Unwrapping the Origins of the Christmas Tree: Myths and Exploring Cultural Significance
Christmas Trees are Not Pagan Cult Symbols, Regardless of What This World Wants You to Believe
Merry Christmas 2024. I originally sent this post to you in January of this year but the information is just as relevant. We continue to see Christians not only refuse to celebrate the birth of Jesus but condemn fellow Christians for continuing to glorify the Lord during this time. Fortunately, we are seeing more voices of authority speaking up for Jesus and His birth.
I hope this information will help to support your family, especially if you find yourself in a conversation about this subject. Or, maybe you are just interested to learn more about the early church or how some traditions found their way to America. I tried to make it simple to understand but also referenced everything for you to verify yourself. As always, take it all to the Holy Spirit in prayer. Feel free to comment on this post or join our Community on X - Realms Unseen & In Between
Blessings to you and your loved ones this Christmas - Nikki
Each year, as the holiday season approaches, it's not uncommon to hear debates about the origins of Christmas traditions. The Christmas tree has become a hot button subject for many on social media over the last few years. With the claims that a Christmas tree is a symbol of pagan worship, often drawing connections to ancient celebrations like Saturnalia, it’s no wonder that more Christian’s are second guessing their own long held family traditions and possible their overall beliefs. In some cases we see an all out attempt to shame Christian’s for putting up a Christmas tree, or sometimes celebrating Christmas in any way, at all within our modern culture. Of course, this shows most profoundly on social media. No way to guess the amount of posts I’ve witnessed condemning those who are celebrating the birth of the One and only Savior as some sort of pagan worship copy is ever increasing.
TikTok theologians have a heavy hand in this. Many find themselves under the influence of social pressure from others to stop celebrating Christmas on December 25th, or just to stop celebrating the birth of Jesus at all. Christian’s not celebrating the birth of Jesus?
I often wonder, instead of increasingly giving up ground to evil why not choose to see the beauty in His Creation. Evil constantly tries to corrupt, attempting to make God’s creations into it’s own. Evil cannot create but can try, sometimes very successfully, to corrupt what’s good and light to horrid and dark. Just take mycotoxins for example. The absolute destruction they cause to a persons health, home, relationships and finances has to be one of the worst forms of corruption that we deal with in our modern day. I will, at some point, shine light onto this topic too.
In this post, I’ll explore the history of the Christmas. The date, the tree, plus a few customs with a little debunking of the notion that it is squarly rooted in pagan rituals thrown in too.
Let’s Start With Christmas
Differences Between Christmas and Saturnalia:
Lets’s get this one out of the way, both Christmas and Saturnalia are winter celebrations, they have distinct origins, purposes, and cultural contexts.
Religious Significance:
Christmas is a Christian celebration commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a time for religious observance, reflection, and sharing joy with loved ones.
Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival dedicated to the god Saturn, held in mid-December, usually 17th and 23rd of December. It was a time of feasting, gift-giving, and revelry but lacked the religious significance associated with Christmas.
Cultural Practices:
Christmas is centered around the Nativity story, with traditions such as attending church services, exchanging gifts, and spending time with family.
Saturnalia was marked by more hedonistic practices, including public banquets, gift exchanges, and a temporary suspension of social hierarchies, slaves would dine alongside their master and regulations or social norms were removed.
The fact that both are celebrated in December is about as far as the overlapping similarities extend but that’s not to say those living in this point of history didn’t overlap traditions in some ways.
This was a time when pagan practices were still widespread for the church to contend with but there is little to support the claim that pagan practices were deliberately adapted by Christians to Christianizing pagan festivals. If the church so set to specifically replace the pagan festivals then one would have to wonder why we don’t see a greater attempt to erase the festivals altogether. Instead, we see celebrating alongside one another until Christianity becomes the dominate religion and the decline in popularity of Saturnalia.
Saturnalia, was more of a disorderly holiday, closer to a modern Mardi Gras than a modern Christmas celebration. As conversions to Christianity occurred, people kept and adapted their ancestral traditions into their new found religious observations.
Debunking the Pagan Connection to Christmas
For the accusations of pagan worship around Christmas, as well as the date selected for the celebration of Jesus’ birth, Kurt M. Simmons wrote in detail around the History of Religions Theory and Calculations Theory in - THE ORIGINS OF CHRISTMAS AND THE DATE OF CHRIST’S BIRTH :
“It is generally agreed that the Depositio Martirum originally dates to AD 336 but was updated to AD 354 for inclusion in the codex. The Depositio Martirum is arranged from December 25th to December 25th, indicating that at Rome in AD 336 the nativity of Christ marked the beginning of the ecclesiastical year. This is the earliest undisputed evidence we possess for celebration of Christ's nativity on December 25th; discussion regarding the origins of Christmas therefore typically begins here.”
Continuing, “Christmas as an adaptation of the Saturnalia or pagan winter solstice has been around since the time of the Reformation, no direct evidence—no epistle, historical account, decree by council, nothing had ever been produced indicating that Christmas was derived from these sources. The whole theory rests upon inference and the unhappy history and reputation of the Roman Catholic Church vis-à-vis accommodating and appropriating pagan traditions.
