New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-12-25
CHRISTIANS TREES.
Their Origin, and Some odd Yute-
tide Customs.

Millions OF Christmas trees-which. II assem-
bled would constitute a vast forest. thousands
Of SQUARE miles in extent-have been lighted up
since last night all over the world with CANDIES
and adorned with canded fruits and Win giIs
In honor of the one festival Of the year that .
supposed to bring peace and good VIII uhuo
men" Yet how few are there who know or
even take the trouble to think. OF the origin OF
the use of the fir tree for the celebration OK
Chrstmasl
Most people are content to set down the
Christmas tree as an institution OF relatively
modern origin imported from Germany This Is
very far from being the case. For the custom z
hoary with age. and like so many lnstltutiouS
owes its original any rate. as FAR as us reist-
ton to Christianity is concerned-to an Irish
man II was the Hibernian saint COlun oanUs
Che must not be COMPOUNDED with St Cournha9
who. when engaged in converting the pagans OF
GermanIa and Switzerland to Christianity found
them so firmly imbued with the sacred charac-
ter of trees especially of fir trees. that despair
inc or being able to eradicate the cult from their
minds he and his fellow missionaries conceived
the idea of endowing it with Christian mean
ing Already In the seventh century the W
tree began to figure in Christian writings. pice-
ures and carvings as symbol OF eteFhdi uIe'
with its eternal verdure and its brilliant hGhCS
while nonuIar legends dating from that epoch
ran
each abode, be II palace or hut TO grant the
nravers and wishes Of the inmates. as bearing
fir tree abIaze with candles. AS the children
naturally yearned for toys 1t was only natural
that the tree OF good Father Christmas should
be huns, with gifts. and thus We have the ChrlSs-
mas tree of the present day
That the fir tree however. was employed n
times long prior to the Christian era for pUr-
noses of holiday celebration at this particular
o--irI Ia 70 llv7y- fIrra
the old Roman poet Virgil speaks Of its being
put to uses Of this kind in his second George
line $50 follows:
OsoiIla ex auo suspendunt mollia pinu-
The "oscilIa' which hung suspended from the
pine tree branches We're little Jewelled images
of pagan divinities. especially of Bacchus. which
were believed to bring blessings TO the people
and to the places to which their faces happened
10 turn in swinging or oscillating- And hist0r-
icaI research would seem TO show that it vas
the Roman troops under Drusus who first
brought this cult Of the fir tree into Germany.
Throughout the Middle Ages. and until com
parativey modern times. the Christmas tree
remained restricted to Germany. Switzerland
and Scandinavia Thus. in Austria II ungarY
it made it's first appearance only in 1S16. when
the Grand Duchess Henrietta, the German con-
sort of Archduke Charles, set up a monster
fir tree all ablaze with lights and loaded with
costly presents. for her young children. who
had never seen anything OF the kind before.
The custom quickly spread throughout tbs
dual empire. and to-day there is no house.
nor even any lonely peasant dwelling IN the
remote Alpine districts. where the Christmas
tree is to be found this day OF the year.
Indeed. it is doubtful whether there IS any
part of the world where Christmas means more
to the people than In these mountain villages
subject to the rule OF Francis Joseph Pages
could be written of their quaint. old fashioned
Christmas customs. as. for instance. when the
farmer and his head servant. the one carrying
a censor. from which sweet smelling clouds
of incense continually ascending. and ths
other a bowl fun OF holy water. with a Bosom,
for sprinkling, make the round. not merely os
the entire farmhouse. but also OF the oaruz
and Of the stables. smOtherins the EVIL Ona
and spreading Gods blessing everywhere, q
Continued q