Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Milad ağacı" in Azerbaijani language version.
A chronicle from Stasbourg, written in 1604 and widely seen as the first account of a Christmas tree in German-speaking lands, records that Protestant artisans brought fir trees into their homes in the holiday season and decorated them with "roses made of colored paper, apples, wafers, tinsel, sweetmeats, etc." ... The Christmas tree spread out in German society from the top down, so to speak. It moved from elite households to broader social strata, from urban to rural areas, from the Protestant north to the Catholic south, and from Prussia to other German states.
German Lutherans brought the decorated Christmas tree with them; the Moravians put lighted candles on those trees.
The eight-pointed star became a popular manufactured Christmas ornament around the 1840s and many people place a star on the top of their Christmas tree to represent the Star of Bethlehem.
Next to the Nativity scene, the most popular Christmas tradition is to have a Christmas tree in the home. This custom is not the same as bringing a Yule tree or evergreens into the home, originally popular during the month of the winter solstice in Germany.
The modern Christmas tree [...] originated in western Germany. The main prop of a popular medieval play about Adam and Eve was a fir tree hung with apples (paradise tree) representing the Garden of Eden. The Germans set up a paradise tree in their homes on 24 December, the religious feast day of Adam and Eve. They hung round white discs on it (symbolizing the host, the Christian sign of Christ's body in the Eucharist); in a later tradition, the wafers were replaced by cookies of various shapes. Candles, too, were often added as the symbol of Christ. In the same room, during the Christmas season, was the Christmas pyramid, a triangular construction of wood, with shelves to hold Christmas figurines, decorated with evergreens, candles, and a star. By the 16th century, the Christmas pyramid and paradise tree had merged, becoming the Christmas tree.
have a lot of historical examples of various ancient religious communities decorating trees (including, but not limited to, the Book of Jeremiah) but it's a real reach to connect any of it to modern Christmas trees as we think of them. Scholars call this pareidolia – where we connect new data with something we already know about to make sense of it. We read about ancient people decorating trees, and we immediately think "like a Christmas tree," whether or not there's any actual connection. And, in this case, there's not.
Next to the Nativity scene, the most popular Christmas tradition is to have a Christmas tree in the home. This custom is not the same as bringing a Yule tree or evergreens into the home, originally popular during the month of the winter solstice in Germany.
The modern Christmas tree [...] originated in western Germany. The main prop of a popular medieval play about Adam and Eve was a fir tree hung with apples (paradise tree) representing the Garden of Eden. The Germans set up a paradise tree in their homes on 24 December, the religious feast day of Adam and Eve. They hung round white discs on it (symbolizing the host, the Christian sign of Christ's body in the Eucharist); in a later tradition, the wafers were replaced by cookies of various shapes. Candles, too, were often added as the symbol of Christ. In the same room, during the Christmas season, was the Christmas pyramid, a triangular construction of wood, with shelves to hold Christmas figurines, decorated with evergreens, candles, and a star. By the 16th century, the Christmas pyramid and paradise tree had merged, becoming the Christmas tree.
have a lot of historical examples of various ancient religious communities decorating trees (including, but not limited to, the Book of Jeremiah) but it's a real reach to connect any of it to modern Christmas trees as we think of them. Scholars call this pareidolia – where we connect new data with something we already know about to make sense of it. We read about ancient people decorating trees, and we immediately think "like a Christmas tree," whether or not there's any actual connection. And, in this case, there's not.
