If it means anything to which religious significance can be attached, then yes, because many Christians have attached religious significance to the Christmas tree (e.g., the Tree of Life, both in Eden and on Calvary).

The early Christian Church in the third century Modern-day opposition continues: some condemn the Christmas For many people today, it They were called "President

Austin Cline, a former regional director for the Council for Secular Humanism, writes and lectures extensively about atheism and agnosticism. Behind the fallen tree was a baby trees in December, move them into the home or temple, and decorate them. It really depends on how you define a religious symbol.If by that you mean anything to which any religious significance at all can be attached, then yes, since many Christians have indeed attached religious significance to the Christmas tree (e.g., the Tree of Life, both in Eden and on Calvary).
During the early Middle Ages, Christmas gifts most often took the form of tributes paid to monarchs—although a few rulers used the holiday season as an opportunity to give to the poor or to the church instead (most notably Duke Wenceslas of Bohemia, whose story inspired the popular carol, and William the Conqueror, who chose Christmas 1067 to make a large donation to the pope).Like trees, gifts came "inside" the family around the time of Luther, as the custom of giving gifts to friends and family members developed in Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia.

If Christians could adopt the use of Christmas trees without any biblical or traditional warrant, but instead on the apparent basis of ancient pagan custom, then non-Christians can also adopt them and strip them of Christian However, the reasonableness of this approach all too often seems to be lost on a group that seeks not only … For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. The "tree" cannot violate the separation of church and state, since the "tree" is not a religious symbol. The most popular symbol of Christmas, except perhaps for Like trees, gifts were first a Roman practice—traded during the winter solstice. The earliest appearance of modern Christmas trees can be traced to 16th century Germany when a small evergreen in the Bremen guild was decorated with apples, nuts, paper flowers, and other objects. The earliest legend of the origin of the Christmas tree dates back to 723, involving Saint Boniface as he was evangelizing Germany.

Dramas depicting biblical themes began as part of the church's worship, but by the late Middle Ages, they had become rowdy, imaginative performances dominated by laypeople and taking place in the open air. I was brought up with this,” Rasmussan says while gazing at the giant Christmas tree. It makes good sense, she says, “If you’re in pre-modern Europe, in an agricultural society, you’re not doing much on the farm this time of year, it’s cold and it’s dark and everything is white [with snow]. But by the early Middle Ages, the legend had grown that when Christ was born in the dead of winter, every tree throughout the world miraculously shook off its ice and snow and produced new shoots of green.

Some people in the congregation took issue with that.Every morning, the editorial team at public radio’s international news show The World meets to plan what they'll cover that day.

That doesn’t cause me any distress.”“I don’t think any Biblical scholar today would say that Jesus Christ was born on Dec. 25,” Bretzke says.However, the parallels with Jesus as a sign of hope and light are clear, he says. We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. a cone-bearing tree), like a fir tree, a pine tree, or a spruce tree - with ornaments, lights, and other decor that represent the colors, symbols, and events of this sacred Christian holiday. And that is one reason why the early Catholic Church decided to adopt the winter solstice as the birthday of Jesus many centuries ago.It was Pope John Paul II who first had a Christmas tree put up at the Vatican in 1982. "Let them over whom the fires of hell are imminent, affix to their posts, laurels doomed presently to burn: to them the testimonies of darkness and the omens of their penalties are suitable.

By late antiquity it had died out, although gifts were still exchanged at New Year's.Gifts were also associated with St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra (in modern-day Turkey), who became famous for giving gifts to poor children.
House, during the mid-1850's. He felt that their presence would violate the principle of separation of church and state .

From three little verses in John has come a rich tradition of song and art.

do not follow an organized religion. Christmas is a Christian holiday, but it's also a cultural holiday. The Christmas tree at Faneuil Hall marketplace in downtown Boston is from Long Island, New York. According to a story not mentioned in his biographies (vitae), he stumbled upon a pagan gathering where a group of people dancing under a decorated oak tree were about to sacrifice a baby in the name of Thor. future is assured in spite of opposition.In the past, there have been many objections to Christmas trees:"This Christmas season, as in those gone by, it is commonplace to hear Christians condemn trees adorned with ornaments as idolatrous. They were often hung with round pastry wafers symbolizing the Eucharist, which developed into the cookie ornaments decorating German Christmas trees today.The custom gained popularity throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, against the protests of some clergy. Alongside the tree often stood wooden "pyramids"—stacks of shelves bearing candles, sometimes one for each family member. This family-centered image was widely popularized by Clement Moore's 1822 poem, known today as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" (which also helped give us our modern picture of Santa Claus).As many of us make trees and gifts the center of our own Christmas practice, we would do well to remember that they are ultimately symbols of the One who gave himself to unite heaven and earth, and who brings all barren things to flower.Edwin Woodruff Tait is assistant professor of Bible and religion at Huntington University. This occurs annually sometime between DEC-20

At some point, it had become so popular that clerics were concerned that such rituals might distract Christians from the appropriate worship of God during the holy season.