Christmas Tree

 

 

                  Laurence Smith

 

Star over all       

Eye of the night

Stand on my tree

Magical sight

  Green under frost  

Green under snow 

Green under tinsel

Glitter and glow

Appled with baubles

Silver and gold   

Spangled with fire

Warm over cold

 

 

The decorating of a tree during the midwinter festival was originally a pagan ritual, dating back to the Roman Saturnalia.

 

      The legend that associates the fur tree with the Christian celebration of Christmas comes from         Germany and goes back to the 8th century.

 

One Christmas Eve St. Boniface came across an oak tree which was used by the pagan people for making human sacrifices. To prevent this ever happening again, he chopped down the tree. Miraculously in its place a fur tree sprang up. St. Boniface took this to be a sign of the new faith growing up in place of the old religions.

 

The people of Germany believed that the first person to have decorated a Christmas tree was Martin Luther (1483 - 1546). One day as he was walking through a forest he looked up at the sky which was full of stars. He was touched by the beatiful sight. He took home a small fur tree which he decorated with lighted candles, as a reminder to his folowers of the heavens.

 

In England the Christmas tree was made popular by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. Prince Albert was born in Germany where the decorated tree was already an established part of the Christmas tradition. In 1840 he introduced a beautiful tree into the royal family's Christmas, and many other people soon followed suit.

 

At first Christmas trees were decorated with things to eat - edible angels, ginger bread men and apples. German glass-blowers may have been the first to make glass ornaments which were not so heavy. At first a little model of baby Jesus was put at the top of the tree. This changed to an angel with gols wings; then to the fairy.

 

Candles were used to light the tree at first, and there were many bad accidents from fire. In 1895 an American telephone worker, Ralph Morris, thought how good the tiny light bulbs would look on his tree! His inspiration led to the many shapes and colours of electric Christmas tree lights manufactured today.

 

Glossary

 

sacrifice - жертвоприношение

to chop down - срубить

miraculously - подобно чуду

fur tree - ель

to spring (sprang, sprung) up - вырастать; проклюнуться

to touch - поражать, волновать

to inrtoduce - вводить в употребление

to follow suit - следовать примеру

edible - съедобный

ginger bread man - имбирный пряник в форме человечка

glass-blower - стеклодув

bulb - электрическая лампочка

inspiration - вдохновение, идея