Christmas in Germany: The Christmas Tree


Figure 1.--Here we see two German boys in 1906 with their Christmas loot. Notice the wonderful Christmas tree. The large tree and wonderful tree suggest that the children were part of an affluent family. What I am unsure about is the bed in the background. I thought that the Christmas tree was usually polasced in the parlor. Note the children are still in their nightshirts.

The custom of trimming and lighting a Christmas tree had its origin in pre-Christian Germany, the tree symbolizing the Garden of Eden. It was called the "Paradise Baum," or tree of Paradise. Gradually, the custom of decorating the tree with cookies, fruit and eventually candles evolved. I am not sure how the Paradise Tree evolved into a Christmas tree. One Germany reader indicates that the Christmas tree is a relatively recent development appearing only in the 16th century. It was first mentioned in 1539 at Strassburg in Alsace. Possibly it was erected in a public place, as it became common to place them at home only in the second half of the 19th century. Other countries soon adapted the custom. Charles Dickens called it "The Pretty German Toy." Although the crib is often found in German homes, the tree is the center of attention. Every Christian German home must have one. Usually it is the mother who decorates the tree and no one is allowed in until it is finished.

Terminology

The German world for Christmas tree is Tannenbaum. This is a German word familiar to many Americans because of the Christmas carol "Old Christmas Tree" which is sometimes heard in German. Baum of course means tree. I'm not sure what Tannen means.

Pre-Christian Origins

The custom of trimming and lighting a Christmas tree had its origin in pre-Christian Germany, the tree symbolizing the Garden of Eden. It was called the "Paradise Baum," or tree of Paradise. Gradually, the custom of decorating the tree with cookies, fruit and eventually candles evolved. I am not sure how the Paradise Tree evolved into a Christmas tree.

Chronology

One Germany reader indicates that the Christmas tree is a relatively recent development appearing only in the 16th century. It was first mentioned in 1539 at Strassburg in Alsace. Possibly it was erected in a public place, as it became common to place them at home only in the second half of the 19th century. We note that in the 20th century that virtually all German families had Christmas trees. The size and decoraion of the tree varied from country to country, depending on the family circumstance.

Social Class

We note many images of German family Christmas trees. Virtually all families had them, iregardless of religious sentiment. We note trees in both NAZI and Socialist famlies as well as religious Protestnt and Catholic fmilies. As far as we can tell even working-class families with strong Soicilist traditins had Christmas trees. It probably is the middle-class that is most associated with the Christmas tree. Of course the major factor here was the nostaglia of the adults and the expectations of the children. The photographic record shows a wide range of trees from mssive trees to scrawny trees with just a few branches, This of course depended on the economic circumstances of the family. Mlst families cpuld not aford a huge fir, but virtyaly any fmily could afford at least a few branches. And it appears to have been a German tradition to photograph the children with their Christmas loot under the tree, This has ledt us a wonderful photgraphic record of German Chritmases.

Lighting the Tree

Tradition has it that Martin Luther especially liked to decorate the Christmas tree with lighted candels. I'm not sure that this is a historical fact. It did become a Christmas tradition to light the tree with candles. This meant though that lighting a tree was a very special occassion and could only be done for a relatively brief time. Electric Christmas tree lights appeared during the 1930s, but were not very common unyil well after the War. A German reader tells us, "There was electric Christmas tree illumination in the late-30s (when I was about 4 years old). We had at home a 16-bulb illumination string. The bulbs had the form of glass candles. A one-wire connection between the bulbs created a problem. If one of them burned out, it was difficult to find which one, because all the bulbs went dark. Illumination started Chritmas Eve. We lit the lights for an hour or so, and it was re-illuminated for a short time only if we got visitors or the whole family was sitting around the tree in the evening. In my family now we use real wax candles. My wife definitely does not like the electric illumination. In Germany now it is not legally forbidden to use wax candles even if there are childrens in the family. Most German families now have now electric illumination for their trees. Some people put eltric lights outside the home. They switch the lights on at the beginning of December and leave them on untill mid-January, day and night continously." While electric lights were something new and very special in the 1930s, they did not sirvive the War when both illumination and usage of electricity was discouraged. Electrical generation was affected by the Allied bombing. And after the War, elelectrical illumination was not common in the difficult economic conditions. I'm not sure what happened in East Germany. In West Germany the Economic Miracle brought properity and electric tree rights. For many Germans, however, there is still something very special about candles.

Spread Abroad

Other countries soon adapted the custom. Here Prince Albert, a German prince who married Queen Victoria, played a major role in breinging the Christmas tree to Britain. Charles Dickens called it "The Pretty German Toy." Although the crib is often found in German homes, the tree is the center of attention. Every Christian German home must have one. Usually it is the mother who decorates the tree and no one is allowed in until it is finished.

German Family Christmas

Christmas is of course a family holiday, the most important family holiday of the year. A HBC reader has provided us an interesting ccount of his Christmas memmories focusing on the family Christmas tree.






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Created: 4:27 PM 12/27/2004
Last updated: 8:23 AM 2/28/2008