Every year we decorate our homes a certain way but do we know why? The history or these decorations are explored.
Now that Thanksgiving is over people are pulling out their Holiday decorations in preparation for the festivities of the coming month. However, are we aware of the origins of these items and why we pull heavy boxes out from remote regions of storage every year only to put them back in those hard to reach places a few weeks later?
When one thinks of Christmas the first thought is with that of the Christmas tree. The tradition of decorating an Evergreen fir tree inside the home is believed to have begun in Germany. Traditional decorations included roses, apples and colored paper. The tradition of lighting the tree is believed to have begun with the protestant reformer Martin Luther. According to the story Luther was walking one night and was struck by the beauty of starlight shining through a little fur tree. He then got the idea to tie candles to the branches of the one inside his home. The Christmas tree tradition was brought to the United States in the early 1800’s with German settlers. Likewise Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert popularized the practice in England. Drawings of the royal family were made and promoted imitation by the English people and the American upper class.
The very first known electrically lighted tree belonged to Edward H. Johnson who was the vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company. He had the lights specially made for him with the colors of red, white and blue. He placed them on his tree in his home in December of 1882 and invited newspapers to come and take pictures. It was dismissed as a publicity stunt by most except for a newspaper in Detroit, which published it. In 1895 President Grover Cleveland sponsored the first Christmas tree lit with electric lights in the White House. In 1900 merchants placed lights in their window displays to attract customers but it wasn’t until 1930 that electric lights were adopted as a traditional household practice for the Christmas tree. The tradition of putting them on the outside of ones home didn’t become popular until the 1950’s.
Mistletoe and Holly have been associated with this holiday for centuries. The Druids thought them to be sacred and would collect it to decorate their homes. In Scandinavia mistletoe was believed to be sacred to the goddess of love named Frigga, this is where the tradition of kissing under mistletoe is believed to have begun. Poinsettias came into the Christmas holiday in 1828 from the first ambassador of Mexico, Joel Poinsett. He thought the plant resembled the star of Bethlehem.
The tradition of sending Christmas cards was started in Britain in 1843 and in America in 1846. It was during this time that sending mail became much faster with the advent of the railways. The cards were seen as a great way to enjoy the new technology of faster printing presses and railroads.
Though these traditions can seem to be annoying or mechanical in their execution every year, they have a rich historical tradition.
