The Christmas Tree

1. The Christmas Tree –22nd December 2016
“Sowhether youeat or drink or whatever you do,do it all for the gloryof God.” (1Corinthians10:31).
Each year approachingChristmas,we come acrossquestionsfromChristianswhowanttoknow: Should
we have a Christmas tree?Doesthe ChristmasTree have itsorigininancientpaganrituals?"
The moderncustomof a Christmastree doesnotcome fromany formof paganism. Infact he first
Christmastree wasdecoratedbyProtestantChristiansin16th-centuryGermany.OurmodernChristmas
tree evolvedfromthese earlyGermantraditions,andthe custommostlikelycame tothe UnitedStates
withHessiantroopsduringthe AmericanRevolution,orwithGermanimmigrants.
There isnothinginthe Bible thateithercommandsorprohibitsChristmastrees.Ithasbeenfalsely
claimedbysome that as statedin Jeremiah10 whichprohibitsthe cuttingdownanddecoratingof trees
inthe same manneras we do at Christmas. “Forthe practicesof the peoplesare worthless; they cut a
tree out of the forest, anda craftsmanshapes it withhis chisel. 4
They adorn it withsilver andgold;
they fasten it withhammer and nailssoit will not totter.” (Jeremiah 10:3-4). Evena cursory readingof
the textmakesitclear that the passage isone in whichJeremiahsetsforththe prohibitionagainstidols
made of wood,platedwithsilverandgold,andworshipped. The Christmastree isNotworshipedbyany
and importantlyitisdecoratedwithtinselpaper…notgoldandsilver! Sounless someone bowsdown
before ourChristmastree, adorneditwiththe solidGoldandsilverthatone can getholdof, carve itinto
an idol of a tree,and pray to it,these passagescannotbe appliedtoChristmastrees.
There isno spiritual significancetohavingornot havinga Christmastree. NoChristianworshipsthe
Christmastree.Itissimplysomethingthataddstothe ‘goodfeeling’we getduringthisperiodof times
of the year. Whateverchoice we make,the motive behindabeliever’sdecisionaboutthis,asinall
mattersof conscience,mustbe toplease the Lord. Romans14:5-6a setsoutthe principle inapassage
aboutliberty:“Onemanconsidersone day more sacred than another; anotherman considersevery
day alike.Each one shouldbe fullyconvincedin hisown mind.He whoregards one day as special,does
so to the Lord.”
The Lord isgrievedwhenChristianslookdownuponone anotherforeithercelebratingornot
celebratingChristmasinaparticularway.Thisisspiritual pride.Whenwe feel thatsomehow we have
achievedahigherplainof spiritualitybydoingornotdoingsomethingaboutwhichthe Bible issilent,
the tendencyisto misuse ourfreedominChrist,create divisionswithinHisbody,andtherebydishonor
the Lord. Thisis a humantendencythatChristiansneedtocarefullyavoid. AsChristians,we mustbearin
mindthat whateverwedo,do it all forthe glory of God...and therefore noChristianwill worshipatree
inthe 21st
Century.
Long before the adventof Christianity,plantsandtreesthatremainedgreenall yearhada special
meaningforpeople inthe winter.Justaspeople today decorate theirhomesduringthe Christmas
seasonwithpine,spruce,andfirtrees, ancientpeopleshungevergreenboughsovertheirdoorsand
windows.Germanyiscreditedwithstartingthe Christmastree traditionaswe now know itin the 16th
centurywhendevoutChristiansbroughtdecoratedtreesintotheirhomes.Some builtChristmas
pyramidsof woodand decoratedthemwithevergreensandcandlesif woodwasscarce.It isa widely
heldbelief thatMartinLuther,the 16th-centuryProtestantreformer,firstaddedlightedcandlestoa

2. tree. Walkingtowardhishome one winterevening,composingasermon,he wasawedby the brilliance
of starstwinklingamidstevergreens.Torecapture the scene forhisfamily,he erectedatree inthe main
room and addedlightedcandles toaddto the atmosphere.
It isnot surprisingthat,like manyotherfestive Christmascustoms,the Christmastree wasadoptedso
late indifferentcountries.Tothe NewEnglandPuritans,Christmaswas considered sacred. Governor
WilliamBradford, whowasagainstChristmastraditions wrote thathe triedhardtostamp out“pagan
mockery”of the observance,penalizinganyfrivolity.The influential OliverCromwell evenpreached
against“the heathentraditions”of Christmascarols,decoratedtrees,and evenjoyful expressionthat
desecrated“thatsacredevent of Christmas.”Thatsternsolemnitycontinueduntil the 19thcentury.It is
afterthisperiodthatwe can observe the arrival of the Christmastree. Aboutthisperiod Christmas
ornamentswere arrivingfromGermany withChristmastree popularity beingonthe rise inChristian
townships aroundthe Christianhomes.
The early20th centurysaw Christianhomes decoratingtheirtreesmainlywithhomemadeornaments,
while the German-Americansectcontinuedtouse apples,nuts,andmarzipancookies.Popcornjoinedin
afterbeingdyedbrightcolorsandinterlacedwithberriesandnuts thataddedcolor.The adventof
electricitybroughtaboutChristmaslights,makingitpossibleforChristmastreestoglow fordayson end.
Withthis,Christmastreesbegantoappearin townsquares duringChristmas acrossthe countryand
havinga Christmastree inthe home became a tradition.
As the ChristmasSeasonapproaches,questionslikethissometimesarise.Like everythinginlife,itis
importantto approachthese issueswithbiblical discernment. Inthiscase,we see nothingwrongwith
the traditional Christmas tree.However,somehave taughtthatit'swrong foranyone to have a
Christmastree intheirhome.Butare theirreasonsvalid?We don'tthinkso.Some maysay that havinga
Christmastree is‘idol’worship.YesIdol worshipwasaclearviolationof the TenCommandments. But
there isno worshipinanyway.It is simplyaBigChristmasornament! There isno connectionbetween
the worshipof idolsandthe use of Christmastrees.We shouldnotbe anxiousaboutbaselessarguments
againstChristmasdecorations.Rather,we shouldbe focusedonthe Christof Christmasandgivingall
diligence torememberingthe real reasonforthe season..We get an ideaonwhat we shouldbe as
Christians thisfestive season whenwe learnfrom1Corinthians10:31, “Sowhether youeat or drinkor
whatever you do, doit all for the gloryof God.”