Last week I talked about holly and ivy. This week, in a continued holiday theme — and a nature-loving one! — I’m here to talk about firs and pines.
Why do we like them so much, anyway?
Well, before they were Christmas trees, evergreens like pine and fir were valued by people all over the world. In many cultures, they were associated with the sun; and since the winter solstice was a celebration of the sun slowly “returning,” aka the days getting longer, evergreen boughs were common decorations. Pine in particular was thought to be a protective plant. A bough of pine by the fireplace or windows would prevent evil from coming into the house. Apparently, a scattering of pine needles across the floor might do the same trick — so maybe messy Christmas trees aren’t so bad after all. 😉
General consensus is that evergreens were first brought inside and used specifically as Christmas trees during the 1500s. Germany is usually credited with creating the Christmas tree tradition, although they celebrated a little differently. Some sources say they started out by hanging apples on the pine trees, turning them into representations of the Tree of Knowledge, and using them to teach people about Adam and Eve. (At the time, a feast day for Adam and Eve was celebrated on December 24.)
Naturally, however, it was Queen Victoria who really made the Christmas tree at home in the English-speaking world. The famous picture of her and her family cemented the Christmas tree in popular imagination:
And then later on in the US, electric companies lobbied for massive public Christmas trees with impressive displays of — surprise! — electric lights instead of the traditional candles.
Here at my house, we just got our Christmas tree last night (yes, a real one!). I’m excited to decorate it this weekend! But I’m also excited to try out a new tradition — I think I first got the idea from a Hallmark movie, haha — of decorating the tree with birdseed treats and putting it outside for the critters after the holidays. Here’s hoping our tree helps protect our home and the appetites of our wild neighbors through the winter. 🙂
Selected Sources
I used Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs for early references to pine trees. Time has a nice article here about the history of Christmas trees, and “realchristmastrees.org” has a timeline here. The History Channel’s article wasn’t my favorite but it does have some interesting quotes from the early introduction of Christmas trees into Puritan America — find it here.
