The Christmas Tree comes into the church

Even before the advent of Christianity, ancient peoples — such as the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans — used evergreens in their homes, temples and festivals as a symbol of the continuous life in the midst of winter. These ancient traditions of keeping nature alive in winter are the precursor of the Christmas tree.

Not just greens, but full evergreen trees, in primitive culture, were believed to have god-like power — the shimmering of leaves to be the god within speaking. The Romans, at their Saturnalian Festival, trimmed trees with trinkets, toys, and little masks of Bacchus, the god of wine. Likewise, the Druids — priests and seers of an ancient religion of Britain and ancient Gaul — honored the god Woden by hanging apples covered in gold leaf and other offerings on tree branches.

Because “bringing in the greens” was of pagan origin, the early church fathers objected to its use. But, the older traditions were so meaningful to the new Christians, that eventually the traditions were accepted and transformed into Christian usage in various parts of Europe.

One such tradition changed to Christian usage is found in eighth century Germany. St. Boniface, a missionary, cut down an oak tree sacred to the Druids. When only a new tree survived the crash, St. Boniface quickly announced the miracle sapling to be the tree of the Christ Child.

During the Middle Ages, the Christmas tree tradition is said to have flourished due to two religious practices in Germany. One such practice was the Miracle Plays (dramatized stories from the Bible) presented in the churches on December 24. A feature of these plays was the Paradise tree (the fruit tree in the Garden of Eden) hung with apples.

The other practice was to decorate a wooden pyramid with shelves laden with greens, food, or a manger scene. By the fifteenth century, the Miracle Plays and their audience had so grown in number that the church could no longer physically contain them. Thus, in separating from the church and presenting them on city streets, the plays became unruly and were eventually forbidden.

This resulted in combining the practices. The ornaments from the pyramid shelves, plus the light on the top, symbol of Christ, and wafers representing the Holy Communion, were placed on the Paradise tree and brought into the home. A tree decorated with wafers or other religious significance was known as the Christbaum, or “Christ tree.” In time the wafers were replaced with small pastry-cut shapes of flowers, bells, hearts, stars, and angels.

The origins of the Christmas tree traveled to other countries through the German people. Due to the marriage of Prince Albert of Germany and Queen Victoria of England, and a published account of the royal Christmas tree in 1848, the tree became popular in England.

Americans also inherited the Christmas tree from the Germans. At first, during the Colonial era, the Christmas customs varied with different religious groups, especially the Puritans of New York who banned trees as a pagan observance. However, other Colonial groups — the Dutch of New York, the Moravians of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; and the settlers of the Old South — practiced their homeland Christmas customs in their new land.

The German immigrants set up Christmas trees sporadically in America as early as the 1820s, according to the earlier scholars on Christmas trees — Alfred Berlin, Henry Mercer, William Schreiber, Rudolf Hommel, and Alfred Shoemaker. The documented sources tell us the first indoor Christmas trees set up during the early nineteenth century were in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Williamsburg, Virginia; Wooster, Ohio; and Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Despite the Christmas tree’s appearance in “Godey’s Lady’s Book” (in 1850 and again in 1860) and the 1846 publication of “Kris Kringle’s Christmas Tree,” and a few other publications, the spread of the custom was slow and not always acceptable to the churches.

In 1851, Pastor Henry Schwan, a German immigrant, brought a Christmas tree into his church in Cleveland, Ohio. Some members, considering this a heathen practice, objected.

Yet, within a year, after Pastor Schwan consented to the use of Christian symbols on the tree, the custom eventually found acceptance within the congregation.

Although Pastor Schwan’s church lays claim to having the first Christmas tree in a church, Scholar Alfred Shoemaker has documented Sunday School sources as follows: In 1847, a Dr. William Muhlenberg (a Reading, Pa. native) began the custom in the Sunday School of the church of the Holy Communion in New York City; in 1851 (the same year as the Cleveland, Ohio tree) a Pastor Vogelbach claimed the tree started in his Sunday School at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Actually, it was the Sunday Schools that deserve much of the credit for popularizing the Christmas tree custom. Sunday Schools first opened in 1780 in Glousester, England, by Robert Rakes. The Sunday Schools, though introduced later in the rural areas of the U.S., first appeared during the first half of the nineteenth century in most denominations -- Protestant,

Episcopal, Lutheran. Elaborate descriptions of the popular Sunday School Christmas festivals, published in early issues of local newspapers, enhanced the Christmas tree tradition. Most churches charged an admission to these festivals in order to buy materials and books for the children the coming year.

Descriptions of these Sunday School Christmas trees in local newspapers varied; “hung with pretzels,” “tinsel and illuminated with Christmas candles,” “gifts for children and a large number of small wax candles,” “a cedar tree was planted reaching the ceiling … from every branch presents for children were suspended, and from the top to the bottom it was illuminated by scores of colored lanterns.”

The Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Danville, Virginia, is credited with introducing Chrismons — decorative Christian ornaments for the tree — in 1957. The word “Chrismon” is a combination of CHRIST and MONogram — a monogram of Christ. These designs came from the jewelry, utensils, and drawings on walls and doors of buildings and catacombs of the early Christians. They are made of gold and white, symbolizing majesty and purity. For patterns write: Chrismon Committee, The Lutheran Church of the Ascension, 314 West Main Street, Danville, VA 24541.

As you decorate your tree this year, whether it be home or church, be mindful of the great antiquity of the tradition of “bringing in the greens.” We can take great pleasure in the fact that a variety of cultures and customs have helped bring nature into the church.