There are many iconic symbols of the Christmas season, including Santa, lights, and stars, but one that may be more intriguing is the Christmas Tree.
The tradition of decorating an evergreen actually dates back to ancient Egypt and Rome, before the advent of Christianity. People would use the trees to decorate their homes in the wintertime, and believed the trees would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.
Evergreen trees were first used to celebrate Christmas in Germany in the 16th century, and it is believed that Protestant reformer Martian Luther was the first to add lighted candles to the tree.
The tradition made it’s what to the US as early as 1747, but many Americans found it to be an odd tradition. The practice stuck around, and by the 1890’s more and more people began partaking.
Now the lighted up evergreen tree is so synonymous with the holiday, that it’s hard to believe there was a time when it was considered odd, and most people didn’t want to do it.
