Part 5
“Holidays…Are They Biblical Or Not”
We will now take an in-depth look at the Christmas tree. There are many so-called origins of the Christmas tree. This one was mentioned by most of the sites. One of the earliest stories relating back to Germany is about Saint Boniface. In 722, he encountered some pagans who were about to sacrifice a child at the base of a huge oak tree. He cut down the tree to prevent the sacrifice and a Fir tree grew up at the base of the oak. He then told everyone that this lovely evergreen, with its branches pointing to heaven, was a holy tree – the tree of the Christ child, and a symbol of His promise of eternal life (David Robson). Wow, Saint Boniface could not back this up with scripture at all.
A second account or common belief as far as the origin of the Christmas tree is based in the 1840’s and 50’s by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The queen and the prince popularized the Christmas tree in England. Prince Albert decorated a tree and ever since that time, the English, because of their love for their Queen, copied her Christmas customs including the Christmas tree and ornaments. An engraving of the Royal Family celebrating Christmas at Windsor was published in 1848 and their German traditions were copied and adopted (David Robson). No Christ in this account either be it his birth or crucifixion. The only thing here is tradition and philosophy.
This third account is also common among most sites. This story about the origin of the Christmas tree says that late in the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees inside their homes or just outside their doors to show their hope that spring would soon come (David Robson). This is the beginning of actually bringing the tree into your house.
The fourth legend about the origin of the Christmas tree stems from Martin Luther. Although, this legend that has not been proved is that Martin Luther is responsible for the origin of the Christmas tree according to some historians. This story says that one Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through the snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of the snow glistened trees. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moon light. When he got home, he set up a small fir tree and shared the story with his children. He decorated the Christmas tree with small candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ’s birth (David Robson). This account has no proof, but it is still promoted by many.
The fifth and last account that of the Christmas tree goes back to Nimrod. The Story goes when Nimrod died his wife (mother) had him buried at the base of a tree. She told all the people of the land that Nimrod’s soul now lives in the tree and they had to worship that tree. All of those who did not worship and bow before the tree was beheaded and their heads were hung on the tree. Hint, the bulbs that are hung on the Christmas tree represent the lifeless heads of those who were killed for not worshiping the tree. I still personally do not see Christ in this equation regarding the Christmas tree.