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One of the many origins of ChristmasThe Christmas tree is one of the most popular and cherished Christmas customs. Each year, 35-40 million live trees are purchased and decorated in the United States alone. in other countries, the number should be close to 20 million at least. There are several communities across the world, who just for the sheer love of the Christmas spirit and season love to decorate a tree for the season. But when, where, and how did this custom begin? What is the origin of the Christmas tree? What does it mean?There have been many answers to these questions that have been offered. Some make no distinction between history and legend. Unfortunately, none of them give sources for their assertions about the Christmas tree (a problem with most web articles!). Given that dependable scholarly sources about the history of the Christmas tree are hard to come by, citation-less Christmas tree web pages are understandable.What was the origin of the Christmas tree? As much as I would like to embrace as fact the oft- quoted story that Martin Luther was the first to set up a Christmas tree (or at least a lighted one), its not confirmed that this is a true story or a mere legend. There are no evidences that support this. There is scholarly consensus, however, that the Christmas tree originated in Germany. Indeed, the earliest record of an evergreen tree being used and decorated (but without lights) for Christmas is 1521 in the German region of Alsace. Another useful description has been found among the notes of an unknown resident of Strasbourg in 1605, who writes that “At Christmas they set up fir trees in the parlors at Strasburg and hang thereon roses cut of many- colored paper, apples, wafers, gold-foil, sweets . . .” Some fifty years later (about 1650) the great Lutheran theologian Johann Dannhauer wrote in his The Milk of the Catechism that “the Christmas or fir tree, which people set up in their houses, hang with dolls and sweets, and afterwards shake and deflower. . . When did this custom come into being is not known, but rather considered as a child’s bright imagination.They began to be known as Christmas trees and we identified them as Christmas trees since a very long time. It is perhaps the conical shape that houses many goodies and stockings that it is more popular with children. That Santa would probably find the best stocking and the best list put up by kids is legend has to say. There are many who agree that had the Christmas tree not been conical, it would be wee bit difficult to decorate it too. Since most celebration in most festivals is all about color and merry-making, so it is with the Christmas event as well.Several conclusions can be gleaned from these quotations. First, we are told some of the items with which the first Christmas trees were decorated: paper roses, apples, Communion wafers, gold, foil, sweets, and dolls. Second, even in 1650 a noted scholar like Dannhauer did not know the origin of Christmas trees. Third, not all Christians approved of these trees, even in the beginning. Fourth, the first Christmas trees, as far as we know, did not have lights. However, yea after year we notice that these are trees that bring in joy and peace to every house, as the spirit of Christms holds true for everyone, so I guess the tree is synonymous with the occasion.Come Yuletide an half the world is busy preparing things to make their festival the joyous occasion it is supposed to be. However, Christmastime can be quite an expensive time. The list of Christmas necessaries is quite long too, and for most Christian families, celebrating Christmas could put a yearend dent in the pocket with which they might have to usher in the New Year. That is the reason why artificial Christmas trees have become so popular. Artificial Christmas trees are much cheaper than the real stuff and can bring down Yuletide expenses significantly. Why are artificial Christmas trees so cheap then? Firstly, they are made of comparably cheap materials like plastic, feathers and even wires and sticks. These materials are strung on a central stem, which could be made of plastic or wood. The materials used in making the artificial Christmas tree make the trees lighter, and that helps in cutting down on transportation expenses. There are other ways in which artificial Christmas trees can help you economize on things. These trees are not perishable like the real ones, so you can keep them year after year. All artificial Christmas trees can be customized, so you can play with the lighting and decoration on the trees and make them look different each year. These trees are designed in a modular pattern, much like the playing blocks kids use. Hence, when the festive period is over, you can simply dismantle the tree and stock it in some corner of the house for the next year.But there are many other reasons why artificial Christmas trees are replacing the genuine conifers. The second most important reason, after the price, is the space. Artificial Christmas trees are made smaller in size so they can very well fit into the small apartment space that most people live in nowadays. However, infusing some creativity in decorating the tree can compensate their small size. These trees also take care of peripheral problems such as getting your home floor strewn with pine needles, or aggravating some allergies. So in order to make your artificial Christmas trees even better than the real thing, you can use these two simple tips:-For the decoration: Be imaginative. You can use cotton pieces to give your tree a snowy look, and can decorate them more by attaching small packed gift boxes on the branches of the trees. During Christmastime, you can get different kinds of decorating stuff, such as glitter balls, decorative artificial candy sticks and pieces of holly, which you can all use on the trees. For the lighting: Use some LED Christmas lights on the trees. LED Christmas lights are small, available on strings, and can be easily wound on the Christmas tree. They are cheap too, so you can have different sets of LED Christmas lights to put up on your trees each year.But then there are some things you need to know before investing in an artificial Christmas tree. Remember that artificial trees look artificial, so it is not a good idea to buy an artificial tree and camouflage it to look like a real one. It is best to let it look as it does and improve it with decoration. Also, there is a kind of down market mentality attached with artificial Christmas trees. Some people might snigger about having an artificial tree in your house. But if you know your creative skills well, you can make your artificial Christmas tree the talk of the season.
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