To the contrary, the strong opposition of the early church toward any form of paganism, coupled with the complete absence of any hint by period writers that the Christmas date was received other than by tradition of the fathers renders the hypothesis improbable.” 
Simmons Conclusion, “Neither the History of Religions Theory nor the Calculation Theory can adequately account for the origin of the Christmas date. Therefore, transmission of the date of Christ's birth by tradition from the apostles and holy family cannot logically be ruled out. Moreover, since the traditional date of the nativity is fully consistent with various chronological indicators left for us in history and the Gospels, we have every reason to accept it as the true source and origin of the Christmas date.”
Early Church Fathers
A dispute, as to the actual birth date of Jesus, has gone on for a very LONG time. I include the Early Church Fathers for a glimpse of what they obviously found to be important discussions from the beginning. Celebrating the birth of the Savior was not in question. The focus for the date of His birth shifted, from the original significance of the baptismal rebirth to the natural, let’s review a few.
Hippolytus (170-235 CE) may be the earliest who mentions December 25th as he calculated that Christ must have been born on Wednesday, December 25, 2 BCE.
For the first coming of our Lord, the coming in the flesh, whereby He was born in Bethlehem,took place on the eighth day before the kalends of January, on the fourth day of the week, in the forty-second year of the reign of Augustus, and the five thousand five hundredth year from Adam. Commentary on Daniel 4:23
Clement, Bishop of Alexandria (ca. 150-215 CE), nominated November 18 but also mentions religious commemoration observance to be on January 6:
And there are those who have determined not only the year of our Lord's birth, but also the day; and they say that it took place in the twenty-eighth year of Augustus, and in the twenty-fifth day of Pachon. And the followers of Basilides hold the day of his baptism as a festival, spending the night before in readings.
And they say that it was the fifteenth year of Tiberius Cæsar, the fifteenth day of the month Tubi; and some that it was the eleventh of the same month. And treating of His passion, with very great accuracy, some say that it took place in the sixteenth year of Tiberius, on the twenty-fifth of Phamenoth; and others the twenty-fifth of Pharmuthi and others say that on the nineteenth of Pharmuthi the Saviour suffered. Further, others say that He was born on the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth of Pharmuthi.
Sextus Julius Africanus (c.160 – c.240), an important and influential Christian traveller and historian, provides fantastic accounts in the “Chronographiae” estimated 221 CE. Like so many other writings from that time, we are only left with fragments of the original works. As noted in the Julius Africanus Chronographiae - The Extant Fragments :
As to the king of the Persians who had sent the Magi, he was named Faransun. In the 44t h year of Augustus,1 these Magi came to Christ, who, according to the statement of some, was already two yearsofage. But Cyril and Africanus together with some others report that Christ was seven days old when the Magi arrived…
Yet another early text, The De Pascha Computus, written anonymously in North Africa around 243, held the first day of creation coincided with the first day of spring, on March 25, the birth off the sun. The Annunciation, or conception of Jesus, also occured on this day.
Ambrose (c.340 - c.397) wrote to his sister Marcellina (c.327 – c.397) in - Concerning Virgins - Book III, Chapter I, 377 AD, specifically mentioning her 353 AD receiving of the “veil of consecrated virginity” on Christmas Day from the hand of Pope Liberius (c.310 – c.366) before his exile in 355 AD.
…to reconsider those precepts of Liberius of blessed memory which you used to talk over with me, as the holier the man the more pleasing is his discourse. For he, when on the Nativity of the Saviour in the Church of St. Peter you signified your profession of virginity by your change of attire (and what day could be better than that on which the Virgin received her child?) … Today, indeed, He was born after the manner of men, of a Virgin, but was begotten of the Father before all things, resembling His mother in body, His Father in power.
By the December 25th, 380 AD sermon Gregory of Nazianzen (c. 329-389 ), he urged that the “ present festival” celebration of [Christmas], be held as an adoration “of His birth” and leave the Greeks to “worship with their belly; evil inventors and worshippers of evil demons.” Stating the festival [Christmas] should “ be common to the powers in heaven and to the powers upon earth. For I am persuaded that the Heavenly Hosts join in our exultation and keep high Festival with us today.”
He clearly knew the angels in heaven to be celebrating the birth of Jesus just as we are to celebrate. This rejoining of the eternal family seems to have been well understood!
Additional strands of Oration XXXVIII On the Theophany, or Birthday of Christ are below :
I. Christ is born, glorify ye Him. Christ from heaven, go ye out to meet Him. Christ on earth; be ye exalted. Sing unto the Lord all the whole earth; and that I may join both in one word, Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad, for Him Who is of heaven and then of earth. Christ in the flesh, rejoice with trembling and with joy; with trembling because of your sins, with joy because of your hope.
