, and decorate them. 7Modern-day Pagans still do. This was to recognize the winter solstice -- the time of the year that had the shortest daylight hours, and longest night of the year. This occurs annually sometime between DEC-20 to 23; most often, it is DEC-21. As the solstice approached, they noticed that the days were gradually getting shorter; many feared that the sun would eventually disappear forever, and everyone would freeze in the dark, and starve to death because of the failure of next-year's crop. But, even though deciduous trees, bushes, and crops died or hibernated for the winter, the evergreen trees remained green. They seemed to have magical powers that enabled them to withstand the rigors of winter. |
| Christmas traditions: |
History of the Christmas Tree:
The modern Christmas tree tradition dates back to Western Germany in the 16thcentury. They were called "Paradeisbaum" (paradise trees) and were brought into homesto celebrate the annual Feast of Adam and Eve on DEC-24. 4 They were first brought to America by German immigrants about the year 1700. Christmastrees became popularamong the general U.S. population about 1850 and have remained so ever since. 2
PresidentFranklin Pierce (1804-1869) arranged to have the first Christmas tree in the WhiteHouse, during the mid-1850's. PresidentCalvin Coolidge (1885-1933) started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony onthe White House lawn in 1923. 4
Today, the Christmas Treehas become accepted by most Christians, by people of other faiths, and for those whodo not follow an organized religion. It has become a popular late-Decembertradition and part of our present-day culture. Christmas Trees grace households and office buildings alike.
The trees take on a variety of shapes, sizes, and costs. Both the Christian and secular worlds have embraced traditional green firs, beautiful white flocked trees, and even pre-lit artificial Christmas trees for those who have allergic reactions to live trees.
As Gail Quick, University of South Carolina - Beaufort's Dean of University Relations, commented on the occasion of a community tree-lighting ceremony.:
"This Christmas event every year is the glue that holds this community together - this and the July 4th fireworks. This always makes me feel good. Some of us still believe in Santa Claus." 6
References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
- John Silber, "Anti-Christmas stance isn't rooted in fact," Boston Herald, 2000-DEC-28. See: http://www.bostonherald.com/ Note: The Islamic holy month of Ramadan is based on a lunar calendar that moves each year relative to the Gregorian calendar. Thus it just happend to be celebrated near Christmas during the year 2000. *
- Diane Relf, "Christmas Tree Traditions," Virginia Cooperative Extension, 1997-AOR, at:http://www.ext.vt.edu/ *
- "Christmas tree: Pointing towards heaven," at: http://ww2.netnitco.net/
- "What is a tree?," at: http://www.serve.com/ *
- "Should Christians celebrate Christmas?," at: http://www.sovereigngrace.net/ *
- William Dean, "Christmas tree lighting sparks holiday spirit," Carolina Morning News on the Web, at: http://www.lowcountrynow.com/ *
- "The Christmas Tree as a Symbol of Pagan Baal Worship," The Ellen White Research Project, at: http://www.ellenwhite.org/ *
- "Tertullian," Wikipedia, at:http://en.wikipedia.org/
- David Beaulieu, "Christmas Tree Decorating: The History of the Christmas Tree," Landscaping, About.com, at:http://landscaping.about.com/
- Turtulian, "On Idolatry," XV.
- Hank Hanegraaff, "The Christmas Tree Tradition, Christian Research Institute daily e-Truth, 2015-DEC-15.
* Unfortunately, since the first draft of this menu was written in the year 2000, most of the above references have gone offline. You can sometimes resurrect archived copies of websites as they existed in the past by using the Wayback Machine on the Internet Archive site at: http://www.archive.org/
Copyright © 2000 to 2015 y Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2000-DEC-29
Latest update: 2015-DEC-17
Author: B.A. Robinson
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