Tomte with Christmas Tree

Winter is a time to reflect upon the cycle of life, on death and rebirth. Against the backdrop of whites and grays, against the barren wastes of winter, evergreens always seem a welcome relief. Although the Druids drew parallels with immortality and attributed divinity to evergreens, there is no readily available evidence of pagan religious connections to the Christmas tree.

Beginning in the late Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees in and around their homes during winter. It was done in anticipation of the green of the coming spring.

The Christmas tree tradition began during the 15th and 16th centuries with trade guilds in Northern Germany, Latvia, and Estonia. They erected large spruce trees decorated with sweets for apprentices and children to enjoy on Christmas Day.

After the Reformation, wealthy Protestant families displayed these Christmas trees in lieu of the Catholic Christmas Cribs. This custom remained largely confined to Upper Rhineland until the Romantic Era of the last half of the 19th century when it spread rapidly.

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