http://www.religioustolerance.org/xmas_tree.htm All about the Christmas Tree: Pagan origins, Christian adaptation, & secular status Quotation: "Many Americans celebrate both Christmas and Xmas. Others celebrate one or the other. And some of us celebrate holidays that, although unconnected with the [winter] solstice, occur near it: Ramadan, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa." John Silber 1
Silber's statement was correct when he wrote it in the year 2000. However,
Islam follows a lunar calendar. Its holy days thus move earlier each year by
about 11 days. Thus, by 2010, the first day of Ramadan has moved back to
August.
Overview:
Some have traced the Christmas tree back at least as far as the Prophet
Jeremiah who wrote the book Jeremiah in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament).
Opposition to the Christmas tree was intense in past centuries. The early
Christian Church in the third century strictly prohibited the decoration of
their houses with evergreen boughs. The decorated Christmas tree only caught on
in the mid-19th century.
Modern-day opposition continues: some condemn the Christmas tree because they
believe it to be a Christian symbol; others condemn it because they believe --
incorrectly -- that the custom of cutting down a tree, erecting it in the home
and decorating it is a Pagan custom. 1 For many people today, it is primarily
as a secular symbol of hope for the New Year and the future return of warmth to
the earth. Its future is assured in spite of opposition.
Objections to the Christmas Tree:
In the past, there have been many objections to Christmas trees:
The Prophet Jeremiah condemned as Pagan the ancient Middle Eastern
practice of cutting down trees, bringing them into the home and decorating
them. Of course, these were not really Christmas trees, because Jesus was not
born until centuries later, and the use of Christmas trees was not introduced
for many centuries after his birth. Apparently, in Jeremiah's time the
"heathen" would cut down trees, carve or decorate them in the form of a god or
goddess, and overlay it with precious metals. Some Christians currently feel
that this Pagan practice was similar enough to our present use of Christmas
trees that this passage from Jeremiah can be used to condemn both:
Jeremiah 10:2-4: "Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen,
and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at
them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the
forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with
silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move
not." (King James Version).
In Europe, Pagans in the past did not cut down evergreen trees, bring them
into their homes and decorate them. That would have been far too destructive of
nature. But during the Roman celebration of the feast of Saturnalia, Pagans did
decorate their houses with clippings of evergreen shrubs. They also decorated
living trees with bits of metal and replicas of their God, Bacchus.
Tertullian (circa 160 - 230), an early Christian leader and a prolific
writer, complained that too many fellow-Christians had copied the Pagan
practice of adorning their houses with lamps and with wreathes of laurel at
Christmas time. 8,9,10,11
The English Puritans condemned a number of customs associated with
Christmas, such as the use of the Yule log, holly, mistletoe, etc. Oliver
Cromwell preached against "the heathen traditions" of Christmas carols,
decorated trees and any joyful expression that desecrated "that sacred event."
2,4
In America, the Pilgrim's second governor, William Bradford, a Puritan,
tried hard to stamp out all "pagan mockery" at Christmas time. 4 Christmas
trees were not used by Puritans in colonial times. However, if they were, they
would certainly have been forbidden.
In 1851, Pastor Henry Schwan of Cleveland OH appears to have been the
person responsible for decorating the first Christmas tree in an American
church. His parishioners condemned the idea as a Pagan practice; some even
threatened the pastor with harm. But objections soon dissipated. 2
Even today, the complaints continue:
At Christmas 2000, the city manager of Eugene OR ordered that Christmas
trees could not be erected on city properties because he considered them
Christian religious symbols. He felt that their presence would violate the
principle of church and state. 1 This is just one of countless conflicts that
have surfaced at Christmas time over religious and quasi-religious observances.
A few fundamentalist Christian groups oppose Christmas trees and even the
celebration of Christmas for their members. This includes the Jehovah's
Witnesses and, until recently, the Worldwide Church of God. Part of the
opposition is because the custom of decorated trees originated among Pagans.
