Poll

Het verhaal van de Germanen en die dennebomen klopt geen fluit van.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree#Roots

1) Tradition credits Boniface with the invention of the Christmas tree. The Oak of Thor at Geismar was chopped down by Boniface in a stage-managed confrontation with the old gods and local heathen tribes. A fir tree growing in the roots of the Oak was claimed by Boniface as a new symbol. "This humble tree's wood is used to build your homes: let Christ be at the centre of your households. Its leaves remain evergreen in the darkest days: let Christ be your constant light. Its boughs reach out to embrace and its top points to heaven: let Christ be your Comfort and Guide"[1] [3]

The fir trees were at first held upside down from the ceiling. Martin Luther is credited with adding lights to the tree and placing it upright as we now normally see them [2].

Other notable traditions in relation to Christmas have also been derived from Germanic pagan practices, including the Yule log, Christmas ham, Yule Goat, stuffing stockings.


2) The modern custom of erecting a Christmas tree can be traced to 16th century Germany, though neither an inventor nor a single town can be identified as the sole origin for the tradition, which was a popular merging of older traditions mentioned above; in the Cathedral of Strasbourg in 1539, the church record mentions the erection of a Christmas tree.


De geschiedenis van de kerstboom is wel degelijk te vinden in Duitsland.

Er werd in die tijd ook heel veel aan symboliek gedaan en Constantijn ( + de mensen die meebeslisten) had wat dat betreft gevoel voor 'humor'. Het is zeker waar dat het oorspronkelijk een heidens feest is van een bepaalde natuurgodsdienst.

Daarnaast werden deze aanbidders ook vervolgd. Het zijn de welbekende verhalen van heksen op brandstapels, het getal van de duivel, etc etc.