Question about Christmas

[feebstalicious93]

Why do we put trees indoors and lights outdoors?

 

[Zhadramekel]

The indoor trees are usually artificial in this day and age and the amount of internal decorating we could do would probably be pretty limited without one. And considering a lot of places get so dark in the winter outdoor lights brighten it up quite a bit and they're nice to look at for people that are just passing by, they probably can't see the decorations inside the houses.

 

[Dawns Gate]

I asked that at church and I was told something like that it was a pagan tradition to bring trees inside to keep the 'spirit of the summer' alive during the winter when many plants would die. The lights had something to do with showing that your home was open to weary travelers looking for warmth. I'm not sure but it sounds legit.

 

[Phlakes]

We have trees and lights in both places. Not as many lights inside, though. Although the inside tree is a hassle.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

Why do we put trees indoors and lights outdoors?

...

I never thought about it that way. Now I must contemplate...

 

[toolateforsundown]

I asked that at church and I was told something like that it was a pagan tradition to bring trees inside to keep the 'spirit of the summer' alive during the winter when many plants would die. The lights had something to do with showing that your home was open to weary travelers looking for warmth. I'm not sure but it sounds legit.

No, it's not. The tree thing is from some Germanic thing where the pagans pretty much just put candles on random trees. I can't remember if this was originally for the solstice or imbolc (can't remember the Germanic word for that), but either one would make sense, really, with only a different explanation. And I think the whole bringing trees inside thing is just not something a pagan would think of; removing something from nature to "preserve" it is simply strange from that mindset. The light thing is possible, but I think it more likely that the lights would be kept indoors. Winter would suck for that sort of thing most everywhere in Europe. Also, I think the whole concept is unlikely, as the average person at the time didn't travel far enough to get somewhere they didn't already know people anyway, a fact that only changed recently. So, while not impossible, unlikely. It's much less unlikely Christians over the generations took bits and pieces of their abandoned traditions and just slapped them in whatever situation seemed appropriate.

I could do proper research and cite stuff or whatever instead of pulling from memory and context, but fuck it. I am neopagan, if that counts for anything ^_^"

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Because.

Um.

I think it's...

No, it can't be...

...
...
...

*sighs*
*leaves house*
*rents room in motel*

 

[FamoFunk]

Good question. Although I don't do the whole lights outdoor stuff, all that does for me when I see them is think, "That's gonna be a nice electric bill after Christmas."

 

[Hazy992]

Whoa :O

 

[Blow_Pop]

I asked that at church and I was told something like that it was a pagan tradition to bring trees inside to keep the 'spirit of the summer' alive during the winter when many plants would die. The lights had something to do with showing that your home was open to weary travelers looking for warmth. I'm not sure but it sounds legit.

No, it's not. The tree thing is from some Germanic thing where the pagans pretty much just put candles on random trees. I can't remember if this was originally for the solstice or imbolc (can't remember the Germanic word for that), but either one would make sense, really, with only a different explanation. And I think the whole bringing trees inside thing is just not something a pagan would think of; removing something from nature to "preserve" it is simply strange from that mindset. The light thing is possible, but I think it more likely that the lights would be kept indoors. Winter would suck for that sort of thing most everywhere in Europe. Also, I think the whole concept is unlikely, as the average person at the time didn't travel far enough to get somewhere they didn't already know people anyway, a fact that only changed recently. So, while not impossible, unlikely. It's much less unlikely Christians over the generations took bits and pieces of their abandoned traditions and just slapped them in whatever situation seemed appropriate.

I could do proper research and cite stuff or whatever instead of pulling from memory and context, but fuck it. I am neopagan, if that counts for anything ^_^"

This is how I learned it: (however I did not learn it off of this site originally I had to google search it to pull all of that since I only remembered bits and pieces)

The Celtic Druids venerated evergreen trees as manifestations of deity and as symbols of the universe. To the Celts, these trees were sacred because they did not die from year to year like deciduous trees. Therefore they represented the eternal aspect of the Goddess who also never dies. Their greenery was symbolic of the hope for the sun's return.

The Druids decorated the evergreen trees at Yule with all the images of the things they wished the waxing year to bring. Fruits for a successful harvest, love charms for happiness, nuts for fertility, and coins for wealth adorned the trees. These were forerunners to many of the images on today's Christmas trees. Candles were the forerunners of today's electric tree lights.

In Scandinavia, Yule trees were brought inside to provide a warm and festive place for tree elementals who inhabited the woodland. This was also a good way to coax the native faery folk to participate in Solstice rituals. Some believed the Saxons were the first to place candles in the tree.

Gradually sacred tree imagery was absorbed and minimalized by the Christian church--but it was never able to destroy trees' resonance within our collective unconscious completely. We realize when we plant a tree we are encouraging the Earth to breathe. And when we decorate our evergreen trees at Yule, we are making a symbol of our dream world with the objects we hang upon it. Perhaps a chain or garland, reflecting the linking of all together on Earth. Lights--for the light of human consciousness, animal figures who serve as our totems, fruits and colors that nourish and give beauty to our world, gold and silver for prosperity, treats and nuts that blend sweet and bitter--just as in real life. The trees we decorate now with symbols of our perfect worlds actually animate what we esteem and what we hope for in the coming year; as from this night, the light returns, reborn.

and to cite the website I pulled that off of: http://www.earthwitchery.com/yule-tree.html

 

[Rusman]

I asked that at church and I was told something like that it was a pagan tradition to bring trees inside to keep the 'spirit of the summer' alive during the winter when many plants would die. The lights had something to do with showing that your home was open to weary travelers looking for warmth. I'm not sure but it sounds legit.

No, it's not. The tree thing is from some Germanic thing where the pagans pretty much just put candles on random trees. I can't remember if this was originally for the solstice or imbolc (can't remember the Germanic word for that), but either one would make sense, really, with only a different explanation. And I think the whole bringing trees inside thing is just not something a pagan would think of; removing something from nature to "preserve" it is simply strange from that mindset. The light thing is possible, but I think it more likely that the lights would be kept indoors. Winter would suck for that sort of thing most everywhere in Europe. Also, I think the whole concept is unlikely, as the average person at the time didn't travel far enough to get somewhere they didn't already know people anyway, a fact that only changed recently. So, while not impossible, unlikely. It's much less unlikely Christians over the generations took bits and pieces of their abandoned traditions and just slapped them in whatever situation seemed appropriate.

I could do proper research and cite stuff or whatever instead of pulling from memory and context, but fuck it. I am neopagan, if that counts for anything ^_^"

Candles on trees does indeed start up at the beginning of Yule, hence why we cover Christmas trees in lights now-a-days. Certain tradition Yule rituals also use candles in trees and as with most Yule celebration signifies the returning of the sun. A lot of Scandinavian countries and the north of England/Scotland had zero sunlight during this time and the early Celt's/Pagans prayed to the goddess for the sun safe return.

Also it's nice to see another Neopagan on the site, not many of us are very vocal. A happy Yule to you