Western Christians often wince when buying their Christmas trees. No, these beautiful trees did not decorate the manger scene at Christ’s birth. Really, there is no connection between an evergreen and the Biblical account of Christmas. Yet, every year, we lug a prickly pine into our living room. We tolerate the cascade of pine needles from the dead conifer to our floor. We smile as we snuggle up on the sofa in the twinkle of our own Christmas tree. In the back of our minds, we know it’s just a cultural tradition. However, we love it, and the warm feelings it brings.
But what if our lovely tradition is rooted in paganism? Shouldn’t we, as Christians, care? What does that pretty tree truly signify?
Christmas Trees in Ancient Egypt?
Legend has it that Christmas trees could be found in ancient Egypt, long before Christ’s birth. Some claim that a mural on the wall in the tomb of Roy in Luxor, Egypt depicts an Egyptian standing before what appears to be a decorated evergreen tree. Whether or not that is true, Egyptians are reported to have used pine boughs and wreaths to signify the victory of life over death. Evergreen trees represented everlasting life.
That makes Christmas trees pagan, right? The logic goes like this. Ra worshipers decorated evergreen trees before Christians did. Therefore, evergreen trees are pagan.
How do we know that this connection between an evergreen tree and the concept of eternality originated with the Egyptians? Could this idea have been passed down from their ancestors? If it did, we would expect to see the idea in other ancient societies—and we do.
Christmas Trees in Viking Traditions?
In old Norse legends of the Celts and Vikings, evergreen boughs also signified eternal life. It is said that Druids used evergreens to decorate their temples in the winter. The green pine needles reminded them that the death of winter would end and that life would return in the spring. Once again, the motif linking evergreens and the eternal emerges in another culture.
Could the Legends of Christmas Trees Have a Common Origin?
What is the origin of the idea of eternality? How did it come to be associated with a tree? Is there a common source for these traditions?
The idea of eternal existence goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. God gave humankind this concept. He illustrated this truth with a tree—the tree of life. Genesis 3:22-23 reports: “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden.” Connecting eternal life with the picture of a tree originated with God.[1]
Eternal life is revelation from God. We find this truth recorded in Scripture from the beginning of Genesis. If the ancient Egyptians or Vikings reflected this idea in their traditions, their cultures may well be transmitting fragments of truth through the generations from a common ancestry going back to Noah and Adam.
So What about that Pine Tree in Your Living Room?
In the mid-1500’s, Martin Luther hiked through a German pine forest. As he meditated on a sermon he was preparing, Luther marveled at the beauty of God’s creation. He gazed up at the stars twinkling through the deep green boughs of the evergreens around him. Maybe his Germanic heritage mixed with Biblical themes of light and life in his thinking. However, as the legend has it, Luther soon brought a small pine into his house. He strapped tiny candles to the branches of his little tree, recreating in miniature the glorious scene he had experienced outdoors. Thus, they say, began the Christian tradition of indoor, lighted Christmas trees.
So, what does a Christmas tree signify? At the very least, the Christmas tree points us to God’s creation of trees, light, and beauty. Beyond that, the evergreen reminds us of the truth of eternal life. That life only comes through the baby born on Christmas morning.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
[1] The Book of Revelation also describes the tree of life as being able to bear fruit in every season. Could the tree of life be an evergreen? Maybe the fruits are different kinds of berries? When we get to heaven might we find a Christmas tree beside the river of life, decorated with different fruits and reflecting the Light from God? Well, maybe not, since Revelation 22:2 mentions leaves, not needles. Yet, the tree of life is green all year, producing fruit in every month. This little rabbit trail is a fun bit of conjecture, but I am not seriously suggesting that there may be Christmas trees in heaven!
Photo Credit: M. Walsh on unsplash