II. Of these on a future occasion; for the present the Festival is the Theophany or Birth-day, for it is called both, two titles being given to the one thing. For God was manifested to man by birth….The name Theophany is given to it in reference to the Manifestation, and that of Birthday in respect of His Birth.
IV. This is our present Festival; it is this which we are celebrating today, the Coming of God to Man, that we might go forth, or rather (for this is the more proper expression) that we might go back to God—that putting off the old man, we might put on the New… Therefore let us keep the Feast, not after the manner of a heathen festival, but after a godly sort; not after the way of the world, but in a fashion above the world; not as our own but as belonging to Him Who is ours, or rather as our Master’s; not as of weakness, but as of healing; not as of creation, but of re-creation.
VII. God always was, and always is, and always will be. Or rather, God always Is. For Was and Will be are fragments of our time, and of changeable nature, but He is Eternal Being…
XVII. Now then I pray you accept His Conception…and adore the Birth by which thou wast loosed from the chains of thy birth, and honour little Bethlehem, which hath led thee back to Paradise; and worship the manger through which thou, being without sense, wast fed by the Word…. run with the Star, and bear thy Gifts with the Magi, gold and frankincense and myrrh, as to a King, and to God, and to One Who is dead for thee. With Shepherds glorify Him; with Angels join in chorus; with Archangels sing hymns. Let this Festival be common to the powers in heaven and to the powers upon earth. For I am persuaded that the Heavenly Hosts join in our exultation and keep high Festival with us today…because they love men, and they love God just like those whom David introduces after the Passion ascending with Christ and coming to meet Him, and bidding one another to lift up the gates…
With the legalization of Christianity in 313, we see the church attempt to establish dates for the celebrations. Even with a date of Nativity being implemented it was not a quick, or easy, transition away from prevalent pagan practices but the church attempted.
Even within the church there were fractions, like Arianism, that saw Jesus, not eternal, not like the rest of us, more of an agent of God instead of absolute & divine. An attempt to understand the influences like Arianism, how it directly swayed this time history, what was trying to be established, may benefit us when trying to understand from todays view. 1 2 The first Council of Nicaea was summoned in 325 AD to resolve three concerns, to resolve the Melitian schism in Alexandria, to establish a date for Easter, and to bring the church to a common mind in the wake of the controversy ignited by Arius, an Alexandrian presbyter.3 Somewhat of a parallel to the topic of this article but should not be separated in thought.
Commentary on the Origins of Christmas
Before we move on, a quick look at what a few others have written:
In the 2013 ‘Straight Answers’ column question - Was Jesus really born Dec. 25? by Fr. William Saunders (12/19/13) we see the break down of how March 25th was determined for the Annunciation:
St. Luke related the announcement of the birth of St. John the Baptist to his elderly parents, St. Zechariah and St. Elizabeth. St. Zechariah was a priest of the class of Abijah (Lk 1:5), the eighth class of 24 priestly classes (Neh 12:17). Each class served one week in the temple, twice a year.
Josef Heinrich Friedlieb has established that the priestly class of Abijah would have been on duty during the second week of the Jewish month Tishri, the week of the Day of Atonement or in our calendar, between Sept. 22 and 30. While on duty, the Archangel Gabriel informed Zechariah that he and Elizabeth would have a son (Lk 1:5-24). Thereupon, they conceived John, who after presumably 40 weeks in the womb would have been born at the end of June. For this reason, we celebrate the Nativity of St. John the Baptist June 24.
St. Luke also recorded how the Archangel Gabriel told Mary that Elizabeth was six months pregnant with John (Lk 1:36), which means the Annunciation occurred March 25, as we celebrate. Nine months from March 25, or six months from June 24, renders the birth of Christ at Dec. 25, our Christmas.
Excerpts from Steven Hijmans- SOL INVICTUS, THE WINTER SOLSTICE AND THE ORIGINS OF CHRISTMAS : concludes that the early church did not choose December 25th to counter prevalent pagan beliefs of the time:
Ever since Hermann Usener's studies of the feast of Christmas, the idea that December 25 was chosen as Christ's birthday because of this important pagan festival has received wide acceptance.
None of the traditional religious feast days of Sol were connected in any way with a specific astronomical date-such as one of the solstices or equinoxes except the late feast of the winter solstice on December 25… This evidence is suggestive, because it indicates that there was great interest in the astronomical, astrological and calendrical aspects of the sun, sol, as heavenly body. without these being central to the cult calendar of the Roman Sun God, Sol Invictus.
This apparent dichotomy between astronomy and cult in the Roman polytheist attitude towards the sun deserves closer attention. It touches upon the central, indeed to my mind the fatal flaw in the contention that Christmas was instituted on December 25 to counteract a pagan feast. Much of this is connected with the traditional understanding of Roman polytheism in general that underlies the specific interpretations given to Sol Invictus and his cult.
