To most Christians the Christmas

star is symbolic of Jesus, who is often called "the bright and

morning star." Ancient people looked

upon stars as gods and created myths about them. Before there

was Christmas, stars held importance in ancient religions. The

Babylonians used three stars to represent a god. The Egyptians

believed that certain gods controlled different stars and

constellations. The six-pointed star of David became the symbol

of the Hebrew nation. The North American Blackfoot Indian

believed that every star was at one time a human being. The Great

Bear and the Little Bear are still worshiped by the Berber tribes of

Africa today. But the five-pointed star of Christmas holds center

stage. Its appearance is recorded in the Bible in the New

Testament which says it appeared over Bethlehem and served as a

guiding light to lead the wise men to the Christ child.

The Christmas Tree

For families in North America, Germany and other parts of

Europe, the Christmas tree is the symbol of the Christmas season.

Evergreens

Evergreens have been a part of mid-winter festivals long before

Christ. They played a symbolic part because they stayed green

and alive when other plants appeared dead and bare. They

represented everlasting life and hope for the return of spring.

Primitive European tribes hung evergreens above their doors to

offer the wandering winter spirits shelter within their homes in

hopes of receiving good fortune and good health in return. The

Romans decorated their homes with the greens at the Festival of

Saturnalia and at the Kalends of January, their New Year. They

exchanged evergreen branches with friends as a sign of good luck.

The Druids viewed evergreens as sacred, a symbol of life itself.

When Christmas came about, we incorporated, rather than

dismissed, many of these practices as Christmas customs. Of

course, this was done only if these activities and items were

consider harmless and availed themselves to a Christian

interpretation.

The use of evergreens was and is most widespread in England

and Germany. We can trace it back at least 500 years ago when

religious meaning began to be associated with these plants.