Karen’s Opinion

My husband and I watched an interesting documentary on Christmas trees last evening. The program told how evergreen trees became to be known as a symbol of Christmas. The custom of putting up a Christmas tree can be traced to 16th century. The trees were not decorated in the way most of us decorate our trees today. Most early trees were decorated with apples, nuts, dates, pretzels and paper flowers. Trees were also decorated with candles. Candles were sometimes dangerous as women and young girls would bend over the tree and were more apt to catch their clothing on fire. Adjustments were made to the candle holders to make them safer but it wasn’t until the invention of the electric light that lighting on the trees became a safe practice.

Christmas balls were beautiful creations made from blown glass. It was a luxury to be able to afford this type of decoration. Most trees were garnished with home made crafts and still used natural products such as nuts and fruit. Candy canes were also used to decorate the tree although they were all white and not the red and white striped ones we see today.

The United States’ National Christmas Tree is lit each year on the South Lawn of the White House. Today, the lighting of the National Christmas Tree is part of what has become a major holiday event at the White House. The Tree at Rockefeller Center is an annual tradition in New York City’s Rockefeller Center, and is lighted in early December or late-November, an event broadcast in recent years on the NBC television network in the United States as well as internationally. Another famous Christmas tree is Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree. It often represents the way we feel after days of shopping and baking. It still has the spirit to look beautiful. I think it envisions hope for the feeble and weary.