“O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, How lovely are thy branches!”- is a famous Christmas song by Aretha Franklin. This shows the inevitability of the Christmas tree during the season of Christmas. Have you ever thought of the importance of the Christmas tree and its tradition? Here is the Catholic giving you more about the Christmas trees.
The Christmas tree is one of the highlights of the outdoor celebrations of Christmas. The Christmas tree, which is usually decorated, is an indispensable part of the Christmas festivities. But we focus on the external beauty of it. The Christmas tree that illuminates the Christmas season is one that has many hidden meanings and symbols associated with the spirit of Christmas.
In ancient times, the Christmas tree was considered a symbol of good and evil. At the time of the idea of the Christmas tree, there was a pre-Christmas celebration among Christians. An event commemorating the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. A celebration that symbolically presents Biblical history before the coming of Christ. One such celebration was held on December 24th.
In this celebration, they will choose an evergreen tree to represent the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It will be placed in the middle. Fruits are hung around it and decorated. These fruits represent the fruit of the tree of knowledge that Adam and Eve ate. Then place the star on top of the plant. It refers to the star that guided the journey to Bethlehem. And so on.
After this celebration, they are taken to churches, homes, and institutions. It remained a tree of hope that signified the coming of the Savior for people who had sinned and lost their paradise. Later, they began to make a crib beneath it to mark the birth of Jesus. Thus the Christmas tree stands before us as a symbol of mankind who have been condemned to sin by their first parents and the Savior who comes to save them.