They also oppose trees because of a literal interpretation of the quotation
from Jeremiah.
Origins of the Christmas Tree:
Pagan traditions: Many Pagan cultures used to cut boughs of evergreen
trees in December, move them into the home or temple, and decorate them. 7
Modern-day Pagans still do. This was to recognize the winter solstice -- the
time of the year that had the shortest daylight hours, and longest night of the
year. This occurs annually sometime between DEC-20 to 23; most often, it is
DEC-21. As the solstice approached, they noticed that the days were gradually
getting shorter; many feared that the sun would eventually disappear forever,
and everyone would freeze. But, even though deciduous trees, bushes, and crops
died or hibernated for the winter, the evergreen trees remained green. They
seemed to have magical powers that enabled them to withstand the rigors of
winter.
Not having evergreen trees, the ancient Egyptians considered the
palm tree to symbolize resurrection. They decorated their homes with its
branches during the winter solstice. 3
"The first decorating of an evergreen tree began with the heathen
Greeks and their worship of their god Adonia, who allegedly was brought back to
life by the serpent Aessulapius after having been slain." 5
The ancient Pagan Romans decorated their "trees with bits of metal
and replicas of their god, Bacchus [a fertility god]. They also placed 12
candles on the tree in honor of their sun god" 2 Their mid-winter festival of
Saturnalia started on DEC-17 and often lasted until a few days after the
Solstice.
In Northern Europe, the ancient Germanic people tied fruit and
attached candles to evergreen tree branches, in honor of their god Woden. Trees
were viewed as symbolizing eternal life. This is the deity after which
Wednesday was named. The trees joined holly, mistletoe, the wassail bowl and
the Yule log as symbols of the season. All predated Christianity. 5
Christmas traditions:
One Christmas tradition was that St. Boniface (675? - 755; a.k.a.
Winfred) cut down a deciduous tree in the presence of some newly-baptized
Christians. The tree was an oak -- once sacred to the former Pagans. It
miraculously split into four pieces, revealing an evergreen tree growing from
the center of the oak stump. This was interpreted as symbolizing the death of
Paganism and the establishment of Christianity. 3
Another is that Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) was so impressed by a
forest scene that he allegedly cut down a small fir tree, took it home, and
decorated it with lighted candles. This is probably a myth, because the
earliest documented record of a Christmas tree in Germany is dated to almost 60
years after his death.
History of the Christmas Tree:
The modern Christmas tree tradition dates back to Western Germany in the 16th
century. They were called "Paradeisbaum" (paradise trees) and were brought into
homes to celebrate the annual Feast of Adam and Eve on DEC-24. 4 They were
first brought to America by German immigrants about 1700. Christmas trees
became popular among the general U.S. population about 1850. 2
President Franklin Pierce (1804-1869) arranged to have the first Christmas tree
in the White House, during the mid-1850's. President Calvin Coolidge
(1885-1933) started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the White
House lawn in 1923. 4
Today, the Christmas Tree has become accepted by most Christians, by people of
other faiths, and for those who do not follow an organized religion. It has
become a popular late-December tradition and part of our present-day culture.
Christmas Trees grace households and office buildings alike.
The trees take on a variety of shapes, sizes, and costs. Both the Christian and
secular worlds have embraced traditional green firs, beautiful white flocked
trees, and even pre-lit Christmas trees for those who have allergic reactions
to live trees.
As Gail Quick, University of South Carolina - Beaufort's Dean of University
Relations, commented on the occasion of a community tree-lighting ceremony.:
"This Christmas event every year is the glue that holds this community
together - this and the July 4th fireworks. This always makes me feel good.
