Late in her life my paternal grandmother abandoned the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree in her home. An itinerant evangelist told her the tradition had pagan origins and therefore it was wrong for Christians to have a Christmas tree in their homes. My grandmother, a devout Christian, scrapped the tradition.

While I loved my grandmother, I disagreed with her reasoning. As Christianity spread across the world, converts often adapted old pagan practices to their new faith.

The practice of ringing bells at Christmas, for instance, can be traced back to pagan mid-winter celebrations. As the days became colder, some pagans believed evil spirits became more powerful. Making lots of noise, it was believed, would drive off the evil spirits and ringing bells was a popular way to do it. Over time, the ringing of bells became a way to welcome Christmas with a joyful noise.

Light was an important part of pagan mid-winter festivities too. Candles and bonfires were used to help drive away the forces of cold and darkness. Christendom, however, embraced the lighting of candles as symbolic of Jesus being the Light of the World.

Trees, as the evangelist claimed, did play a role in pagan worship. The ancient Druids, for instance, believed the oak tree was sacred.

One day in the early 700s, St. Boniface, a British monk serving as a missionary in Germany, preached a sermon on the Nativity to a tribe of Druids.

To convince them of their folly, St. Boniface cut down an oak tree on the spot. When it fell, the oak tree crushed every shrub in its path except a small fir tree. The missionary interpreted the fir’s survival as a miracle and said, “Let this be called the tree of the Christ Child.” Our Christmas tree tradition allegedly grew from there.

There is another Christmas tradition which, ironically, has Christian roots but bears little religious significance today. I have read conflicting reports on the authenticity of this story, but it is a powerful allegory regardless.

Many years ago, the story goes, a candy maker incorporated several symbols of his faith into a candy product.

He started with a stick of white hard candy to symbolize the Virgin Birth and sinless nature of Jesus. The candy’s hardness represented Jesus as the Solid Rock — the foundation of the Church — and the firmness represented the promises of God. The candy maker shaped the candy to represent the staff of the Good Shepherd as well as the “J” in Jesus’ name.

For color, he added red stripes. Three small stripes represent the stripes of the scourging Jesus received before his crucifixion. The large red stripe represents the blood shed by Jesus on the cross.

The flavor of the candy is peppermint, similar to hyssop which was used in Old Testament ceremonies for purification and sacrifice. This represents Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

Most of us see the modern-day Christmas candy cane as simply another holiday confection. It also serves as a reminder of the Christ of Christmas.

In my opinion, there is nothing evil about a Christmas tree in the home. If you believe a Christmas tree is sinful, then follow my grandmother’s example. Within the bounds of common sense a tradition’s significance is limited to a participant’s intent. In that regard, it is appropriate to consider God’s intent for Christmas.

While millions embrace the baby in the manger, God did not send Jesus to the world to give us warm fuzzies. God’s intent for Christmas, according to the Bible, was to offer humankind eternal life through His son’s death and resurrection.

As history has shown, a crucified and resurrected Jesus who commands that we love others as we love ourselves and that we love God with all our hearts is not as readily embraced as the cuddly baby in a manger.

Christmas becomes a reality for us when we personally accept not just the baby in the manager, but the gift of eternal life provided by belief in God’s crucified and resurrected son. Christmas traditions then become the icing on the cake.

Arvid Huisman can be contacted at huismaniowa@gmail.com. ©2025 by Huisman Communications.