Decorating Christmas trees every December is a time-honored western. When Teutonic tribes began to usurp power from the Romans in Europe, they brought their Yule, or winter feast, traditions with them. But I think the transformation began one night when a certain young god fell out of a tree. Saturnalia is an ancient Roman holiday in honor of the god Saturnus that began on. Dedicated to the Roman god Saturn, the festivals influence continues to be felt throughout the Western. 'Boniface seized his axe and felled the tree in order to stop the pagans worshiping a false idol and the pagans were waiting for him to be struck down by lightning, but it didn't happen. At the Saturnalia festival (December 17-24), Romans would present each other with sprigs of holly as gifts for the holiday. Saturnalia, the most popular of Roman festivals.

Each year, an innocent person would be chosen by the communities as a human sacrifice to the gods. It was a lawless celebration held on December 25 th, the birthday of Tammuz and rebirth of Nimrod. 'The common story goes that encountered some native Germans performing some sacrifices in front of a mighty oak tree - oak trees being sacred to the god Thor,' Dr Wilson said. In the pagan Roman society during the time lived, they instituted the Saturnalia in honor of the god Saturn. One is credited to the English Benedictine monk Boniface, famous for his missionary work in Germany during the eighth century. There are several theories and legends as to how the evergreen fir tree went on to become a symbol of Christianity.

full-grown evergreen tree had sprung up overnight from a dead tree stump. Christmas Eve was originally Adam and Eves day and the tree represented the. 'So the idea of bringing evergreens into the house started there and eventually that evolved into the Christmas tree.' From pagan customs to Christianity Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival celebrated to honour the god Saturn. Romans decorated temples for Saturnalia (a winter festival) with fir trees. 'That's also where the ideas of the holly and the ivy and the mistletoe come from because they're the few flowering plants at winter so therefore they hold special significance. The Origin of Christmas Tree Just as early Christians recruited Roman pagans by associating Christmas with the Saturnalia, so too worshippers of the. 'The idea of bringing the evergreen into the house represents fertility and new life in the darkness of winter, which was much more of the pagan themes,' Dr Dominique Wilson from the University of Sydney said. Romans trimmed evergreen trees with trinkets and topped them with an image of their sun god to celebrate Saturnalia. Pieces of evergreen fir tree were first brought into people's homes to brighten spirits during the winter solstice.

Saturnalia tree