Spiritual Nordic Christmas #3

Bonfires were lit to celebrate the sun’s anticipated return. A trace of this custom remains in adding a special Christmas log of wood to the fireplace. As for decorating a tree rather than burning it, this most likely originates from the Druids’ sacred oak tree that was set alite during a Winter Solstice night. Thus sparked the tradition of bringing evergreen plants into the house to symbolize the sun’s immortality.

The first written sources for Christmas trees in Europe come from 16th century Bavarian Germany, where craftspeople decorated them with nuts, cakes and sweets to set out in their workshops. This tradition reached Norway in 1822 and holds to this day, albeit with different decorations.

Translated and adapted from André Kirsebom, Norwegian Spiritualist Foundation