Have you put up your Christmas tree this year yet? Usually a big deal is made about waiting until after American Thanksgiving before beginning to celebrate Christmas, but this year seems to be an exception. COVID-19 was the first one to break all the ‘rules’ of 2020 and so my Instagram has been blowing up with people who have had their Christmas Trees set up for weeks already! Why are people dusting off their fake trees and setting them up so early on this season? One word: JOY. With a year that has had so many changes, struggles and uncertainties, we are not only grasping onto something consistent, but we are craving more joy. And, no matter where you fit on the Grinch scale from one to ten, you have to admit that the Christmas season always seems to inherently have more joy than the rest of the year. People are often friendlier, more outgoing and generous during the Christmas season than any other time of year. The veil between heaven and earth feels thin during this time and Jesus, although always near, seems to feel nearer. And no wonder, for this is the very reason for celebrating Christmas. God came here by sending Jesus as a baby to be the Mighty Councilor, Prince of Peace, Savior, King and Immanuel: God with us. So, whether you start celebrating Christmas in October or on December 20th, the start of celebrating the season truly begins in your household when your tree goes up. We put much care and time into decorating our trees and so we place them in the most trafficked areas of our house, hoping to see it as often as we are home and enjoy the beauty and light it brings during the Holiday Season. Looking at our tree reminds us that we are celebrating Christmas because, if we didn’t put up this evergreen spectacle to remind us, it wouldn’t feel like Christmas. Setting up and decorating a Christmas Tree is an integral part of celebrating Christmas. Why?
THE INVITATION TO CELEBRATE
If you’re here reading this post – I assume that you read my first post and have accepted the invitation to celebrate (if you didn’t read it, check it out here). Our culture does not often take the time to celebrate, but celebrating is good for our hearts and for our souls! And so God, our creator who knows us better than we know ourselves, knows we need to celebrate. So, He invites us in to celebrations by giving us reasons to celebrate and then He celebrates with us. Remembering the birth of Christ through the season of Advent is just one of many celebrations. There are so many classic, traditional, “Christmassy” activities that we do each year to celebrate Christmas. These things bring us much joy, peace and connect us with others and so we continue to do them year by year because they add value to our lives. Setting up the Christmas tree each year is one of those things. It is a valued part of the celebration process. But, with many pagan roots, how does taking an evergreen tree into your house, stringing lights and garland from top to bottom, hanging items from its branches, and topping it off with a big angel or star, celebrate Jesus?
EVERGREENS TO CHRISTMAS TREES
In order to answer that question, we need to first understand how this strange tradition came to be. I mean, you have to at least admit it’s a little strange! However, in the past it was actually common to ‘deck the halls’ (long before the Christmas tree itself became a thing). People have used foraged greenery for many years to decorate for their celebrations. This can be compared to the modern day, coloured party streamers strung from roofs and hung on walls at birthday parties. People used to hang evergreen boughs from their doorways to indicate a celebration!
Evergreen trees were the décor of choice (over all other trees) because of their seasonal stability. They were treasured for their ability to stay luscious and green through the hottest summers as well as the harshest winters. Because of this, evergreens came to symbolize eternal life to certain groups of people. This was true in ancient Egyptian, Chinese and Hebrew culture. Even the Romans, Celts, and the Vikings thought that it was so incredible that a tree could stand unchanged through the ever changing seasons, and so they often gave the trees as gifts or sacrifices to their various gods. Even Solomon, one of Israel’s greatest kings, sought after evergreen trees, importing them to use in the constructing of the Temple of the Lord (1 Kings 5:5-8). Only the finest and best quality materials were used in building this Holy Place, where God’s people would come to meet with Him.
The value placed on these trees has carried on, even to more recent years, and that is one of the reasons they have been chosen as a decoration for the Holy celebration of Christmas. Just as Solomon chose only the best and finest creations for the Temple, so we have chosen a beautiful, mysteriously strong and wonderful tree to draw ourselves in to the celebration of the birthday of our King.
The origin of the Christmas tree rose out of Germany during the Middle Ages. There is record of an evergreen tree that was set up indoors for a medieval play about Adam and Eve. The evergreen tree was decorated with apples to represent the ‘paradise tree’ from the Garden. Because of this, Germans began to set up a paradise tree in their own homes on December 24 to celebrate the feast day of Adam and Eve, reminding them of the fall of humanity and the redemption of Christ. Later, wafers and lights were added to the trees to represent the redemption (wafers representing the eucharist) and salvation (lights pointing to Jesus as the light of the world). This tradition took off and became so popular that, by the 15th century, laws were passed cracking down on people cutting down pines and a limit of one tree per household was established.