Some of us still believe in Santa Claus." 6
References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
1.. John Silber, "Anti-Christmas stance isn't rooted in fact," Boston Herald,
2000-DEC-28. See: http://www.bostonherald.com/ Note: The Islamic holy month of
Ramadan is based on a lunar calendar that moves each year relative to the
Gregorian calendar. Thus it just happend to be celebrated near Christmas during
the year 2000. *
2.. Diane Relf, "Christmas Tree Traditions," Virginia Cooperative Extension,
1997-AOR, at: http://www.ext.vt.edu/ *
3.. "Christmas tree: Pointing towards heaven," at: http://ww2.netnitco.net/
4.. "What is a tree?," at: http://www.serve.com/ *
5.. "Should Christians celebrate Christmas?," at:
http://www.sovereigngrace.net/ *
6.. William Dean, "Christmas tree lighting sparks holiday spirit," Carolina
Morning News on the Web, at: http://www.lowcountrynow.com/ *
7.. "The Christmas Tree as a Symbol of Pagan Baal Worship," The Ellen White
Research Project, at: http://www.ellenwhite.org/ *
8.. "Tertullian," Wikipedia, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
9.. David Beaulieu, "Christmas Tree Decorating: The History of the Christmas
Tree," Landscaping, About.com, at: http://landscaping.about.com/
10.. Turtulian, "On Idolatry," XV.
* Unfortunately, since the first draft of this menu was written in the year
2000, most of the above references have gone offline. You can sometimes
resurrect archived copies of websites as they existed in the past by using the
Wayback Machine on the Internet Archive site at: http://www.archive.org/
Copyright © 2000 to 2010 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2000-DEC-29
Latest update: 2010-DEC-14
Author: B.A. Robinson
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Pagan Christmas and Pagan Easter - both holidays condemn our countries!
Christmas and Easter are pagan and Christians should avoid them like the
plague! Such holidays will lead us to national destruction, defeat and
deportation. Dishonest ministers have failed to expose and condemn the pagan
origins of such Catholic holidays of Christmas and Easter pretending to be
Christian festivals. Will the plain truth set us free from such religious lies
or do we prefer to remain enslaved to traditional error?
http://christmascondemned.blogspot.com/
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Christmas vs. the Bible
How well do the customs and traditions of Christmas match the biblical account
of Christ's birth? An objective look shows that many traditions supposedly
rooted in the Bible don't match the biblical account.
Did three wise men travel to see Jesus? The Bible doesn't say how many there
were. There could have been more. We are told only that they gave Jesus three
kinds of gifts: "gold, frankincense, and myrrh" (Matthew 2:1, 11). Did everyone
exchange gifts when Christ was born? Gifts were presented to Jesus because He
was born "King of the Jews" (verses 2, 11). This was the expected custom when
appearing before a king, thus the wise men brought gifts fit for a king: gold
and valuable spices. Jesus alone was the recipient of the gifts; others did not
exchange gifts among themselves.
Did the wise men, as nativity scenes often depict, arrive to find Jesus in a
stable manger, there having been "no room in the inn"? (Luke 2:7). No. When the
wise men arrived, apparently some time after Christ's birth, Joseph's family
was residing in a house (Matthew 2:11).
Did the writers of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) consider
Jesus' birth to be one of the most significant events for Christians to
acknowledge or celebrate? Mark and John do not even mention the event. Although
Matthew and Luke do, neither gives the date. None of the biblical writers says
anything about commemorating Christ's birth.
Did Jesus Christ tell us to celebrate His birth? No. He left explicit
instructions regarding how His followers are to commemorate His death (1
Corinthians 11:23-26), but nothing about His birth.
Previous: How Christmas Grew
Next: Why Jesus Christ Wasn't Born December 25
http://www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/HH/christmasvsbible.asp
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From: anna hermali
SANTA CLAUS AND CHRISTMAS
IF YOU ARE Pastors, OR Sunday-school teachers, OR parents,
IT'S TIME TO STOP TELLING LIES TO YOUR CHILDREN!!!
WHO'S THE FATHER OF LIES?? John 8: 43-45
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmqwOFXOofY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSOW8acNEYk&feature=related
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