Why do we put a tree in the house at Christmas?
In the course of the nineteenth century, the Christmas tree slowly made its way to the Dutch living rooms. Since then, the tree has been the centerpiece of Christmas celebrations. But what is the origin of the holiday tree? We asked UvA professor of European ethnology Peter Jan Margry. “According to Christians, such a totem would not belong in the living room.”
Every year, some 2.5 million Christmas trees make their way to Dutch living rooms. Whether you buy a traditional Norway spruce or the needle-resistant Nordmann, as long as it’s a green fir tree, you will be fine.
Green trees and branches are said to have been used by ancient Germanic tribes to announce the new spring, with the tree symbolizing fertility and divinity. During midwinter night, the shortest day of the year, they would place a green tree in the village square. As a result, the origin of the Christmas tree is often traced back to the Germanic people. But that is unjustified, says UvA professor of European ethnology Peter Jan Margry.
“The nineteenth century marked the high tide of the ‘Germanization’ of culture, in which all kinds of ancient customs and traditions were attributed to the Germanic people,” Margry says. “There are no known records of the Christmas tree leading to this.” But where did the tree come from?
German migrant workers
In 1836, the Christmas tree was first described by pastor O.G. Heldring from the Betuwe village of Hemmen. In his Geldersche Volksalmanak, he described, among other things, that his tree was decorated with lights, apples, nuts, pears and other refreshments.
Heldring’s Christmas celebration was said to be a perfect copy of a German Christmas celebration. “Several German communities used the fir tree during their winter festivals leading up to Christmas. That custom in turn has its origins in European medieval celebrations such as the maypole festival to announce summer.” In the 1940s, German migrant workers and craftsmen came to the Netherlands. “Logically, they brought their traditions and customs with them,” Margry says. “They in turn shared these with their new Dutch customers. We can see this, for example, in the Christmas tree advertisements they placed at the time.”
In 1844, for example, the German baker C. Nölken established himself on Dam Square in Amsterdam and annually set up a Christmas tree with candles and wreaths in his store. In an advertisement in the Algemeen Handelsblad of December 20, 1844, he invited his customers to his store, stating the following: “Sunday, Monday and Tuesday Evening from 6 to 8 there will be a gloriously illuminated cherry tree on display.” In 1846, the baker advertises again, stating that he is amply supplied “with everything that belongs to the decoration of a Christmas tree.” Advertisements like these mark the beginning of the introduction of the Christmas tree into Dutch households.
Civilization offensive and theology
“The nineteenth century also saw a form of civilization offensive,” Margry continued. “Bourgeois society was increasingly taking shape, and much more attention was paid to children’s souls and child rearing. The family took center stage, and the homely character of a decorated Christmas tree fitted in well with that.”
At the same time, the introduction of the Christmas tree by German migrant workers could count on resistance from Christianity. “Such a totem would not belong in the living room,” says Margry. “Within Christian culture, people saw the tree as something of the pagans. But the Catholics came up with a solution. They placed the Christmas manger under the tree, and saw it as an opportunity to still give the tree a Christian character and emphasize faith. It is a playful visualization of the Christmas story to make it easy to introduce children to it.”
That urban ‘newfangledness,’ as the Dutch newspaper NRC once referred to the introduction of the Christmas tree in the nineteenth century, has slowly spread throughout the country over the past 175 years. From living rooms to station halls and squares, the tree is popping up everywhere.
By now it is safe to say that Amsterdam has embraced the tree: every year an enormous Christmas tree with as many as forty thousand lights is placed on Dam Square. Where German migrant workers once inspired Amsterdamers to take a tree into their homes, that German influence on Christmas appears to be undiminished: this year, in fact, the Christmas tree on Dam Square comes from Overath, a small German village. The tree will be on display until Jan. 8, after which it will go to the elephants in Artis to play and trudge with.
