The mystery of the Christmas tree

People decorated the leafless trees with fruit in pagan times. St. Boniface, a German evangelist of the seventh century, tried to introduce the idea of the Trinity among the pagan tribes using conifers due to their triangular shape.

   Thus, he tried to convince the druids (leaders omnipotent and omniscient in Celtic society) from Geismar,

that the oak was not a sacred tree, cutting it. In falling, the tree crushed all in its path except a young fir. It is said that Saint Boniface described the survival of the fir as a miracle, and even said in his sermon: "From now on, we'll call this tree, the tree of the Christ Child." Since then, people planted young trees to celebrate the birth of Christ in Germany. In a unique setting, several fir trees hanging under the arch in the church, trace the evolution of Christmas decorations from the 16th century to now. The first written evidence that fir trees were sold in 1521 in Alsace appears in the Humanist Library in Sélestat, thus making Alsace the birthplace of the Christmas tree . Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree.