The Christmas Tree
Why we chop down and decorate a tree. (The Bus 6.22)
Welcome aboard The Bus!
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED (2.22) 15 DECEMBER 2022
The Stop
Whether fresh-cut, potted or artificial, the Christmas tree - decorated with ornaments and lights - is a central part of the holiday season. Though their modern use has become largely secular, the evergreen trees are traditionally associated with Christianity as a symbol of eternal life. However, this belief is not Christian in origin but can be found in religious customs held by the ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Hebrews. In these cultures, plants and trees that remained green all year were believed to have the ability to ‘keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.’ Similar beliefs in the power of evergreens were held by pagan European tree worshippers - beliefs which ‘survived their conversion to Christianity’ and still influence the Scandinavian tradition of decorating the house with evergreens to ‘scare away the Devil,’ and the German custom of putting a Yule tree inside the house during the midwinter holidays.1
The origin of modern Christmas trees can be traced to a medieval German mystery play2 about Adam and Eve in which the stage was decorated with a ‘paradise tree’ - a fir tree hung with apples - to represent the Garden of Eden. The plays and the prop proved so popular that people began copying them as decorations for their homes. On 24 December - the religious feast day of Adam and Eve - Germans would set up a ‘paradise tree’ in the main room of the house. Candles3 were added and wafers4 were hung on the branches, though in short time these were replaced with different shapes and sizes of cookies.5 In the same room as the tree was the ‘Christmas pyramid,’ a triangular wooden frame with shelves to hold Christmas figurines and decorated with evergreens, candles and a star. By the 16th century, the ‘paradise tree’ and ‘Christmas pyramid’ had combined to become the ‘Christmas tree.’
Though a widespread custom in 18th century Lutheran Germany, the Christmas tree’s popularity skyrocketed in the mid-19th century when it was introduced into England by Queen Victoria’s husband, the German-born Prince Albert.6 The Victorians took tree decorations to elaborate new levels - ‘toys and small gifts, candles, candies, popcorn strings, and fancy cakes’ would be hung from the branches by ‘ribbons and by paper chains,’ and they introduced the idea of placing gifts around its base. At the same time, Christmas trees - originally introduced by German settlers - had become the height of fashion in North America with blown-glass ornaments offered for sale as early as the 1870s. Many of these were produced in Germany and Bohemia by small workshops which also created decorations made from ‘tinsel, cast lead, beads, pressed paper, and cotton batting.’ In fact, the popularity of the trees and their decorations meant that by 1890 the F. W. Woolworth company was annually selling $25 million of them. And once electric lights were introduced in the 1890s … it all went crazy and led to what we think of as Christmas today.
The Detour
Today’s Detour is the short (2:38) video, Pass the Ball. The idea is simple: create a two second animation of a red ball, pass it to someone in another country and they pick up where you left off. Forty artists over forty months, resulting in a video in which all their efforts are seamlessly stitched together. It’s brilliant.
The Recommendation
Today’s recommendation is Love Actually (2003). Written and directed by Richard Curtis7 and featuring an all-star ensemble cast,8 this romantic comedy set in London follows the lives of eight very different but loosely connected couples navigating the chaotic five weeks before Christmas. Though originally released to mixed reviews, the film has taken on a life of its own and has become a modern holiday staple - though as it gets its 15/R rating honestly, it’s possibly not for the younger members of the family.
Love Actually streams on various platforms - and if you’re in the UK, it will certainly appear on television at some point this month!
The Sounds
Today’s playlist is composed of five classical tracks written for or played at Christmas:9 ‘Trumpet Tune and Air’ (H. Purcell, 1696), ‘The Nutcracker, Op. 71: Act I Tableau I: March’ (P. I. Tchaikovsky, 1892), ‘Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248/Part 6 - For the Feast of Epiphany: No. 64 Choral: ‘Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen’’ (J. S. Bach, 1734), ‘Sleigh Ride KV605 (From 3 German Dances)’ (W. A. Mozart, 1791) and ‘Messiah, HWV 56/Pt. 1: ‘For Unto Us a Child is Born’' (G. F. Handel, 1741).
The Thought
Today’s Thought is from the Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius (121-180):10
‘You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength.’
If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:
And that’s the end of this stop - I hope you enjoyed the diversion!
Thanks to everyone who subscribes - your interest and support is truly appreciated. If you like The Bus, please SHARE it with a friend or two.
If you haven’t climbed aboard The Bus, please do!
Until the next stop …
I do like a good Christmas tree. As I child - and even now - I enjoyed laying on the floor beneath it with my head underneath it while looking up at the lights. We’ve always had fresh-cut ones, but last year we were away for the entire holiday and decided to get an artificial one so we could have a tree before we left but not come home to a pile of needles and broken ornaments that’d slipped off the branches. It was so easy (and better, environmentally), we decided to use it again this year. This year’s tree - a haphazard assortment of meaning and memories - is the accompanying photo. Sources for today’s Stop include: Christmas Tree (Britannica) and History of Christmas Trees (history.com).
Mystery plays - along with miracle plays and morality plays - were one of the three main types of drama at this time. Mystery plays usually portrayed biblical subjects for the purpose of teaching the stories to the audience. It’s quite an interesting history; for a brief introduction see: Mystery Plays (Britannica).
Symbolising Christ as the light of the world.
Symbolising the Eucharistic host.
Because cookies were obviously SO much better.
Victoria was very popular and a sketch in the Illustrated London News of her family standing around a Christmas tree sent shockwaves through society. What was done at court was immediately copied by the fashion-conscious on both sides of the Atlantic.
In addition to many others, Curtis wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) and co-wrote the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Vicar of Dibley - classics, all.
The list includes Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Rowan Atkinson, Kiera Knightley, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Colin Firth, Martin Freeman and Laura Linney among others.
The Purcell track isn’t a Christmas composition per se, but is certainly played during the season. Both the Bach and Handel tracks are two of my favourites by those guys, and Mozart’s ‘Sleigh Ride’ is probably the first time a composer did what they all seem to do when they want to make something sound Christmassy … add sleigh bells.
I like both Aurelius and Stoicism, so he seems to show up on the Bus a few times (see Kierkegaard (Vol. 1; Issue 17) and Quinine (Vol. 1; Issue 31). For more information about him, see: Marcus Aurelius (Britannica).