Friday Funday: Christmas trees.
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Random
blog day boo yah. As you should know Fridays is random blog day were
we talk anything and everything and pretty much run with it. Since
Christmas is next week today's blog is on Christmas Trees.
A
Christmas
tree is
a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce pine
or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with
the celebration of Christmas, originating in Northern Europe The
custom was developed in medieval Livonia (present-day Estonia and
Latvia), and in early modern Germany where Protestant Germans brought
decorated trees into their homes.
It
acquired popularity beyond the Lutheran areas of Germany and the
Baltic Countries
during
the second half of the 19th century, at first among the upper
classes.
The
tree was traditionally decorated with "roses made of coloured
paper, apples, wafers, Tinsel, [and] sweetmeats". In the 18th
century, it began to be illuminated by candles, which were ultimately
replaced by Christmas Lights after the advent of electrification.
Today, there is a wide variety of Traditional Ornaments, such as
garlands, baubles, tinsel, and candy canes. An angel or star might be
placed at the top of the tree to represent the Angel Gabriel or the
star of Bethlehem, respectively, from the Nativity Edible items such
as Gingerbread, Chocolate and other sweets are also popular and are
tied to or hung from the tree's branches with ribbons.
In
the Western Christian tradition, Christmas trees are variously
erected on days such as the first day of advent or even as late as
Christmas Eve depending on the country;
customs
of the same faith hold that the two traditional days when Christmas
decorations, such as the Christmas tree, are removed are Twelfth
Night and, if they are not taken down on that day, Candlemas, the
latter of which ends the Christmas-Epiphany season in some
denominations.
The
Christmas tree is sometimes compared with the "yule-tree",
especially in discussions of its folkloric origins.
- Christmas tree's wiki
Christmas
trees are considered an essential part of Christmas although is is
debated somewhat as to the point of a predecessor. Modern Christmas
trees have been considered a relation to the tree of paradise of
medieval mystery plays that were given on December 24th,
the commemoration and the name day of Adam and Eve. In these plays
apples were used as decorations alongside Wafers, later on much like
the Christmas crib the paradise tree was placed in homes. At the end
of the middle ages a predecessor is referred to around 1400 in the
Regiment of the Order of Cister in Alcobaca, Portugal. The regiment
of High-Sacristans make what's considered the earliest reference to
Christmas trees "Note
on how to put the Christmas branch, scilicet:
On the Christmas eve, you will look for a large Branch of green
laurel, and you shall reap many red oranges, and place them on the
branches that come of the laurel, specifically as you have seen, and
in every orange you shall put a candle, and hang the Branch by a rope
in the pole, which shall be by the candle of the altar-mor."
(Christmas tree wiki). The
relevance of ancient pre-Christian customs to the initiation of 16th
century German Christmas tree customs is often disputed, often due to
the supposed Lutheran origins.
The
Vikings and Saxons worshipped trees, an illustration of Pagan
practices in the 8th
century is shown through the story of Saint Boniface cutting down
Donar's oak. A later folk tale adds the details of a Evergreen tree
growing in place of the Oak tree stating that the triangle shape of
the tree linked to the trinity and the pointing towards heaven.
In Poland
there's an old pagan custom of suspending a tree branch usually Fir,
Spruce or Pine called Podlazniczka. An alternative to Mistletoe, the
branches were decorated with apples, nuts, cookies, coloured paper,
straw stars, ribbons and coloured wafers. Some believed that the tree
had magical powers that were linked with success and Harvesting in
the next year. This tradition was almost completely replaced in the
late 18th and 19th century by the decorating of
the Christmas tree.
In Britain
the decorating of homes and churches had long been established
however the custom of decorating trees was rather unknown until two
centuries ago. Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz wife of George the
3rd presented a decorated Christmas tree at a part fro
children. Queen Victoria was familiar with the tradition often having
a tree in her rooms as a child. IT was after Queen Victoria's
marriage to her German cousin Prince Albert that the custom of
Christmas trees became more widespread as Wealthier middle class
followed the trend. An engraving along with a series of during the
later 1840's increased the trees popularity. There was a dip in use
after WW1 but the effect was short lived. By 2013 Christmas trees in
British homes had become commercially viable.
The
tradition was introduced to North America in the winter of 1781 by
Hessian soldiers stationed in the Province of Quebec (1763-1791)
to
garrison the colony against American attack. General Friedrich Adolf
Riedesel and his wife, the Baroness von Riedesel, held a Christmas
party for the officers at Sorel, delighting their guests with a fir
tree decorated with candles and fruits.
- Christmas tree wiki
Christmas
ornaments usually made of Glass, Metal, Wood or Ceramics are popular
decorations that are used to decorate the tree. The first trees were
usually decorated with apples, white candy canes, pastries, hearts
and flowers. Glass decorations such as Baubles and garlands of glass
beads were made in Lauscha, Germany alongside Tin figures that could
be hung on tree branches. The popularity of the decorations grew with
the production of glass figures were being made by skilled artisans
with clay moulds. Tinsel and several types of Ribbon are also
popularly used decorations.
The
earliest mention of the Christmas tree tied to any form of religion
dates back to 723, involving Saint Boniface as he was evangelizing
Germany. According tot he story Boniface came across a group of
Pagans dancing under a decorated oak tree about to kill a baby in the
name of Thor. Boniface took the axe and calling on the name of Jesus
swiped at the oak tree and felled it in one fell swoop much tot he
crowds astonishment. Behind the tree was a baby Fir tree, Boniface
stated to the crowd “Let this tree be the symbol of the true
god, its leaves are ever green and will not die”. Tradition
holds that trees were used in formerly pagan homes from that moment
forth but decorated in the name of Jesus.
Pope
John Paul II introduced
the Christmas tree custom to the Vatican in 1982. Although at first
disapproved
of by some as out of place at the centre of the Roman Catholic
Church, the Vatican Christmas Tree has become an integral part of the
Vatican Christmas celebrations,and in 2005 Pope Benedict XVI spoke of
it as part of the normal Christmas decorations in Catholic homes. In
2004, Pope John Paul called the Christmas tree a symbol of Christ.
This very ancient custom, he said, exalts the value of life, as in
winter what is evergreen becomes a sign of undying life, and it
reminds Christians of the "tree of life" of Genesis 2:9, an
image of Christ, the supreme gift of God to humanity.
In
the previous year he said: "Beside the crib, the Christmas tree,
with its twinkling lights, reminds us that with the birth of Jesus
the tree of life has blossomed anew in the desert of humanity. The
crib and the tree: precious symbols, which hand down in time the true
meaning of Christmas."
The
Catholic Church's official Book
of Blessings
has a service for the blessing of the Christmas tree in a home.
The
Episcopal Church in The
Anglican Family Prayer Book,
which has the Imprimatur of The Rt. Rev. Catherine S. Roskam of the
Anglican Communion, has long had a ritual titled Blessing
of a Christmas Tree,
as well as Blessing
of a Crèche,
for use in the church and the home.
- Christmas
tree wiki
Its been an
ongoing and heavily debated about the environmental impact of
artificial trees, several natural tree growers contend that
artificial trees are more environmentally harmful than their natural
counterparts. However trade groups continue to refute this stating
that the PVC used in Christmas trees have excellent recyclable
properties. Live trees are typically grown as a crop and replanted in
rotation after cutting, providing habitat for wildlife. Alternatively
trees can be donated to livestock farmers for animals like goats who
find such trees as excellent fodder uncontaminated by chemical
additives.
WEBSITE
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
And
there you have it, some Christmas information for you. Tuesday is
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