Back When? 1910 Why Apples as Ornaments? A Tale of Eden and Christmas Trees

 Before Christmas trees were adorned with glass ornaments, apples were used for decoration Most people have likely noticed all the food-shaped ornaments. Stores carry ornaments shaped and colored like pies, cakes, cookies, tacos, and even some glitter-adorned French fries, hamburgers, and hot dogs. But the most common foodie ornaments are fruit-shaped. And while some of the food shapes are modern trends, apples have been around for decades. Many antique stores carry sparkling apple ornaments of red and green. In the much older days like pre 1900s, people put real apples on the tree. In anvient times, evergreens had a mystical appeal. They came to symbolize life eternal, and they often played a big part in religious ceremonies. People hung pines and ever greens in the house and barns to scare away evil spirits. They also used them at Christmas time for a symbol of Jesus and eternal life. The practice sprouted some seed lings for Christmas Tree traditions, but when it comes to the Christmas tree as we know it, most historical fingers point to Germany. And apples have a starring role in the story. In Medieval Germany, December 24th saw the celebration of another festival besides Christmas. They called it “Adam and Eve Day,” and it commemorated the story of the fall of man. The celebration of Adam and Eve day involved a “mystery play” or a “paradise play.” An acting out of the Adam and Eve story, performed since many church goers at the time were illiterate and couldn’t read it for themselves. These plays centered around a very important prop called the “Paradise Tree.” This evergreen tree, usually fir, was adorned with apples and used to represent the Garden of Eden. Sometimes, churches added communion wafers to symbolize Jesus and the promise of salvation. The wafers also merged two powerful tree ideas in Christian literature – the tree of life, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The Paradise Tree became so prominent that some church es paraded it through the streets after service, and everyone came to partake in the joy of it. In the fifteenth century, the Catholic church banned Adam and Eve day as well as all mystery plays. But… the Paradise Tree survived. It moved into private homes, where families decorated it with apples and bread wafers. As the years passed, people swapped out wafers for cookies and added candles to celebrate the coming of the light of the world. In the sixteenth century, the Paradise tree merged with another well known German Christmas tradition – the Christ mas pyramid. This wooden structure was decorated with evergreens, figurines, and sometimes a star on top. When the tree and the pyramid came together, it started the modern-day Christmas Tree. With influences from the traditions of Adam and Eve day, apples, cookies, and wafers remained popular Christmas Tree ornaments well into the 1900s. Today, the apple is still a prominent Christmas ornament, but in most cases, they come in plastic or glass form.