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The Story of St. Nicholas
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Around 300 A.D., a man named Nicholas became the
bishop of Myra, a small seaside town on the western coast
of Turkey. Bishop Nicholas used his enormous wealth to
help the needy people of his parish. He disguised himself
and secretly visited the homes of the most needy,
delivering food, clothing, and money. The people had no
idea where the gifts came from. They simply thought that
the Lord had answered their prayers.
The most famous story of Nicholas's generosity is about
a poor family who could not afford a dowry for their three
daughters. In those days, if a woman did not have a dowry
to offer at the time of marriage, she would not be married.
Nicholas secretly tossed bags of gold into the poor family's
home for each daughter's dowr. Although his identity was
discovered by the father of the house, Nicholas made him
promise that he would never reveal the secret.
Upon his death, the people of Myra picked up where
Nicholas left off. If someone received an anonymous gift
he would say, "Saint Nicholas must have brought it!"
Italian sailors, who frequently visited Myra, took the
story and teachings of Saint Nicholas to Italy. Before long
the practice of secret gift giving had spread. Wherever the
story of Nicholas was told, generosity filled the hearts of
the listeners.
When the story reached Germany, the saint's name was
translated to Sankt Nikolaus. From Germany, the story was
carried to Holland. In the Dutch language, his name
bacame Sinter Klaus. Settlers then brought the tradition to
the New World in the early 1600's. In English, Sinter Klaus
became Santa Claus.
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Origin of Christmas
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CHRISTMAS, in the Christian church, annual festival, held on
December 25, to celebrate the Nativity, or birth of Christ. The origin of the festival is unknown. Scholars believe that it is
derived in part from rites held by pre-Christian Germanic and
Celtic peoples to celebrate the winter solstice. Christmas
festivals, generally observed by Christians since the 4th
century, incorporate pagan customs, such as the use of holly,
mistletoe, Yule logs, and wassail bowls.
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The Origin and Meaning of the Christmas Tree
By Pastor Richard P. Bucher
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What was the origin of the Christmas tree? As much as I would
like to embrace as fact the oft- quoted story that Martin
Luther was the first to set up a Christmas tree (or at least a
lighted one), I cannot -- for the story is pure legend. Many
years of intensive Luther scholarship has turned up nothing to support it. There is scholarly consensus, however, that the
Christmas tree originated in Germany. Indeed, the earliest
record of an evergreen tree being used and decorated (but
without lights) for Christmas is 1521 in the German region of
Alsace. Another useful description has been found among the
notes of an unknown resident of Strasbourg in 1605, who writes
that "At Christmas they set up fir trees in the parlors at
Strasburg and hang thereon roses cut of many- coloured paper,
apples, wafers, gold-foil, sweets . . ." Some fifty years later (about 1650) the great Lutheran theologian Johann Dannhauer
wrote in his The Milk of the Catechism that "the Christmas or
fir tree, which people set up in their houses, hang with dolls
and sweets, and afterwards shake and deflower. . . Whence comes this custom I know not; it is child's play . . . Far better
were it to point the children to the spiritual cedar-tree,
Jesus Christ."
Several conclusions can be gleaned from these quotations. First we are told some of the items with which the first Christmas
trees were decorated: paper roses, apples, Communion wafers,
gold, foil, sweets, and dolls. Second, even in 1650 a noted
scholar like Dannhauer did not know the origin of Christmas
trees. Third, not all Christians approved of these trees, even
in the beginning. Fourth, the first Christmas trees, as far as
we know, did not have lights. According to Weiser, the first
mention of lights (candles) on a Christmas tree is in the
seventeenth century.
From the mid-seventeenth century on the Christmas tree slowly
grew in popularity and use. However, it was not until the
beginning of the 19th century that the use of the Christmas
tree grew into the general German custom that it is today. Also at this time it spread to the Slavic people of eastern Europe.
