Later, in the 1600s, Christians in Germany were documented bringing evergreen trees inside ... Christ − or Christmas. Before the word took on its current meaning, yule was a pagan midwinter ...

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, nobody knows your origin. It's true — historians don't agree on where people started celebrating Christmas with a decorated fir tree, and who did it first.

From Estonia to Antarctica, this once-pagan ... A Christmas tree towers outside St. Peter’s church in Riga, Latvia. Folklore offers a number of different explanations for the meaning of the ...

Historian Lucy Worsley traces the roots of Christmas by exploring the Anglo-Saxon tradition, wassailing where people sing to the apple trees to celebrate the winter solstice. Watch the full ...

Rituals like lighting bonfires and using evergreens (like our Christmas trees ... Some sought to "redeem" pagan customs by infusing them with Christian meaning, while others emphasized the ...