The astronomical reality of the sun and the moon precluded such symbolism from being exclusively pagan, and the evidence of the De solstitis, as well as the numerous passages from a wide range of homilies collected by Heim (1999), suggests that it was readily adopted by Christians. It is cosmic symbolism of this type which inspired the Church leadership in Rome to elect the winter solstice, December 25, as the birthday of Christ, and the summer solstice, June 25, as that of John the Baptist, supplemented by the equinoxes as their respective dates of conception. While they were aware that pagans celebrated a festival in honor of Sol Invictus on that day, this did not concern them, and it certainly did not play any role in their choice of date for Christmas.
Furthermore, Derek Gilbert included in his recent post - Merry Non-Pagan Christmas! - that there is actual evidence that Emperor Julian the Apostate moved Sol Invictus to December 25th from November 18th just to hijack the Christian tradition, again, citing Steven Hijams, he continues:
Steven Ernst Hijmans showed in his book Sol: The Sun in the Art and Religions of Rome, the first connection of the 25th of December with Sol Invictus cannot be established until it appeared in a calendar in 354 AD and was subsequently proclaimed by Emperor Julian the Apostate in 362.
To summarize, Christians in the Mediterranean world were celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25 by about 336 AD, while the earliest known feast of Sol Invictus on that date was around 354 AD, and not made official policy in the Roman world until 362.
Moving Forward
Just to note a quick check of the etymology for Christmas4 - "Church festival observed annually in memory of the birth of Christ," late Old English Cristes mæsse, Written as one word from mid-14c. As a verb, "to celebrate Christmas," from 1590s.
Ok, now we can continue down the timeline. With the spread of Christianity, so the spread of Christmas. No, ya don’t say!! By 432, Egyptians kept it5 and in England by the end of the sixth century, then on to Scandinavia. When the time of the Middle Ages roles around, holidays such as Christmas, Holy Innocents Day, the Twelfth Night, and Epiphany were associated with gambling, overeating, drunkenness, rowdiness, and straight-up debauchery. Not headed in the right direction for sure.
The profane rituals of the pagan festivals would give way to the sacred as the turn to Christianity spread but not easily, or quickly. Many conflicts continued during the Protestant Reformation, as the annual indulgence in eating, dancing, singing, sporting, card playing, and gambling escalated to magnificent proportions.
Puritan reformers wanted to put a stop to the unholy festivities and actually any observance of the day… at all. Puritans struck Christmas, along with all saints' days, from their own list of holy days. This may have been influenced by their association of the Christmas holiday as Catholic, or pagan, as well as their belief that the Bible commanded keeping only the Sabbath.
This side of the pond it’s said that the Mayflower Pilgrims, who arrived at Plymouth in December 1620, spent their Christmas Day building their colony. No celebrations, just another day. In 1652 English Parliament "strongly prohibited" its observance. Imprisonment, fines or other punshinment was issued for ministering, closing your business or decorating at all. Resistance was common. 6
In the Colonies, Puritan leaders of New England sought to expunge the holiday altogether but a growing numbers of non-Puritans to the area forced the 1659 Massachusetts Bay General Court to ban the keeping of Christmas.
The Penalty for Keeping Christmas, 1659 reads in modern spelling:
“For preventing disorders arising in several places within this jurisdiction, by reason of some still observing such festivals as were superstitiously kept in other countries, to the great dishonor of God and offence of others, it is therefore ordered by this Court and the authority thereof, that whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way, upon such accounts as aforesaid, every such person so offending shall pay for every such offence five shillings, as a fine to the country.”
In 1665, Charles II demanded that Massachusetts rescind its law. It took until 1681 for Massachusetts to issue a repeal. Still celebrating Christmas was seen as a cultural inheritance and not revealed in scripture so this was considered a corruption of Christian purity, no trees, no wreaths, no lighting of candles.
“Lord of Misrule”
The “Lord of Misrule” seems to have been rooted in Saturnalia, adopted early by those celebrating Christmas and continued in England into the seventeenth century but seem to have all but faded away with the Puritan purge. ‘Lords of Misrule’ , AKA - ‘Captain Christmas’, ‘The Christmas Lord’, or ‘Prince Christmas’ organized and lead the season's feasting and performances.
Mumming, disguising, performing plays and skits, spread through most European countries. The need to defend seasonal revelry against Puritan accusations of Popery was becoming urgent:
A personified ‘Christmas’ appears in Ben Jonson's court entertainment Christmas his Masque (1616), together with his sons: Misrule, Carol, Mince Pie,Gambol, Post-and-Pan, New Year's Gift, Mumming, Wassail, and Baby Cake. He protests against an attempt to exclude him:Why, gentlemen, do you know what you do? Ha! Would you have kept me out? Christmas, Old Christmas, Christmas of London, and Captain Christmas? … Why, I am no dangerous person … I am Old Gregory Christmas still, and though I am come from Pope's Head Alley, as good a Protestant as any in my parish.
