The Christmas Tree Unveiled

By Mira Pawar.

It’s again that time of the year when the air around is filled with excitement to welcome the festive season. Everyone is gearing up to put up the Christmas tree, so presents could be stacked under it. When exactly is the right time to put up the Christmas tree? As a matter of fact, it all depends on which part of the world you are in, and the family tradition is also taken into account. In the western countries, the Christmas tree is put up on the first day of Advent which is four weeks before Christmas, so this year the right time to put up the tree would be the 4^th of December. However, strange enough but some wait until Christmas eve.

The tradition of putting up a Christmas tree originated in Germany in the 16th century wherein families would put up a paradise tree in their homes on December 24, the religious feast day of Adam and Eve. The tradition of using evergreen trees as Christmas decoration dates back to ancient Europe when people would hang evergreen boughs on December 21 or 22. They believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts evil spirits and illness. In England, Christmas tree was introduced in the early 19^th Century. The tree was then popularised in the mid-19th century by prince Albert husband of queen Victoria.

In United States during the 1930s, trees made from brush bristles began to gain popularity. During 1950 to 1960, mass production of aluminium and plastic trees were much in demand. Today, artificial trees are widely popular, particularly in countries where fresh trees are difficult to procure. According to the ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Hebrews, evergreen trees symbolise eternal life. Originally, the tree was decorated with edibles such as apples nuts and other foods but this was replaced somewhere in the 18^th century with candles and later Christmas lights and other colourful ornaments. Today there are lot of decorative pieces to choose from. The tree topper’s decoration placed at the top of crown of the tree can be of any form but the most common ones include a star which represents the Archangel Gabriel or the star of Bethlehem.

Putting up the tree is quite exciting but when is the right time to take the tree down? This is the most cumbersome chore of the season! It is considered bad luck to take down the tree before the twelfth night which is 5^th of January. If the tree isn’t taken down on twelfth night it can be taken down on Candlemas, which ends the Christmas epiphany season in some countries.