A Holiday Explainer: Why Do We Even Have Christmas Trees?

Why do we chop down and decorate fir trees? And how did decking the halls with boughs of holly become a thing? Learn the history of your favorite yuletide traditions right here.


By: Nina Malkin

The holidays just wouldn’t be the same without greenery everywhere – the trees, boughs, wreaths, and plants that make our world look Hallmark-movie worthy. But…what’s the backstory? When and why did these traditions start? We did some digging and found that many of these rituals have their roots in ancient times in the most unexpected of ways. Here’s your holiday history lesson.

Christmas Tree

Perhaps the most abiding holiday decoration, the Christmas tree got its start among ancient Druids and Egyptians, who used greenery indoors to celebrate eternal life during the dark days of winter. But to understand the origin of the conifers we buy today, we need to zip ahead to 8th-century Europe, when English Benedictine monk Boniface (later St. Boniface) was a missionary in Germany. It’s said that upon encountering pagans performing a ritual in front of an oak, Boniface intervened by felling the tree. He then pointed to a nearby evergreen tree and encouraged his followers to embrace it in their celebrations of the birth of Jesus.

By the 16th-century, decorated evergreens became a popular way for devout Christians to celebrate the season. A widely-held belief is that Protestant reformer Martin Luther started the tradition of adding lights to the trees. He’s said to have gazed in awe at stars sparkling over an evergreen forest one night and wanted to recreate the effect for his family at home. Nice to know as you untangle those strings of lights.

Holiday Wreaths

Bending branches into a circle for a Christmas wreath takes the concept of eternal life a step further, since the shape represents having no beginning or end.

As charming pieces of door decor, wreaths first appeared in 16th-century Germany for Advent, the weeks leading up to the holiday. But they actually had a practical angle as well, since folks who pruned their Christmas trees didn’t want the cuttings going to waste. Well, we guess they could’ve made mulch, but wreaths have been a sign of welcome ever since.

Mistletoe

Perhaps the most romantic seasonal custom is hanging a sprig of mistletoe: Stand under it and be prepared to accept a kiss.

Norse mythology lays claim to the plant’s smoochy significance. When the god Baldur was slain by an arrow made of mistletoe (courtesy of that trickster Loki), his mother, the goddess Frigg, vowed the plant would never again be used as a weapon. Instead, it would represent love and peace, and anyone who passed the plant would receive a kiss as evidence of its new identity.

By the 1700s, mistletoe began appearing with other evergreens as a symbol of Christmas cheer. Charles Dickens was clearly a fan, referencing the plant in A Christmas Carol and describing couples kissing beneath it in The Pickwick Papers. The plant became so strongly linked with kissing that a superstition developed, saying those who snub an incoming snog will have bad luck. If you tend to believe such things, you may want to watch where you stand this holiday season.

Poinsettia

The poinsettia possesses many layers of religious symbolism, making it a seasonal staple.

Churches embrace the plant as telling Jesus’ life story, with its crimson hue representing the blood of Christ and the five leaves symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem. Indigenous to Mexico and Guatemala, poinsettias entered Christmas lore in the 16th century, via a beloved folktale. The story goes that a poor girl named Pepita picked a bouquet of weeds on her way to visit a nativity scene on Christmas Eve. When she laid the humble plants at the feet of the Baby Jesus, they miraculously burst into bright red flowers, and so became known as "Flores de Noche Buena" or "Flowers of the Holy Night.”

If you choose to brighten up your home at the holidays with poinsettia, just remember to keep pets clear of them; while the leaves aren’t toxic, they can cause irritation if eaten.

Boughs of Holly

Decking the halls with boughs of holly dates back to the Druids, Celts, and Romans, who brought the plant into their homes during wintertime, with the berries holding promise of the coming spring.

Holly’s holy significance relates to its spiky leaves, which connote the crown of thorns, and those brilliant berries signify the blood of Christ. Fun fact about that song currently running through your head: The carol “Deck the Halls” wasn’t a Christmas song at first; it originated in 16th-century Wales as "Nos Galan,” which relates to New Year’s Eve, but in 1862 Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant wrote the English lyrics we know so well, cementing a holiday association.

Then again, doesn’t fa-la-la-la-la seem to be a universal language?

More December Greens

And let’s not overlook the festive plants linked to other December holidays:

  • Bodhi Day, observed to commemorate the Buddha’s enlightenment, is symbolized by the sacred Bodhi Tree, decorated with ornaments representing the Three Jewels (awakening, truth, community)—the cornerstones of the Buddhist path.
  • Pancha Ganapati, a five-day Hindu festival that honors Lord Ganesha, god of new beginnings, is celebrated with bamboo, banana leaves, and pine boughs.
  • The Hanukkah bush—a purely American invention—was first mentioned in an 1879 newspaper column and then touted by 20th-century Jewish comedians Milton Berle and Gertrude Berg. A way for Jewish families to have their own holiday greenery tradition, the bush is traditionally done up in the blue (for divinity) and white (for light) of the tallit prayer shawl.
  • Oddly, neither the Kwanzan cherry tree (a Japanese ornamental) or the Kwanza® raspberry variety have anything to do with Kwanzaa, the cultural celebration of African-American and Pan-African heritage. But floral arrangements in Kwanzaa colors of black (people), red (struggle), and green (hope) are popular among celebrants.

About the Writer

Nina Malkin has written about gardening and home improvement for This Old House, Bob Vila, and Good Housekeeping, among other popular media sites. Her own backyard blooms entirely with plants grown from cuttings and serves as a haven for “fixed” feral felines.