Why, gentlemen, do you know what you do? Ha! Would you have kept me out? Christmas, Old Christmas, Christmas of London, and Captain Christmas? … Why, I am no dangerous person … I am Old Gregory Christmas still, and though I am come from Pope's Head Alley, as good a Protestant as any in my parish.7
Also, the earliest known reference to a personified ‘Christmas’ is a carol attributed to Richard Smart, Rector of Plymtree (Devon) from 1435 to 1477 it has “Sir Christmas” bringing the news of Christ’s birth, it reads:
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell!‘Who is there that singeth so?’‘I am here, Sir Christmas.’‘Welcome, my lord Sir Christmas,Welcome to us all, both more and less,Come near, Nowell!’ Sir Christmas
By the mid-eighteenth century the southern colonies show a distinct separation from the traditions of English Christmas, the rowdiness and excess did not become part of the soon to be formed southern United States. Many didn’t celebrate but many did and they are creating the traditions of time with family, decorating and gift giving that we are familiar with today.
We have Moravian immigrants who settled in Bethlehem, PA then Salem ( now Winston-Salem ), NC to recognize for keeping Christmas focused on children, family and the birth of Jesus. More on the Moravian’s to come.
It’s A Christmas Tree 🎄
Contrary to an ever growing popular belief, the Christmas tree does not have direct pagan roots. Decorating a Christmas Tree has distinct Christian origins. There are many claims that trees have been decorated throughout pre-Christian pagan history but there’s just no evidence. Knowing what Saturnalia was, do you really think the slaves that had a free week to be equal with their masters, with everyone absolutely behaving outside of their cultural norms, would use the time to decorate a tree inside there home? Hard to make that connection. Plus Macrobius’ Saturnalia Books 8 9 includes no mention of decorating evergreen trees as part of holiday decor. This book, written after 431 AD, provides us with the ancient world’s detailed description of the Roman festival, during which masters and slaves exchanged roles.
Wooden Idols
Taking scripture out of context is dangerous. It’s something we must consistently keep in the front of our minds and deep within our hearts. One passage, Jeremiah 10, gets pulled into the ‘Christmas trees are pagan’ claims, a LOT. Please understand this is not speaking of an evergreen tree that is being decorated for Christmas.
It reads:
You people of Israel, listen to what the LORD has to say to you.
The LORD says, "Do not start following pagan religious practices. Do not be in awe of signs that occur in the sky even though the nations hold them in awe.
For the religion of these people is worthless. They cut down a tree in the forest, and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools.
He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold. He uses hammer and nails to fasten it together so that it will not fall over.
Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field. They cannot talk. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them because they cannot hurt you. And they do not have any power to help you.” Jeremiah 10:1-5
In the Ancient Near East idols, as in cult statues, were fashioned from wood. The people of that time in history thought their gods could be in two places at once, the godly realm ( sky, sea, ground, etc ) and in the idol they constructed for them. They worshiped and provided offerings to these carvings, statues, poles. The wood was carved by artisans just as the warning to the Israelites who continued to go back to worshiping the fallen ones. We know Christmas trees cannot talk or walk but it was believed the cult statues, the literal, physical embodiment of the gods could move, speak, and even sometimes deliver judgments.
It’s hard not to connect these carved wooden status to what is know as “Asherah Pole”1011, but not a lot of scholars make the connection to this passage in Jeremiah. Regardless, the connection is the worshiping of idols, including providing offerings. Have you ever heard of anyone worshiping their Christmas tree? If they were, that would be where the issue arrises.
A simple search will return images like the one below of artists today attempting to replicate the poles. Not a Christmas tree, not at all.
The Christmas Tree's Christian Origins
Many attribute the Christmas tree to having originated in 16th-century Germany with the tradition beginning with Protestant reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546) who was said to be inspired by the beauty of stars shining through the evergreen branches and decided to bring a tree into his home, decorating it with candles to recreate the scene. This practice gradually spread throughout Europe and later became associated with Christmas.
Saint Boniface(~c.680-c.755) - The legend of The First Christmas Tree by Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933), appears to have taken an account from The Life of Saint Boniface - Willibald (1916 Translated in English for the First Time- George W. Robinson)12 and presented as the first accounts of the Christmas Tree but actually makes no mention of it in the original text. Still, I include it here.
First the account in The Life of Saint Boniface and then the literary works of Henry Van Dyke:
THE LIFE OF BONIFACE
With the advice and counsel of these last, the saint attempted, in the place called Gaesmere, "while the servants of God stood by his side, to fell a certain oak of extraordinary size, which is called, by an old name of the pagans, the Oak of Jupiter. And when in the strength of his steadfast heart he had cut the lower notch, there was present a great multitude of pagans, who in their souls were most earnestly cursing the enemy of their gods. But when the fore side of the tree was, notched only a little,' suddenly the oak's vast bulk, driven by a divine blast from above, crashed to the ground, shivering its crown of branches as it fell; and, as if by the gracious dispensation of the Most High, it was also burst into four parts, and four trunks of huge size, equal in length, were seen, unwrought by the brethren who stood by. At this sight the pagans who before had cursed now, on the contrary, believed, and blessed the Lord, and put away their former reviling. Then moreover the most holy bishop, after taking counsel with the brethren, built from the timber of the tree a wooden oratory, and dedicated it in honor of Saint Peter the apostle.
