To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs. The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon, farms and orchards would be green and fruitful. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from his illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes, which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death.Įarly Romans marked the solstice with a feast called Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Watch Christmas documentaries on HISTORY Vault How Did Christmas Trees Start? Discover the history of the Christmas tree, from the earliest winter solstice celebrations to Queen Victoria’s decorating habits and the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center tree in New York City.
The history of Christmas trees goes back to the symbolic use of evergreens in ancient Egypt and Rome and continues with the German tradition of candlelit Christmas trees first brought to America in the 1800s. Who Brought Christmas Trees to America?.
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