Christmas Ornaments and Decorations Over the Years

Around December every year a remarkable phenomenon occurs. As men in red plush suits with snowy white beards begin to appear in department stores everywhere and children throughout the land become models of good behavior, something even more puzzling takes place. It happens gradually at first, and then more and more quickly as the month progresses. Brilliantly colored lights, shiny decorations, holly and evergreen branches begin to adorn people’s homes and yards. Soon the entire neighborhood is gaily adorned with a colorful array of decorations and lights, all to celebrate the Christmas season. And of course, once the hustle and bustle of decorating the outside dies down, a Christmas tree aglow with lights and all sorts of ornaments is erected in each and every home. Why do we go through all of this expense and effort?

Pre-Christmas and Ancient Man

The reason is that it is a part of mankind’s heritage, dating back many centuries ago. Ancient man followed this custom before anyone ever said the word Christmas. He believed that by decorating the bushes in the winter time, he could entice the spirits roaming the earth and seeking shelter from the bitter cold and wind to come and live in them.

It is not known what exactly they used for decorations, maybe bits of colored cloth, stones, etc. People had to use whatever was available. The people of Mesopotamia (Babylonia in the Middle East, modern Iraq), placed a great value on fringes. Fringed garments were a status symbol, and when the old article of clothing was no longer useable, the fringe would be taken off and put onto a new garment before throwing it away. So, considering this, it is possible that they might have used fringes to decorate their bushes.

Later, people began the custom of taking branches into their homes to give the spirits living inside shelter, releasing them in the early spring when the first delicate buds emerged on the trees. Two customs we observe today came from this:

1. The bringing of evergreens into the home at Christmastime.

2. The superstition all decorations must be taken down by the end of Christmas, or there shall be bad luck.

In the beginning, people kept up their decorations for much longer than we do now, the Christmas season not ending until Candlemas, the 2nd of February, which was closer to spring.

The custom of decorating was approved and even adopted by the Christian Church in the 6th century. Missionaries were sent to Britain from Rome. St. Gregory realized that it went against human nature for people to abandon their beliefs and practices honed over centuries, and immediately embrace Christianity and its ways. He told his missionaries to make allowances. “If the people decorate their temples to Saturn, let them in future still decorate them — but for the festival of Christ’s Birth,” was the message.