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE
"We have sent unto you our Brother Boniface, and appointed him your bishop, that he may teach you the only true faith, and baptise you, and lead you back from the ways of error to the path of salvation…Depart from evil works. Worship not the false gods, for they are devils. Offer no more bloody sacrifices, nor eat the flesh of horses, but do as our Brother Boniface commands you. Build a house for him that he may dwell among you, and a church where you may offer your prayers to the only living God, the Almighty King of Heaven…”This is the word, and this is the counsel," answered Winfried.
“…Not a life shall be blotted out in the darkness to-night; but the great shadow of the tree which hides you from the light of heaven shall be swept away. For this is the birth-night of the white Christ, son of the All-Father, and Saviour of mankind. Fairer is He than Baldur the Beautiful, greater than Odin the Wise, kinder than Freya the Good. Since He has come to earth the bloody sacrifice must cease. The dark Thor, on whom you vainly call, is dead. Deep in the shades of Niffelheim he is lost forever. His power in the world is broken. Will you serve a helpless god? See, my brothers, you call this tree his oak. Does he dwell here? …
A strong, whirling wind passed over the treetops. It gripped the oak by its branches and tore it from the roots…Winfried let his axe drop, and bowed his head for a moment in the presence of almighty power…On this spot shall rise a chapel to the true God and his servant St. Peter.
"And here," said he, as his eyes fell on a young fir-tree, standing straight and green, with its top pointing toward the stars, amid the divided ruins of the fallen oak, "here is the living tree, with no stain of blood upon it, that shall be the sign of your new worship. See how it points to the sky. Call it the tree of the Christ-child. Take it up and carry it to the chieftain's hall. You shall go no more into the shadows of the forest to keep your feasts with secret rites of shame. You shall keep them at home, with laughter and songs and rites of love. The thunder-oak has fallen, and I think the day is coming when there shall not be a home in all Germany where the children are not gathered around the green fir-tree to rejoice in the birth-night of Christ.”
The first appearance of a Tannenbaum as a note of record in Germany was many years after Luther’s death. It was in 1605 in Strasbourg in Alsace, then in Germany, that a chronicler wrote (in old German): “Auff Weihenachten richtett man Dahnnenbäum zu Strasburg in den Stuben auff…” (“At Christmas they set up Christmas trees in Strasbourg in their rooms…”).13
In actuality, various “Tannenbaum” ( “O Christmas Tree” ) songs and ballads were circulating in print from around 1550 so we can assume the custom was increasing
“O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!
Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit,
nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.”
Also of note, this 1809 drawing by Lewis Miller may be the first know depiction of an American Christmas tree.
The Moravian Church
Unitas Fratrum (Unity of Brethren) to America
Growing up with the knowledge of the Moravian Church was a blessing. I can actually track that part of my family all the way back to their arrival to the USA from Europe thanks to a great uncle who put a great deal of effort in the trace many years ago. Seeing pictures of these “simple” people from the late 1800s always made me wonder about life of that time. While I can go into great detail about the direct impact the Moravian Church had on Christmas in all of America I will stay with a brief overview.
The Beginnings of the Unity of Brethren
Czech reformer, John Hus (1369-1415) was a professor of philosophy and rector of the University in Prague. The Bethlehem Chapel in Prague became the launch point for the Czech reformation. With support from the people, Hus lead the protest movement against many practices of the Roman Catholic clergy and hierarchy. Hus stood on grounds that people should be able to read the Bible in their own language, to hear preaching they could understand and to be included in Holy Communion. Hus was accused of heresy, underwent a long trial at the Council of Constance, and was burned at the stake on July 6, 1415.14
In 1457 a group of Hus' followers organized the Unitas Fratrum (Latin for "Unity of Brethren”). Under continual harassment, and worse, they grew in size to a population of about 200,000 by the time of Martin Luther issued his grievances. Many of the Brethren’s grievances, reformers 60 years prior to Luther, were also issued by Luther himself.
The Brotherhood was the “first to adopt the principle that the Bible is the only standard of faith and practice. They were among the first to issue a translation of the Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek into the language of the people. They led the way, in the Protestant movement, in the catechetical instruction of children.”15 Unity of Brethren also implemented referring to each other as “Brother” and “Sister” signifying all people are related as we came from the same creator and Christ gave His life for all people.
It was 1517 that Luther nailed his theses to the church door in Wittenberg, setting in motion Protestant Reformation. With the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) came increased persecution of the Brethren. They were to seek refuge in the remoteness of Bohemia, Moravia, and Poland.
In 1722 the Brethren approached a German nobleman named Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, seeing refuge. The town of Herrhut, and under Zinzendorf’s leadership, the church celebrated its renewal and rebirth in August 1727. As their presence spread to English speaking countries the Brethren were known as “Moravians”, due to the church's origins in Moravia (now the Czech Republic).
