THE ORIGIN OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 4806, 8 November 1902, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE ORIGIN OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE.

(By “Hope,” for the “New Zealand Mail.”) It is not generally known that the Christmas tree was once, a religious symbol. A belief, or, more correctly, a tradition to this effect was once popular among the ancient Germans. The real origin of the use of the Christmas tree is antecedent to tho Christian era, it was then that the Romans made use of pine trees in their festivities at certain periods of the year. These trees were laden with little earthernware images sacred to the gods. This was not done for the sake of amusement, but was a part of their religious ceremonies. It was among the Goths, a few of the Germans, and the Scandinavians that trees were first decorated and lighted with tapers for the express purpose of delighting children. The primitive people celebrated the advent of the winter solstice with great elaborations, all kinds of games and pastimes were indulged in, feasting and rejoicing were carried to excess, and the chief item upon their extensive programmes was the erection in every house from the richest to the poorest of a tree profusely decorated with lighted tapers. At that age the fir tree was principally - used, as it is to-day, no doubt because of its abundance and suitable shapes. But it . must be understood that the Northern festivities _at that period had no connection with Christmas. Gregory the Great was the first to introduce the fir-tree for use in Christian Yule-tide celebrations at the time when the Northern and Southern religions came into contact and were by degrees amalgamated into one. The use of the mistletoe is of much older date than that of the Christmas tree, and has attached to it a very pretty legend well worth relating. The sturdy old Northmen held the oak as a sacred tree, land as they found the mistletoe growing green upon this holy tree in winter they held it sacred to Baldur the Sun-God. Their reason for so doing was in this wise: The Myth of Baldur, which has formed the subject of more than one fine poem of modem times, tells how the great Sun-gods lifter having been put to death through the treachery of black-hearted Hoedur, had risen to life again. So the mistletoe of living green, when all the forest trees seemed dead was chosen as his emblem, and every the Scandinavians and Goths decorated their homes with its green boughs. If a friend greeted! another beneath a bough of mistletoe it was in the spirit of love and friendshiu and Odin, father of Baldur, took note of the good wishes. This pretty custom no doubt has • something to do with our own custom of kissing under the mistletoe on Christmas Eve. When the Gauls conquered Rome they brought Baldur with them, as he was oue of the Sungoas, and therefore one of the most important. But soon the Christian religion began to supersede, and finally rout out altogether the heathen Gothic, the clergy of the time endeavouring to make the new religion more palatable to the Northmen by compounding the festival of Christmas with the festival of Baldur. Most of the important essentials of both celebrations were combined, including Christmas trees and mistletoe, both of which have remained with us up to the present day, to delight our hearts in our churches and homes as we look at them at Christmas time, as they tell us of our beautiful Christian religion which has been a light to lighten all the earth, and has overcome darkness and superstition until we have learned to look upon Baldur. the beautiful Sungod as a symbol of light and knowledge, instead of what it really is, a relic of the dark ages. ‘