The Christmas tree was probably first used in America about
1700 when the first wave of German immigration settled in
western Pennsylvania. During the War of Independence, Hessian
soldiers supposedly set up Christmas trees. It is widely held
that the Christmas tree was first introduced into France in
1837 when Princess Helen of Mecklenburg brought it to Paris
after her marriage to the Duke of Orléans. The Christmas tree
made its royal debut in England when Prince Albert of Saxony,
the husband of Queen Victoria, set up a tree in Windsor Castle
in 1841. After this it grew in popularity, though in 1850
Charles Dickens was still referring to it as a "new German
toy."
But from where did Christians get the idea of the Christmas
tree? Was it a new idea or was there a historical custom upon
which they were building?
Karas has amply demonstrated that evergreens have been a symbol of rebirth from ancient times. Bringing greenery into one's
home, often at the time of the winter solstice, symbolized life in the midst of death in many cultures. The Romans decked their homes with evergreens and other greenery during the Kalends of
January. Living trees were also brought into homes during the
old German feast of Yule, which originally was a two-month
feast beginning in November. The Yule tree was planted in a tub and brought into the home. However, the evidence just does not
exist which shows that Christians first used trees at Christma
as a symbol of rebirth, nor that the Christmas tree was a
direct descendent of the Yule tree. On the contrary, the
evidence that we have points in another direction. The
Christmas tree appears to be a descendent of the Paradise tree
and the Christmas light of the late Middle Ages.
From the eleventh century, religious plays called "mystery
plays" became quite popular throughout Europe. These plays were performed outdoors and in churches. One of the most prevalent
of these plays was the "Paradise play." The play depicted the
story of the creation of Adam and Eve, their sin, and their
banishment from Paradise. The play would end with the promise
of the coming Savior and His Incarnation (cf. Gen. 3:15). The
Paradise play was simple by today's standards. The only prop
on stage was the "Paradise tree," a fir tree adorned with
apples. From this tree, at the appropriate time in the play,
Eve would take the fruit, eat it, and give it to Adam.
Because of abuses that crept into the mystery plays (i.e.,
immoral behavior), the Church forbade these plays during the
fifteenth century. The people had grown so accustomed to the
Paradise tree, however, that they began putting their own
Paradise tree up in their homes on Dec. 24. They did so on
Dec. 24 because this was the feast day of Adam and Eve (at
least in the Eastern Church). The Paradise tree, as it had
in the Paradise plays, symbolized both a tree of sin and a
tree of life. For this reason, the people would decorate
these trees with apples (representing the fruit of sin) and
homemade wafers (like communion wafers which represented the
fruit of life). Later, candy and sweets were added.
Another custom was to be found in the homes of Christians on
Dec. 24 since the late Middle Ages. A large candle called
the "Christmas light," symbolizing Christ who is the light
of the world, was lit on Christmas Eve. In western Germany,
many smaller candles were set upon a wooden pyramid and lit.
Besides the candles, other objects such as glass balls,
tinsel, and the "star of Bethlehem" were placed on its top.
Though we cannot be certain, it seems highly likely that the
first Christmas trees that appeared in Germany in the early
sixteenth century were descendants of both of these customs:
the Paradise tree and the Christmas pyramids and lights. The
Paradise tree became our Christmas tree. Decorations that had
been placed on the pyramids were transferred to the Christmas
tree.
For many Christians the Christmas tree still retains the
symbolism of the Paradise tree. The tree reminds us of the
tree in Eden by which Adam and Eve were overcome and which
thrust them into sin. But more importantly, the tree reminds
us of the tree by which our sin was overcome, namely the tree
upon which Christ Jesus was crucified. Is it a stretch to
refer to the cross as a tree? Hardly, for this is the language
of the New Testament itself! For example, Paul writes in
Galatians 3:13, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law
by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is
everyone who is hung on a tree" (quoting Deut. 21:23). And
Peter writes, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the
tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;
by his wounds you have been healed." Therefore, the Christmas
tree is a wonderful symbol and reminder of our salvation and
forgiveness through Jesus Christ!
