The Origins of Decking the Hall

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"Deck the halls" we sing and deck them we do, but have you ever wondered how all that decking started? Evergreen branches have been used as decorations in homes near the winter solstice since Roman times. December 21 was the day to commemorate the death of the sun god and his resurrection every year. Romans gave evergreen boughs to each other as gifts, the green branches symbolizing new life. Early Christians wisely used that pagan holiday as a teaching object lesson about Christ, the true son of God who gives everlasting life. In order to provoke questions and have an opportunity to explain their faith, they twisted the branches into the sign of eternity, a circle, and thus we have the wreath.

In 601 AD Pope Gregory declared that it was appropriate to decorate the inside of churches with greenery, and so what many churches call "the hanging of the greens" began. During the Middle Ages, there was a popular debate about which evergreens were more appropriate to use, and the carol The Holly and the Ivy pays tribute to that dilemma. Proponents of the holly noted its bright red berries as symbolic of Christ's blood, its verdent green color was everylasting life, and its bitter thorns his agony on the cross. From this, a tradition grew that perhaps the crown of thorns had actually been made out of holly; hence the carol's language, "the holly wears the crown." Others proposed that ivy was the better choice for Christmas decorations, referring to its clinging nature, which reminded of Christ's words, "I am the vine and you are the branches." As the famous carol indicates, the holly eventually won out and now it is holly not ivy that most of us use in our Christmas decorations.

As for Christmas trees, the origins of these are shrouded in mystery. The ancient druids of England certainly believed that spirits lived in trees and it is thought that they used trees in some way in their religious services. There is a legend that a Christian saint trying to correct the superstitious beliefs of ancient Brits was able to convince them that trees did not have magical powers and were not inhabited by gods but could be used to honor the true God.

The first real record we have of the use of trees in the manner of a Christmas tree, however, comes from Germany. The story is told that the great Protestant reformer Martin Luther was walking through the forest one evening during Christmas time when he looked up and saw the stars shining through the branches of the trees. It was an awe-inspiring and beautiful sight and he wished to recreate it for his family so he cut down the tree, brought it into his home, and decorated it with candles. From then on, in Germany, candles and fruits were positioned on the tree. Some people referred to it as the Tree of Life from the Garden of Eden, the tree that was to give immortality and which Christ's birth and sacrifice again made accessible to man. This story is believable in that Martin Luther had a hand in starting or popularizing several Christmas traditions including the advent wreath and widespread display of the creche or nativity scene. Christmas trees were strictly a German tradition until 1840 when the young and handsome German prince Albert married the young and popular Queen Victoria of England and brought the Christmas tree tradition into vogue.

During the 19th century, as trees became popular in England and America, the preferred version was a tabletop tree, although there were records of trees hung and decorated upside down from the ceilings like chandeliers. During the last part of the 19th century, glass ornaments imported from Germany became readily available in the United States because of annual buying trips insisted upon by the founder of W.W. Woolworth stores and tinsel was created to replicate icicles. By the 20th century, electric lights had largely replaced the candles which were dangerous and had set many a tree on fire.

Another green used often at Christmas is mistletoe. Since ancient times, Druid priests used it for healing and during the Middle Ages, carrying it was seen to be a protective talisman. Waving it in front of you meant you were requesting a safe conversation and meant no harm to a stranger. It wasn't until the Victorian era that kissing under this plant, which had always had good connotations, began. When a kiss occured under the mistletoe, a berry had to be plucked, and when all the berries were gone, the kissing was over.

So, deck your halls and remember that you join with almost 2,000 years of people in doing so!

by J. Lenora Bresler from Woman To Woman