It wasn’t until a few hundred years later that the tradition of setting up and decorating a tree in your house was popularized and the term ‘Christmas Tree’ was officially used. An early image of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children gathering around a decorated Christmas tree (with presents underneath!) was published in the London News in 1848. A few years later, this image was published using the words “The Christmas Tree”. After this picture of the royal family celebrating became widespread, the tradition of the Christmas Tree took off. Just like today, celebrities tastes and recommendations tend to dictate what the rest of the population does. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s family played a huge part in establishing the Christmas Tree for us all. After this, records indicate that in 1870, workshops in Germany began to create decorations for these trees (tinsel, pressed paper, cotton batting, etc.) and by 1890 electric tree lights were made available. By this time in the United States, F.W. Wollworth was selling $25 million in Christmas Ornaments annually.
“O Christmas Tree, o Christmas tree
Thy leaves are so unchanging.
Not only green when summer’s here,
But also when it’s cold and drear
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
Thy leaves are so unchanging.O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
O Christmas Tree – Ernst Anschutz 1824
Such pleasure do you bring me.
For every year this Christmas tree
brings to us such joy and glee.
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
Such pleasure do you bring me.”
There are many that would say the origins of the Christmas tree are purely pagan – after reading the research above, you might agree! Even our culture’s acceptance of the Christmas tradition and the rapidly growing popularity of the Christmas tree does not specifically point to Jesus today. But that doesn’t mean the tradition of Christmas and the Christmas tree in your house can’t be a beacon of light on the coming of Christ. After all, it’s not really about how the tradition came to be that matters (although I do think that there is a lot of historical evidence to point to Jesus and to honoring God through the origin of the Christmas tree). Rather, what matters is how you choose to use your Christmas tree and this season of Advent to celebrate Him.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31
HOW DOES THE CHRISTMAS TREE CELEBRATE JESUS?
It is imperative to remember that celebrating is not only glorifying to God when we take time to celebrate Him but when we intentionally celebrate with Him. I believe that there are aspects of trimming the tree that can glorify and celebrate God and also aspects that make room for celebrating with Jesus.
First, setting up your Christmas tree is often the initiation into celebrating the Christmas season. Our carefully and beautifully decorated trees are set up to glow in the most populated area of our house. It stands to remind us every day that we are in a season of celebration. And, in the midst of our busy lives where we forget to take the time to celebrate, we need that daily reminder. This brings to mind the stories of the many monuments set up by the Israelites throughout the Old Testament to remind them of God’s works and provisions. There are several accounts in the first few books of the Bible where God does something incredible for the Israelites and then they intentionally stack stones up to show that, in that place, God did something great. They didn’t want to forget. After all, it is our human tendency to forget where we came from when we are in the process of going or being somewhere else. In order for the Israelites to remind themselves of God’s goodness and His fulfilled promises in their lives, they would set up these stones as a physical reminder and representation. One such instance was when they finally arrived, hundreds of years after the promise was made, in their land flowing with milk and honey.
“Thus the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the LORD spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging place and put them down there.”
Joshua 4:8
Just as the Israelites set up stones to remind themselves that God is good and keeps His word, we can set up our Christmas tree as the daily reminder in the Christmas season that we are celebrating for those same reasons. Our sparkly, lit up tree stands as a monument to remind us that God came down to us as a baby, just as He said He would and was named Immanuel: God with us.
Trim the Tree Eggnog
My friend Steph has a great dairy free
and refined sugar free recipe
that she has shared with us. Make
sure to check it out at the end of
the post!
Second, the process of setting up the Christmas tree invites others to celebrate with us. I don’t know about you, but setting up the Christmas tree together with family has always been an integral part of the celebration of Christmas. Growing up, we would set a day to put up the tree together. We would put on Christmas music, have appetizers and snacks and lay out all of the ornaments on the dining room table. Then, we would work together as a family, deciding where things should go that year. And, if you’re a part of a family, then you know when I say ‘work together as a family’ it didn’t always mean fun and games. The year my mom decided to change our Christmas trees traditional, coloured, singing lights to plain, white lights was the most dramatic year for our family. We also have these precious ornaments (tiny mice playing instruments) that my sisters and I would fight to hang because there is only two of them and three of us. I am not kidding when I say that this would still be a ‘fight’ even today. Families are always going to have disagreements or fights (#humannature), but coming together to partake in a tradition like setting up the tree is honoring to God because community is a special blessing and gift from Him. And, like I said in my last post, one of the things about celebration that we can learn from the Israelites was that they did it together.
