When the world is going to hell, you reach for the familiar and the comforting. Even if it leaves you covered in needles… in these days after the Pandemic and Floods, drought and whatever other pestilences that assail us here in Australia, it is meet and fitting to bring good cheer into our home and our life.
And you know what? Christmas trees are very comforting. They’re a calming constant in a world of rapid change. Christmas trees are the same every single year. They smell the same, they look the same, they act the same. They don’t get software updates … hang on, has some Silicon Valley bastard invented a “smart” Christmas tree? I bet they have. Wait a sec while I Google this. Oh my God, they have. Of course they have. That’s not very Christmassy of them.
But enough about Silicon Valley and its stupid smart Christmas trees. Let’s get back to a more interesting topic: me. I spent my 20s and much of my 30s jaded and cynical about Christmas. I was full of arguments about how Christmas was a consumerist capitalist nightmare blah blah blah. Those arguments have completely disappeared now. One of the great things about having a small child is that you get to see the holidays through their eyes. My toddler spent the weekend running up to the Christmas tree and sniffing it ecstatically. Which was a little bit weird, but also very cute. And don’t just take my toddler’s Christmas-tree-sniffing as an excuse to decorate early. Psychologists say that decking the halls with boughs of holly earlier than usual can make you happy. Break out the tinsel, my friends. Fa la la la la, la la la la.
The Christmas tree: From pagan origins and Christian symbolism to Secular status
A Christmas tree adorned with ornaments and lights is a centrepiece of the festive season. But have you ever wondered where the tradition comes from?
Evergreen trees and plants have been used to celebrate winter festivals for thousands of years, long before the advent of Christianity.
Pagans in Europe used branches of evergreen fir trees to decorate their homes and brighten their spirits during the winter solstice.
Early Romans used evergreens to decorate their temples at the festival of Saturnalia, while ancient Egyptians used green palm rushes as part of their worship of the god Ra.
Pieces of evergreen fir tree were first brought into people’s homes to brighten spirits during the winter solstice. (flickr: chintermeyer)
“The idea of bringing the evergreen into the house represents fertility and new life in the darkness of winter, which was much more of the pagan themes,” Dr Dominique Wilson from the University of Sydney said.
“That’s also where the ideas of the holly and the ivy and the mistletoe come from because they’re the few flowering plants at winter so therefore they hold special significance.
“So the idea of bringing evergreens into the house started there and eventually that evolved into the Christmas tree.”
Read more about the history of the Christmas Tree here .
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