Decorated Christmas Trees in Your Home
Evergreen trees were used to decorate homes during winter long before Christmas became a holiday. Evergreens were believed to keep witches, ghosts, evil spirits and illnesses away from homes where they were displayed.
Germany is credited with the traditional Christmas Tree and for celebrating Christmas by decorating trees and bringing them into their homes. It is believed that Martin Luther, the 16th century Protestant reformer was the first person to add lit candles to the tree. He wanted to recapture the look of sparkling stars on a dark night and how the stars illuminated his walk home. He brought a tree into his home and placed it in the centre of the room. He then wired the tree branches with lighted candles.
By 1890, Christmas ornaments were arriving in America from Germany and the Christmas tree became popular in the United States. In the early 20th century most Americans were using home-made ornaments on their Christmas trees. While Europeans liked their trees to be small, Americans liked their trees to be very large, often from the floor to ceiling. Electricity changed the tree to include electric lights and trees began to glow in cities and towns and in homes all across the world, making the Christmas Tree, a Christmas tradition.
The Christmas tree today is a very important part of the celebration of Christmas. The tree symbolises life. |
