O Christmas Tree…Oh No?

With the holiday season approaching, many businesses and individuals have already put up decorations. Among them are Christmas trees. A popular carol “O Christmas Tree” originated from Germany as “O Tannenbaum”, which translates as “O Fir Tree.” The original lyrics had nothing to do with Christmas. Nevertheless, I remember singing the German version a time or two while in grade school.

Like other holiday traditions, some Christians oppose the usage of Christmas trees. One of my Facebook friends made a judgmental comment that people putting up Christmas trees “are worshiping the devil and have a mental disease.” Before giving my life to Christ, I didn’t have a Christmas tree in my apartment because of the time and expense involved. Instead, I drove up to Mom and Dad’s house for the holidays and enjoyed looking at their decorations. Nowadays, I still don’t own a Christmas tree mainly due to my missionary lifestyle.

Once I heard evangelist Jesse Duplantis talk about the time he bought and gift-wrapped a Christmas present for Jesus (“Why not? It's His birthday!”). Jesse then placed the present underneath his Christmas tree. The spirit of God bugged Jesse to tell Him in advance what His present was! This story serves as a reminder the Lord is not as stuffy as we sometimes perceive Him to be. God wants us to have fun and enjoy life as long as He is numero uno (Matthew 6:33).

Why make a big fuss over Christmas trees? I’ve never seen anyone bow down and worship one. In fact, most trees are decorated with a star on top to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem. Rather than protesting traditions with supposedly pagan origins, how about promoting the Reason for the Season…the One who eventually died on a tree for us?

“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths” - Colossians 2:16

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