Christmas is around the corner and the Christmas Tree will be at the centre of the Christmas festivities. Topped with a star and glittering with lights and ornaments, the Christmas Tree is a part of the beauty and meaning of the Christmas season. How did the Christmas Tree come to play an important role in the observance of Christmas?
There is a legend coming down from the early days of Christmas in England. Rev.Wilfred was a Christian monk (later Saint Wilfred) helped the spread of Christianity among the Druid. One day, surrounded by some of his converts, he felled an Oak tree which in the Druid religion was a tree of worship. As the Oak Tree fell on the ground, it split into four parts and from its centre sprung up a young Fir Tree pointing a green spire towards the sky. It amazed the converts gathered.
Rev. Wilfred dropped the axe with which he felled the Oak tree and turning to the Druid converts, declared “This little tree will be your Holy Tree tonight. It is the wood of peace, for your houses are built of Fir. It is the sign of endless life for its leaves are evergreen. See how it points towards the Heavens. Let this be called the tree of Christ Child. Gather round it, not in wilderness, but in your homes. There, it will be surrounded with loving gifts and rites of kindness.
Thereafter, the Fir Tree appears to have come to be a religious symbol in the Christmas festivities.
– Upali S.Jayasekera.