Christmas trees, candlelight and our warmest wishes

We deck our halls, trim our trees and kiss under the mistletoe without much thought of what it all means. Throughout history, evergreen trees and clippings have been used to decorate interiors as a reminder that the promise of spring’s rebirth is not far away.

But the practice of decorating with Christmas greenery hasn’t always been so widely accepted. In the fourth century The Church frowned upon the use of evergreen shrubbery and landscape clippings as decorations because it was too closely associated with the ancient pagan celebration of Saturnalia.

Spread the holiday cheer! Feel free to copy You Tube's embed code to put this video on your own site.

In the sixteenth century, John Calvin, an influential French theologian, objected to the observation of the Christian calendar, which included Christmas and Easter. He believed both holidays promoted “irreligious frivolity”. It was also this period in history that the people of Germany began to decorate Christmas trees and clippings with candles, ribbon, fruit and ornaments much as we do today.

According to legend, Martin Luther, the renown theologian whose teachings inspired the Protestant Reformation, made his now famous journey home with the original Christmas tree.  And although there is little historical reference for our First Christmas Tree video, we thoroughly enjoyed recreating the magic of the story.

Let us know if you like our Christmas tree story by leaving a comment on this post. Don’t forget to share and tweet with your friends and family. Subscribe to our RSS feed if you want to know when our next story launches, or subscribe to our occasional e newsletter by filling out the simple name and email form shown at right. You’ll receive access to our Designing with Candles ebook absolutely FREE! It’s full of creative and innovative ways to use candle holders throughout your home.

Time to put a few gifts under the tree

Okay. Your tree is ready. Now it’s time to put a gift or two underneath. If you’re stuck on just what to buy for that special someone, stop by our Holiday Gift Guide. Here’s a short list of a few of our favorite heart felt gifts this year.

1. For those of us on a budget, but still need a little romance, the Massage Oil Candle is an amazing 3-in-1 product that can be used as an aromatic candle, revitalizing skin moisturizer, or delightfully indulgent warm massage oil!

2. Gulam Rasool’s traditional jali or openwork carving candle holders. Working in soapstone, he crafts a beautiful pair of candle holders for the romantic glow of tea lights.

3. This beautifully elegant bronze figure candle holder, with its simple gesture of offering, will add a dramatic touch to any room’s decor.

4. And if you’re feeling slightly more generous, we recommend the simple pleasures of an outdoor fire pit with this Big Sky Firepit. The stars and moon decorative cutouts add yet another incredible fire light ambiance. The sturdy construction is designed for easy assembly and, once complete, provides full circle fire viewing.

We would like to extend special thanks to Kevin MacLeod at Incompetech for  his delightful rendition of Deck The Halls which was used in The First Christmas Tree video.

And finally, we hope the good times and treasures of this holiday season become your golden memories of tomorrow. We wish you the very best of the season!