The First Christmas Tree

Yes, I know we witches and ye pagans do deeply enjoy the shock we instill on the faces of Christians when we proudly announce that their Christmas Tree is in fact the Yule Tree of Yore. It is not a tradition by the Church to honor the birth of Jesus Christ (who for the record was definitely not actually born on December 25th), but a decoration of the evergreen to honor the coming of light on the winter solstice. The 12 days of Christmas were actually the 12 nights of Yule for the Norse.

The First Christmas Tree

So when you do research about the origins of the Christmas Tree you’ll often find the results tell you that Christmas Trees are from the 15th century and not this ancient practice that persisted for centuries before Christianity was even a thought. However the digital witch community posts videos as they decorate their trees and declare Christians’ decision to do so is a form of practicing paganism. So who is right? Where do we find the truth?

The use of evergreens to celebrate the solstice is dated back to the ancient celts and Germanic tribes . The burning of the Yule Log was done with the anointing of the log with ale/whiskey combined with the oils of evergreens. The log was then thrown into the fire to burn. The Nordic groups did so in honor of the Sun god. This same honoring was what led to the adjourning of the evergreens with lights. The celts burned the logs after carving the symbol of the mother goddess of dark Christmas times often described as a hag or crone. The burning of the log with this carving symbolized the eventual end of the cold and welcoming of the spring.

Lore of the Yule Tree is usually tied to Celtic druids or Norse traditions. What the tree adorned depended on the spiritual beliefs of the peoples who decorated it. Pine cones, popcorns, pictures, and gifts are all traditions that can be traced to “pagan” history.

What do we know for sure?

While historical records may make it difficult to place an exact date on the swap from using pieces of evergreens to the use of a full tree we do know for sure that the monotheistic holiday was in fact polytheistic in origin. For more on Yule as a whole read here: http://wix.to/yNHOHqh?ref=2_cl.