All about the Christmas tree

Putting up the Christmas tree makes us happier. And not because I say so.

Many psychologists and psychoanalysts affirm that decorating the house before Christmas prolongs the positive emotions and the illusion of childhood and, therefore, we are happier (and for longer).

Putting up Christmas decorations in advance causes a neurological change that makes us happy, because it increases dopamine (the hormone of well-being) – Deborah Serani (psychologist).

Christmas may be a little different for many people this year, but there are always new ways to celebrate. Because, as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said in The Little Prince, “the essential is invisible to the eye”, and to the palate.

The important thing is to get together with the ones you love (and put up the Christmas tree!, even if it’s your way).

Origin of the Christmas tree

So that once and for all you know where it comes from, I will be clear and concise:

First came the Christians and they met the Vikings (this sounds familiar eh; as you can tell you spend your Friday afternoons on Netflix…). These Vikings celebrated, around the same time as today, the birth of Frey (god of the Sun and fertility). And they did so by decorating a non-evergreen tree (symbol of the tree of the universe, or
Yggdrasil
): at the top was
Asgard
(or house of the gods) and the
Valhalla
(Odin’s palace), and at the foot of it was
Helheim
(the realm of the dead).

Seeing this panorama, some people must have liked it and converted (they stopped being Christians) and took this idea of the tree to represent the birth of Christ (without all this nonsense).

But a German came along and cut to the quick. That is, he cut down the tree that symbolized the
Yggdrasil
and planted a pine tree (the real one, not the one you are imagining). This, being perennial (lasting forever), perfectly symbolized God’s love (his love for eternity), and he adorned it with apples (original sin or temptations) and candles (the light of the world), which are now balls, garlands and other ornaments.

Later, others must have arrived who, instead of planting pine trees, dedicated themselves to leaving gifts under the tree (according to different traditions, sent by Santa Claus, the Three Wise Men, the Three Wise Men, and others).
Three Wise Men
or Santa Claus).

And you may be wondering how this tradition ended up in Spain from Germany. Well, as it usually happens, for love. Veeeenga, I’ll quickly gossip: the husband of the Russian princess Sofia Troubetzkov (Russian), brother of Napoleon III, died, and she was remarried to Jose Osorio y Silva, a Spanish aristocrat, better known as the Marquis of Alcañices. She must have known (due to her proximity to Germany) of this tradition and implanted it in the palace of Alcañices, in the Paseo del Prado in Madrid, back in 1870. The neighbor would find out, the neighbor told her brother…. And so to this day.

What does the Christmas tree mean?

The Christmas tree symbolizes the tree of Paradise (which I remind you Adam and Eve ate from) and the tree of Life or eternal life (because it is an evergreen tree).

Morphologically (because it is triangular), it also represents the Holy Trinity.

And, in case you want to know what color to decorate the Christmas tree:

Blue is related to reconciliation.
Silver with appreciation.
Gold with good times, joy or happiness.
Green with abundance, strength and naturalness.

How to decorate a Christmas tree

Although you have already seen that the thing started with apples and candles, you can decorate it with many other decorations. Mainly:

Star: in allusion to the star of Bethlehem, it is usually placed at the tip. Traditionally it represented, and still represents, the faith that should guide the life of any Christian.
Spheres: balls, balls, bowling balls…, call it X. Originally, each sphere represented the gifts that God gave to men.
Bonds: symbolize the union between family members or loved ones, around gifts to give and receive.
Lights: or garlands.

(No, tinsel is not included in the list. Please do not put tinsel. I repeat: no tinsel).

When is the Christmas tree put up and taken down?

You know that saying “tell me who you hang out with and I’ll tell you what you lack”? Well, here it’s the same: tell me how old you are and I’ll tell you when to put it on, since according to a report by Tesco, people from between 18 and 35 years old put the tree before the over 50 years oldwho adhere to the tradition of putting it in the 12 days before Christmas (yes, I didn’t know about this tradition either, probably because I’m in the first stripe).

If we stick to tradition (or google a bit), the Christmas tree should be put up at the beginning of Advent (prior to Christmas and as a preparation stage for the birth of Jesus).

Advent starts 4 Sundays before Christmas and, in case you’re interested, this year it starts on Sunday, November 27, perfect for getting your Black Friday decorations in and decorating.

Of course, you can also wait a little while and join those in the December 1 (for those who are more OCD and love the countdown), to those who love the countdown, to those of the December 8th (since it’s a holiday), to those of the December 13 (for those who buy the natural tree, closer to the date) or to those of the December 23rd (those who find out that dinner on the 24th is at their home and have to improvise a tree).

The latter may also benefit from the Christmas tree ideas section.

As for when to take down the Christmas tree, well, whenever you want, because I tell you when I tell you, you’re going to take it down whenever you feel like it. If not, just tell it to the protagonist of
Many children, a monkey and a castle
. You haven’t seen it yet? A lot of Vikings, a lot of Vikings… but little trending!