Where did the Christmas tree originate?
Stardate Unknown
I was sitting in the living room, looking at the beautifully lit tree and I wondered... did they have evergreen trees in Jerusalem?
It is interesting to read that in fact, the idea of the Christmas tree was likely derived from pagan beliefs... In ancient germanic tribes, the Yule season was celebrated by sacrificing male animals and slaves, and hanging their bodies from such trees... There are other interesting mentions as well, but the modern useage of the tree seems to stem from the late 16th century, when Ingeborg Weber-Keller, a professor of European ethnology in Germany, set a similar tree up inthe guild-house and decorated it with fruits, nuts and dates so that the children could pillage it on Christmas day...
I was sitting in the living room, looking at the beautifully lit tree and I wondered... did they have evergreen trees in Jerusalem?It is interesting to read that in fact, the idea of the Christmas tree was likely derived from pagan beliefs... In ancient germanic tribes, the Yule season was celebrated by sacrificing male animals and slaves, and hanging their bodies from such trees... There are other interesting mentions as well, but the modern useage of the tree seems to stem from the late 16th century, when Ingeborg Weber-Keller, a professor of European ethnology in Germany, set a similar tree up inthe guild-house and decorated it with fruits, nuts and dates so that the children could pillage it on Christmas day...
posted by Zaphod at 11:02 AM
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