“Let US come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Psalm 95:2 (emphasis added)
Let US shout joyfully to Him with psalms.”
Third, the Christmas tree can be decorated with ornaments and symbols that remind us of the story of the birth of Christ or with things that glorify Jesus and remind us of all He has done for us. For years my mom’s tree topper has been this beautiful, glass cross. As a kid when she first bought the cross tree topper I was confused because other people put a star or angel on top of their tree! But, for my mom, the cross is a reminder for us at Christmas time of WHY Jesus came. He didn’t just come as a baby to live with us but to eventually die for us and save us. This year, I made clay ornaments for my tree and stamped them with words that remind me of Jesus. Words like joy, hope, love, peace, king, light, gift, grace, Christ, etc. We decorated our tree this year with these ornaments – these words describing Jesus. Do you have any ornaments on your tree that remind you of the awesome God we are celebrating this season? If not, I encourage you to either buy some or make some for yourself.
OR, my friend Steph and I have created a few of these ornaments to sell and would love to send them your way. Check out our Etsy shop here: everydayjoystore.etsy.com. If you’re in Lethbridge, send me a message and they are available for pick up as well!
Look for more opportunities with those around you to talk about Jesus. When we set up our tree together and when our ornaments remind us of the nativity story or of how wonderful God is, we can share those Truths with one another as we decorate the tree.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
Deuteronomy 6:5-9
CELEBRATING WITH THE CHRISTMAS TREE
Let’s celebrate! If you haven’t yet put up your tree this year, I would encourage you to bookmark this blog for when you decide to do so. I hope and pray that as you and your family take the time to make some delicious tree trimming eggnog, as you pull your dusty, boxed up decorations from the attic and as you gather around your living room to pull out your tree that you would take time to thank God and then invite Jesus in to celebrate with you. After all, it is His birthday party! Have some fun decorating your house to celebrate your King.
Leader: O Immanuel, we would find in our traditions these reminders of the wonders of your love: First, let this fragrant tree, cut down and then raised beneath our roof, remind us how once upon a time, the High King of Heaven consented to be cut off from the glories that were his birthright, and descended instead to dwell with us in a broken world, beset by harm and evil.
People: Praise to you, Immanuel!
Leader: Next, let the hard wood of the trunk and the outstretched branches remind us how that same Heavenly King who had entered our world on that distant night, would soon act to redeem His creation and His people in it, though it would require the stretching out of His arms upon a cross of wood – His death for our life.
People: Praise to you, Immanuel!
Leader: Then, let these evergreen boughs be a reminder of his mighty triumph over death and hell, of his resurrection unto a life eternal which will never fade – an eternal life which He has also secured for us. There is no greater gift!
People: Praise to you, Immanuel!
Leader: Finally, as we drape the branches of this Christmas tree in glittering finery and sparkling lights, let us imagine Christ our King, seated upon His heavenly throne, arrayed in the royal raiments of His glory. And when at last we set the star atop the tree, let us imagine Christ crowned in His splendor, and all creatures in heaven and on earth bowing before Him, crying ‘Holy! Holy! Holy!’
People: Glory to you, Immanuel! Worthy are you, O Lamb of God, to receive all glory, honor, and praise! Glory to you, Lord Christ!
A Liturgy For Setting Up A Christmas Tree By: Douglass Mckelvey
CLASSIC TRIM THE TREE EGGNOG RECIPE
You can check out her blog here.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups Almond Milk
- 2 cups Canned Coconut Milk
- 4 TBSP Maple Syrup
- 1.5 TBSP Vanilla Extract
- 6 organic eggs, separated
- Nutmeg, Cinnamon to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Put egg whites into a mixing bowl. Beat on high for 2-3 minutes or until the egg whites are firm. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl whisk the egg yolks, vanilla and the maple syrup together. Mixture should be creamy and thick.
- Slowly add the almond milk and then the coconut while whisking.
- Gently fold in the egg whites with spatula. Add nutmeg and cinnamon to taste. After mixed, whisk until smooth.
Pour into jars and refrigerate overnight. Always keep eggnog refrigerated. Shake well before serving.
The eggs are raw in this recipe – be aware of the risks of consuming raw eggs.
Written by: Justine Joy
Refined Joy 
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