History of Christmas Symbols

Christmas is one of the greatest festivals celebrated across the world. Christmas brings hope, joy and happiness in every person's life. The entire atmosphere is full of festive fervor and gusto. People come together and enjoy parties and feast with Christmas music and lights. The preparations for the festival start well in advance. The homes are cleaned and decorated with evergreen wreaths and twigs of holly and mistletoe. Families go out to buy Christmas tree and decorate it with tinsel, ornaments and paper flowers. There are a lot of symbols that are associated with Christmas. History of Christmas symbols can be traced in the pre-Christian pagan times.

There are Christmas symbols like Christmas tree, wreaths, candles, bells, holly and mistletoe and so on. All these symbols have significance and are integral part of Christmas celebration. These symbols have been associated with Christmas for ages. These Christmas symbols bring beauty and evergreen color to the festival.

Let's take a look at the history of Christmas symbols:

• Christmas Tree: Christmas tree and Christmas are synonymous to each other. Everyone identifies a well lit, well decorated pine or fir tree as Christmas tree. The Christmas tree stands for Christianity and was used for the first time in Germany by St. Boniface. Later, Martin Luther King popularized in European countries. The Christmas tree is evergreen and gives hope of coming spring.

  

• Christmas Bells: Christmas bells are an integral part of Christmas celebration. The ringing of Christmas bell is termed holly during the Christmas season. The bells were used in ancient pagan times to drive away the evil spirits. In middle ages, bells wee rung to announce the birth of Christ. Christmas bells and the ticking noise are associated with the carols, choir and church.

• Christmas Wreaths: Christmas wreath is part of Christmas decoration. Wreaths are round in shape and they stand for the no ending and no beginning of life. Wreaths are made out of evergreen twigs of holly, mistletoe and flowers. The Mother Nature is given importance through the Christmas wreaths. Wreaths have been part of tradition for quite a long time.

  

• Christmas Candles: One cannot imagine a Christmas without the large Christmas candle. The Christmas candle is seen from pagan times. The Christmas candle stands for the Jesus who took birth to enlighten the society. A Christmas candle is kept near a window on the Christmas Eve to help the Christ Child who wanders form one hose to other on that night. Christmas candle is used to decorate Christmas tree in Victorian times.

• Santa Claus: Santa Claus is one of the most popular Christmas symbols. Santa has a lot of different names in various countries. Santa is a modern adaptation of St. Nicholas, a bishop who was generous and kind and gave gifts to children. Santa Claus visiting children and giving them gifts in form of toys, candies, sweets, etc. is the sight seen in Christmas all over the world.