If there is a tradition that defines the holiday season is sunset Christmas tree in homes, offices and even public spaces, in which everyone can participate by adding their personal touch.
Since we were children we are used to seeing a decorated tree with spheres, frost and a star at the top during December and the first days of January, around which families gather in Christmas Eve.
Here we will tell you what is the possible origin of this tradition, without which Christmas would not be the same.
You might be interested in: What effects do fireworks cause in dogs and cats?
Once upon a time in Europe?
In ancient times there are records of the use of decorated evergreen trees to hold celebrations such as the winter solstice, in which its meaning was the victory of life and light over death and darkness, according to the magazine National Geographic.
Despite this, there is no clear origin of how it became part of the festivities in the modern era; Although there are various theories of its emergence in densely forested areas of northern Europe such as Estonia, Latvia and Germany.
Latvia and Estonia
Estonia and Latvia are the northern European countries that claim to be the birthplace of the first Christmas tree of the modern era.
Latvia:
He claims that the tradition began in 1510 when members of a group of merchants called House of the Black Heads (House of the Black Heads) decorated and paraded a tree throughout the city and then burned it.
Estonia:
For his part, he reports that there is evidence that in 1441, the same guild performed a similar ritual in Tallinn, its capital.
According to National Geographic, neither of these two theories have been confirmed nor their relationship with the Christmas festivities.
Germany
Another country where the Christmas tree tradition is thought to have originated is Germany.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, in the year 723, the English missionary Saint Boniface found, during his visit to Germany, pagans who were making a sacrifice on an oak tree dedicated to the god Thor, by stabbing it with an ax and not being attacked by their god, the saint declared the tree “Sacred.”
From then on, decorated trees began to be part of Christian rites.
In the Middle Ages, the so-called “paradise trees” were created to recreate the Garden of Eden in which Adam and Eve lived. The tree was decorated with apples and displayed in homes on December 24.
It was Martin Luther who hung lit candles on a tree, which evolved into what today are the series of lights that adorn the Christmas pine trees, this tradition strengthened until it became a German custom.
You might be interested in: Cheapest Mexican tourist destinations for December
The Christmas tree in the world
Migration brought the tradition to other countries beginning with Great Britain in the time of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, later colonization introduced Christmas trees to the United States.
Although at the beginning the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree was considered pagan and consequently was not well received, it was at the end of the 19th century that it gained popularity until today it became an essential symbol of the season.