Page 20 2024 Home For The Holidays Lincoln Daily News Christmas is a religious holiday. Specifi cally, it is a Christian holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus. This is why many church services are held, Nativity scenes are set up, and everyone covers an evergreen tree in colorful plastic and glass baubles with some sort of larger decoration on top. One of these things is not like the other. If you have ever wondered where the tradition of ornaments and tree toppers comes from, you’re in good company. The traditions of giving deeper meaning and symbolism to evergreens goes back farther than ornaments, tree toppers, or even Jesus. According to History.com, early humans assigned deeper meaning to trees that remained green year-round. Seeing as how many early people believed that the sun was a god, when the winter solstice came around, the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere, they believed this was a sign that their god was becoming ill. They would celebrate the solstice, as they knew their god would begin to recover and become strong again. Hanging evergreen boughs reminded them of months when the sun would stay out longer, like summer months. The Ancient Egyptians, who worshiped a sun god named Rah, had a similar belief, seeing green palms and papyrus reeds as a symbol of life over death. The early Romans celebrated the solstice for their god Saturn, decorating their homes with evergreen boughs as well. It is Germany, however, that is commonly credited with establishing the more modern Christmas tree. History.com states that some sources cite Christians bringing evergreen trees in their homes as early as the 16th century. The National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) says this source is a record from Alsace, France, which was actually German territory at the time. According to the NCTA, trees were being sold in a marketplace to be taken home and set up without decorations. the history of christmas ornaments and tree toppers Continued --
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