What are the legends of the Christmas tree?
Legend 1 – Legend has it that on a snowy Christmas Eve, a farmer saw a hungry and cold child coming to the door, so he warmly received him and gave him a sumptuous Christmas dinner. When the child was saying goodbye, he folded a fir branch and placed it on the ground. He said, “Every year, on this day, there are many gifts. Leave this beautiful fir tree to repay your kindness.” After the child left, the farmer found the The branch turned into a small tree, and he realized that the one he received was an messenger of God. This becomes the source of the Christmas tree.
Legend 2 – It is said that Martin Luther, a German religious reformer, came home from a small town on a Christmas night. In order to allow people to appreciate the beautiful night view of the mountain village, he lit some candles on a small pine tree, using Twinkling candles to represent the stars. Since then, every Christmas Eve, believers will follow his example and arrange a Christmas tree in the house. Later, this custom spread from Germany to Europe and the United States. On Christmas Eve, whether it is a bustling big city or a remote small mountain village, whether it is rich or poor, Christmas trees can be seen everywhere.
Legend 3 – The Christmas tree originated from a religious drama in medieval Germany, called “Mystery plays”. Expulsion from Paradise. The play usually ends with God’s promise to send a Savior to the world, and leads directly to the historical fact that Jesus was born in Siberia. The play is usually performed in the open square or in the sanctuary. Paradise of Eden is represented by a pine tree, symbolizing the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. After the habit of performing plays in the church was abolished, the tree used in the play, the Paradise Tree, was retained and entered into the homes of the faithful and other places. Because it is usually seen in the play as a symbol of the coming savior. Pines and cypresses are also evergreen in cold regions, and they also symbolize life and longevity. Well suited to symbolize the Savior and his mission. Under this symbolic meaning, the habit of decorating the tree with symbolic objects related to the birth of Jesus, such as stars, bells, apples, food, etc., arose. After about the seventeenth century, it was decorated with lights of halberds, symbolizing that Jesus was the light of the world.
