Advent Calendar Day 6: Tree

December 6, 2011

Symbol of Christmas:

Tree

One of the most important things to have at Christmas time is a tree.  Where else would you put all the presents and hang all the ornaments?  Probably one of the most fun things about Christmas time is putting up the tree.  I remember as a kid we couldn't wait to put up the tree and it was always a sad day when we had to take it down.  But why do we put up a tree?  Where did that tradition come from?  Boy was I in for a surprise when I began to research this.  In fact, there are quite a few traditions (most of them predating Christianity) which claim to be the  origins of the Christmas tree.  Because there is so much information on this subject, I will refer you to this site, which I feel sums everything up in the best way.  The one thing I found which all these traditions had in common was that the evergreen was used as a symbol of eternal life.
We were able to watch the First Presidency's Christmas Devotional on Sunday and I really liked something that President Monson said in his message.  He said, "...Christmas is what we make of of it."  This is so true!  So in keeping with that, I decided that no matter what the origins of the Christmas tree are, for me it is a symbol of Christ and the eternal life we can have if we live live His gospel.  I also find it interesting that the shape of the tree is in a triangle pointing upward like a spire.  Just like the spire on the temples and church buildings reminds us of our goal to reunite with our Father in Heaven, so does the the Christmas tree.  If you didn't get a chance to watch the Devotional, I encourage you to do so.  After all, "Christmas is what we make of it."