Moravian Church in the New World
Through Moravians migrating from Europe, the Brethren established the towns of Nazareth (1740), Bethlehem (1741), both in Pennsylvania. It was in 1743 that the 100,000 acre plot, die Wachau, Wachovia was purchased in what is now Forsyth Co, North Carolina. The towns of Bethabara (1753), Bethania (1759), Friedberg and Hope (1780) all around the central town of Salem (1766).16
Christmas Eve 1753 would have found a small group of settlers assembled in the Piedmont of the North Carolina to celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus. Commemorating the birth of Christ was called a Lovefeast, Agape, a simple Bible-based service of fellowship, music, and perhaps some food. Lovefest still occurs to this day in Moravian Churches across the world including right here in Winston Salem, NC.
A central focus of the Moravians for coming to the “New World” was to bring the message of God's love to the American Indians. Circumstances kept them from reaching the native populations until 1801 when missionaries were sent to Georgia to evangelize amongst the Creeks and the Cherokees.
It was here that Moravian Sister Anna Rosina Gambold recorded the first written documentation of the Christmas tree in the South on the December, 21st 1805, at the Moravian Indian Mission in Springplace, Georgia. In 1805 she wrote17:
"Soon after breakfast we drove with our pupils in our cart to the Connasaga River, about 3 miles from here, to fetch a small green tree for Christmas...."
Then again on December 21st, but a year later in 1806, Sister Gambold wrote:
"In the afternoon Brother Byhan went with our children on horse to fetch shrubs and little trees for the Christmas decorations. This was a delight to the children.."
It was some years before Gambold mentions a decorated tree on December 24th, 1814. The translation from the old German script of this document reads as follows:
"Soon after the service (which was held in the evening) the party left Brother and Sister Gambold's to go to our Brother's house where Gonstadi had prepared a treat for our young ones with a little decorated tree, [mit einem gepuzten Baumchen] and we sang as if with one heart and mouth, 'I will rejoice in God my Saviour!’“
It seems that record of the Christmas tree existed in Salem as early as 1786, nineteen years before Anna Rosina Gambold noted the Springplace Mission Christmas tree.
Documented in church records, on December 27th, 1786, a brotherly dispute occured in Salem, around the cutting of a small pine tree. This dispute seems likely to be around an actual Christmas Tree considering it was of enough importance to make it into the records at all. It In fact, Dr. Adelaide Fries, editor of the Moravian Records, added a footnote that reads “Since it was cut on Christmas Eve it may be assumed that it was for a Christmas tree, the first mentioned in the Salem records.”18
“Br. Schnepff complained that last Sunday, during preaching, John Tesch, the apprentice of Charles Holder, cut a small pine treel in his field which he [Schnepff] had been taking special care of. John Tesch shall be asked whether he was told to cut this particular tree, for Holder has said he had sent for one from the woods.”
The focus of children to participate in all of the Moravian Christmas traditions began early. As a writer in The Moravian in 1863 wrote, "In our own Church, it has ever been the custom to dedicate |the festival of Christmas| almost exclusively to (children's) instruction and enjoyment." In 1870 the editor reminded adults "Let us rear the Christmas tree for them [the chil-dren], and make the house full of joy and Christmas warmth and light. But let us not neglect to tell them what it all means [emphasis added]." The reason for that attention was well explained in the Southern Church publication some years later: "The manner in which the Son of God entered our human nature has sanctified the estate of childhood. He came as a babe laid in the manger in order that the little children might be loved and prized as they never had been before. If, therefore, in homes and Sunday schools we make children happy, we are doing what Jesus did in his birth at Bethlehem."
Recognition of children developed a new kind of Christmas, one centered on the family, the home, and the gifts that began to be offered as tokens of friendship and love.
The Moravian bishop John Amos Comenius (1592-1670). Comenius, known far and wide as the "Father of Education, instituted many positive and still enduring theories of an early and broad education for children.
Bishop Comenius’s stated:
“The Lord himself declares 'Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.' Since God thus wills that children be our precep-tors, we owe them the most diligent attention."* In addition, Comenius made another statement which the Moravians may well have taken to heart in regard to Christmas: "Parents ought to be especially careful never to allow their children to be without delights," for "the joy of the heart is the very lifespring of man."
Other Christmas traditions include Lovefeast, Illumination, Beeswax Candles, The Moravian Star, Cakes ( or cookies as we call them ) and the putz, which comes from the German word putzen which means to decorate or clean, includes assorted greenery and the Nativity at Christmas. The Putz, with the manger always at the center is built to tell the Good News of the coming of the Christ Child. It is more than a nativity scene. “It is the Gospel in miniature from Isaiah’s prophecy and Mary’s annunciation to the visit of the wisemen and the flight into Egypt. The joy comes in creating the story of the wonder of Christ’s birth so that the Son of God can be welcomed into the hearts of the home at the Christmas.”19
Lovefeast, Agape in Greek, is the highest type of spiritual love. Originating in Apostolic times20, this breaking of bread amongst believers faded away but was put back in practice by the Moravian Church in 172721.
Illumination is what is sounds, lighted candles in each window of every home and refers to the illuminated pictures found in Moravian Churches.
