[TruthTalk] Christmas Trees

[LaurHamm]

I remember last year we had a big thread about Christmas trees.  I came across this while planning my calendar for Parents Day Out and thought it was interesting.  Laura The tradition of decorating the Paradeisbaum, or Paradise trees, originated in Europe. Christians would celebrate the holiday on Christmas Eve by acting out important events in Scripture. One of the skits that was performed was the 'The Garden of Eden' scene. Since it was the wintertime in Europe it was not possible to find an apple tree with apples, so an evergreen tree would be substituted. The actors first hung apples on their "Paradise Trees", later adding other adornments such as dried fruits and nuts.  The increase in popularity of the Paradeisbaum is attributed to Martin Luther. It is believed that he first added lighted candles to his Paradise Tree after walking home through the woods one winter evening. He was in the midst of composing a sermon and was awestruck by the brilliance of the millions of twinkling stars above the evergreens. So inspired by the beauty of God's creation, he cut down an evergreen and brought it home to his family, then wired lighted candles to the tree to recreate the starlit scene. Paradise trees eventually became known as 'Christ Trees', then Christmas Trees. It is believed that Christmas trees were brought to America by Germans that immigrated to Pennsylvania. The diary of Matthew Zahm of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, records the introduction of the Christmas tree being brought to the New World December 20, 1821.