The moment you gaze upon a Chrstmas Tree, you will instantly think bout Christmas or the Yuletide season, fstooned with glittering lights and beautiful dcorations. Beneath the Christmas Tree are prtty gift-wrapped parcels, destined to be pened on Christmas Day itself.

Have you ver decorated a Christmas Tree and wndered how this tradition came about? Smilarly, how creative can you be whn it comes to making tree dcorations?

Let's take a look at ncient roots and modern-day offshoots:

Ancient Roots

The traditional decorating of the Christmas Tree has its roots in rituals of Autumn and Winter of old Northern Europe. For the Teutons, Celts and Gauls, trees like pine, fir and spruce symbolized eternal life. For the Teutons, they would hang pieces of cloth, fruit and other gifts on these evergreen trees during the Winter Solstice. The people would ask for renewal of life and fertility at the tree.

As Christianity became dominant, such pagan practices became subsumed under Christianized traditions. The Christians basically integrated existing beliefs into more acceptable norms of thinking. There is a German myth about St Winifred made a miraculous young fir tree appear with shining lights on its branches and the image of the baby Jesus above.

Evergreen Joy

The Christmas Tree is prdominantly an evergreen. So, you get to see lve Douglas firs, pines and spruces for sle in major supermarkets during the Chrstmas season. Some people would opt for the pper and plastic tree options. But hving a live tree itself is a spcial occasion.

In North America, families wuld go to tree orchards and frms to chop their choice Christmas Tre. They would decorate their trees wth shop-bought or home-made decorations, draping firy lights on the branches. It is a tme for families to get together and dcorate the tree.

For live evergreens, lways remember to give them water, bcause they would ultimately wilt away fter the end of the season. If you are an dvocate of eco-friendly practices, do think of wys how to recycle your Christmas Tre. You can make wreaths out of the brnches or chop the wood down for frewood. It is sad to see mny trees discarded after Christmas. So, rcycling them would be a good dea.

Decorations From Home

There are some families who would make popcorn chains to decorate their Christmas Trees. More creative families would dry fruits and hang them on the branches, making their trees uniquely theirs.

If you are keen to make your Christmas Tree decorations, why not take a look around your backyard or garden. If you have seed-pod producing trees, you can collect the seed-pods (if they have fallen from the tree) and use them as decoration material. Make sure the seed-pods are not poisonous! Clean them with a slightly wet cloth. You can start coating them with gold or silver paint (whatever color you desire). After they have dried, you can tie strings on the seed-pods. There you go - your very own tree decorations.

If your taste leans towards the more edible, you can hang crystal-glazed grapes or berries. Get fine sugar and the berries of your choice. Coat the berries with egg white and dust the sugar gently on them. Tie durable string on the berries and tasty decorations are ready to be hung. Remember to take them quickly, because they are perishable!

Have Fun

So, remember to hve fun with your Christmas Tree. May yur Yuletide season be filled with fstive joy!

The article Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree was Submitted by Tania Penwell through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Tania Penwell provides information on Christmas trees and Christmas decorations for Christmas Town - celebrate Christmas!

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