Beeswax Candles, considered the purest of all animal or vegetable waxes, suggests the purity of Christ. The candle, giving its life as it burned, suggested the sacrifice of the sinless Christ for sinful humanity. Children were provided candles on Christmas Eve from 1747 when Bishop John de Watteville conducted services, with the theme of anticipation of the arrival of the Christ-child, an uncommon idea at the time. Now, grownups get to share in the childlike joy of the Savior’s birth, to become children again, if only for a brief moment.
The Moravian Star proclaims the hope of Advent and is the enduring symbol of the Moravian Church. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The Advent star points to Jesus, who said, “I am the bright and Morning Star.” It is the star of promise, the star of fulfillment, and the star of hope.
Today “Moravians recognize the example of Christ’s life and proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord. Living the Christian life depends not only on our own effort, but upon God our Father, who in Jesus Christ accepts us as heirs of God and strengthens and sustains us. Education, worship, mission activity, social reforms, ecumenical cooperation, parish life and a rich musical heritage form the center of much of the Moravian Church’s work both in North America and around the world.”
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Can Christians Just Stop Trying to Find Ways to NOT Celebrate the Birth of Jesus?
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Why do so many willing give anything over to evil instead of glorifying His creation? His perfect gift to us all! We are called to stand against all forces of evil as they will not prevail! Do you have the confidence to teach your child to do just that?
Deceptions of evil - from men or the unseen - will continue to attempt to bring doubt into the hearts of many. Do not give up ground so easily. Let’s not teach our children to fear but how to utilize the authority provided by Jesus Christ!!
Remember, all time, all threads, all dates belong to the Creator, not the corrupter. The sacred timeline belongs to God ( and not one of a Loki kind! )
Celebrate Christmas, all holidays, without the guilt imposed by men. If your condemning your fellow man for celebrations this time of year, maybe it’s time to reflect, and not listen to the loudest voice on social media, who unknowingly - or not - assists darkness to gain ground ( small as it may be ) over our light!
How did we get to this point? A point to where we thirst for a knowledge so obscure, so occult, that we search for the least plausible explanation for all, and do this to such a degree that we seem to take very little at face value. Being lied to as a society has that effect on people. Those who want to hide what they are up on a global scale throw cover by creating a different set of falsehoods, sometimes so outlandish it laughable, but just enough to distract the masses so they can continue with whatever it is that we aren’t on their level to understand. Not invited to that party!
Let Our Reflection Be Focused Toward:
•He who
Phil 2:7 “ emptied himself by taking the form of a slave, by becoming in the likeness of people. And being found in appearance like a man,”
Then know…
•Before, the announcement:
John 1:29 (LEB): the next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
•Before, the washing of feet:
John 13:5 (LEB): Then he poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, and to wipe them* dry with the towel ⌊which he had tied around himself⌋.
•Before, the cross:
John 10:18 (LEB): No one takes it from me, but I lay it down ⌊voluntarily⌋. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take possession of it again. This commandment I received from my Father.”
Hebrews 2:9 (LEB): but we see Jesus, for a short time made lower than the angels, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that apart from God he might taste death on behalf of everyone.
•He was there:
Genesis 1:1–3 (LEB): In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth— 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light!” And there was light.
John 1:1–4 (LEB): 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 This one was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being that has come into being. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity
•Promise was in:
Genesis 3:15 (LEB): 15 And I will put hostility between you and between the woman, and between your offspring and between her offspring; he will strike you on the head, and you will strike him on the heel.”
•Redemption of creation was set:
Colossians 1:16–17 (LEB): because all things in the heavens and on the earth were created by him, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers, all things were created through him and for him, 17 and he himself is before all things, and in him all things are held together
Galatians 4:4–5 (LEB): But when the fullness of time came, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 in order that he might redeem those under the law, in order that we might receive the adoption.
•The choice to set it all aside, to walk as one of us, was made:
Matthew 1:22–23 (LEB): Now all this happened in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, “Behold, the virgin ⌊will become pregnant⌋ and will give birth to a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
Isaiah 7:14 (LEB): Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look! the virgin is with child and she is about to give birth to a son, and she shall call his name ‘God with us.’
The Eternal One, who exists outside the realm of time, stepped into time to bring humankind our Way out! The gravity of this is outside of our comprehension. Fortunately, it doesn’t take intellect to understand, it takes a transformed heart!!!
In conclusion, it's essential to understand the historical context and origins of holiday traditions before drawing connections to unrelated practices. The Christmas tree, with its roots in 16th-century Germany and brought to this country by Christian immigrants, like the Moravians, has its association with the Christian celebration of Christmas, and continues to remains a symbol of joy, togetherness, and the festive spirit.
As this Christmas season comes to a close I hope this information emboldens your faith in Christ and your confidence to celebrate His glory as you know best for generations to come!
Wishing you all the joy that Christ can bring each and every day! And, if you’ve read this far please share this with your friends, family and followers.
Nikki
(I have written this without the use of an editor so please forgive any grammatical errors)