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Why Do We Cut Down Trees and Drag Them Inside Every Year?
A concise history of the Christmas tree
If you went out to a city park and chopped down a shrub, threw it in the back of your car, drove it home, dragged it inside, and then dressed it up with lights and baubles, people would think that you are mad. Yet, that is exactly what people do every year at Christmas time. But instead of a shrub, people drag evergreen trees inside. When you zoom out, this is a very strange tradition. So why do we do it? Why do we bother with Christmas trees?
Contrary to popular belief, Christmas trees are not a pagan tradition. They are actually a very Christian tradition. Christmas trees began to proliferate in Medieval Germany in the 16th century. German Christians were bringing trees inside and illuminating them with candles. In fact, Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism, is said to be one of the first people to place a lit candle on a Christmas tree. This makes sense, given the history. Martin Luther was both a German and a Christian.
In spite of the Christian origins of the Christmas tree, the tradition does have some loose connections to ancient paganism. But they are by no means as strong as most people believe.
