How Christmas Ornaments Became A Tradition
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios


Defined Tag: Christmas Decorations.

One of the most peace emanating symbols in the world is the image of the Christmas tree which celebrates the birth of the Lord through an iconic symbol of peace and good will. The classic image of the celebrated Christmas tree, however, looses much of its symbolism when it is not adorned with the many classic Christmas ornaments that elevate the tree above being just a common pine tree.

It is commonly believed that it was the protestant reformer Martin Luther was the first person to have come up with the idea of decorating a tree with Christmas ornaments, but it is not truly known if this is true or if an origin was �invented� so as to fit in with one�s culture. Christmas trees origins derived from the ancient Egyptians who worshiped it as a symbol of fertility. Later on, other pagan civilizations would borrow the worship of the pine tree. Eventually, the pine tree became a symbol of Christianity whose origins are traced to the legend of St. Boniface chopping down oak trees as they were commonly worshiped by pagans. When a pine tree grew on the place where the oaks stood, the Christmas tree was born.

In Germany, in the middle ages, when evergreen pine trees were brought into church to celebrate Christmas, it become customary to hang apples from the trees as Christmas ornaments. Later on, paper cut outs where used as Christmas ornaments when people started bringing the trees into their own residence. (Apples, of course, will start to spoil after a couple days and this certainly wouldn�t look nice in the home) Eventually, in the 1800�s in America, Christmas ornaments were sold in novelty stores and, in their first year in the marketplace, sold in excess of $20 million dollars! This easily cemented Christmas ornaments as a staple of the holiday season sales are still going strong 156 years later!