In Germany one Christmas Eve, St. Boniface, known as the apostle of Germany because of his having converted the pagans there, felled an oak tree that apparently was sacred to the non-believers. In it's stead, he offered the citizens a fir-tree as a symbol of the Christian faith. By the 16th century, fir trees, were bedecked with apples, sweets and paper roses, and were in many German homes at Christmas time.
This practice spread to other lands and eventually reached our shores. Even the practice of decorating our houses with Christmas wreaths dates back to pagan times when wreaths were offered as homage to woodland spirits and gods, as a symbol of their everlasting life. The wreaths have berries placed among shining leaves symbolizing male sexuality. The ivy symbolized the female. Both leaves and berries were intertwined, and promised long lives and fertility. Later, the church promoted the holly as a symbol of good luck, and its sharp leaves as Christ's crown of thorns. The red berries symbolized Christ blood.
BE aware, homes and churches recreated the scene of the Nativity as early in 1224 by St. Francis of Assisi.
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