When the Temple was cleansed of all the pagan defilements, the oil lampstand, known as the menorah, was to be re-lit.  

There was a problem--there was only found enough holy olive oil to burn for one day, and it would take a week before more could be made.

The decision was made to pour the small amount of oil in the lamp, and miraculously, it burned for an entire week!


The Feast of the Dedication of the Temple was mentioned in the New Testament, John 10:22:

"And it was at Jerusalem the Feast of the Dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch."

Lights at this season were added to the decorations on evergreen Christmas trees in the 16th century.

The Christmas tree's origins can be traced back to the 200 AD's, when the early church father Tertullian wrote:

"You are the light of the world, a tree ever green, if you have renounced the heathen temple."

In the 6th, 7th and 8th centuries, missionaries from Ireland, Scotland and Britain evangelized Europe.

It was during this time that the courageous St. Boniface (680-755) evangelized heathen Germanic tribes, and added to the development of Christmas traditions.

Also called Wynfred, St. Boniface left his home near Crediton, Devonshire, in Britain, being sent by Pope Gregory II to be Apostle of the Germans.


In the year 716 AD, St. Boniface confronted the Chieftain Gundhar, who was about to offer the little Prince Asulf as a human "bloody sacrifice" to Thor, their feared pagan god of thunder, who supposedly lived in the huge "donar" oak tree at Geismar.

"Thor" is the namesake of Thor's day, or "Thursday." Quakers, not wanting to use the pagan name, referred to the day as "Fifth Day." 

Another pagan god "Odin" or "Woden" is namesake of "Woden's Day" or "Wednesday."


St. Boniface boldly took an ax and after a few swings, chopped down Thor's mighty "blood" oak.

By some accounts, an enormous wind swept in at that moment and helped blow the tree over.

The heathen throng was in awe.

They rejected their defeated pagan gods of Thor and Odin and converted to Christianity.

Pointing to an evergreen tree that was next to the fallen oak, or that had miraculously grown up out of it, St. Boniface declared:


"This is the word, and this is the counsel. Not a drop of blood shall fall tonight, for this is the birth-night of Saint Christ, Son of the All-Father and Saviour of the world.

This little tree, a young child of the forest, shall be a home tree tonight. It is the wood of peace, for your houses are built of fir. It is the sign of endless life, for its branches are ever green.


... See how it points toward Heaven! Let this be called the tree of the Christ Child; gather about it, not in the wild woods but in your homes; there it will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts and lights of kindness."

The legend continued that St. Boniface used the triangular shape of the evergreen tree to explain the Trinity, similar to how St. Patrick used the three-leaf clover.

The triangular shaped evergreen tree was hung upside down from the ceiling of the Germans' humble homes as a symbol of Christianity.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) is credited with popularizing the tradition of putting of lights on the tree.

" Henry Longfellow wrote a Christmas carol in a time of crisis, the War Between the States, in 1864.

Two verses of that carol (" I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day") particularly express my thoughts and prayers and, I'm sure, those of our Nation in this time of challenge ... I would like to quote from that poem:

'And in despair I bowed my head.
There is no peace on earth, I said.
For hate is strong and mocks the song
of peace on earth, good  will to men.

Then pealed the bells,
more loud and deep,
God is not dead,
nor does he sleep.

 

The wrong shall fail,
the right prevail,
With peace on earth,
good will to men.'"

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow not only wrote popular books and carols, but he was also a professor at Harvard, where he taught a student named Phillips Brooks.



Phillips Brooks, born DECEMBER 13, 1835, was the Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts.

While on a trip to the Holy Land in 1865, Phillips Brooks wrote:

"After an early dinner, we took our horses and rode to Bethlehem ...



... It was only about two hours when we came to the town, situated on an eastern ridge of a range of hills, surrounded by its terraced gardens.



... It is a good-looking town, better built than any other we have seen in Palestine ... 

Before dark, we rode out of town to the field where they say the shepherds saw the star.  



... It is a fenced piece of ground with a cave in it (all the Holy Places are caves here), in which, strangely enough, they put the shepherds ...



... As we passed, the shepherds were still 'keeping watch over their flocks or leading them home to fold.'"

Phillips Brooks returned to Massachusetts in September of 1866 and wrote the carol, " O Little Town of Bethlehem":




"O little town of Bethlehem!
How still we see thee lie;
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep,
The silent stars go by;

Yet in thy dark streets shineth,
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears
of all the years,
Are met in thee tonight."



Get the book There Really is a Santa Claus-The History of Saint Nicholas & Christmas Holiday Tradition


Another Christmas carol of this era is " Go, Tell It on the Mountain," one of the most popular Negro Spirituals.

It was first published in 1865 in a collection complied by John Wesley Work, Jr.



The song was recorded by notable singers, including Mahalia Jackson, who once stated:

"I sing God's music because it makes me feel free ... It gives me hope.

With the blues, when you finish, you still have the blues."



"Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.

While shepherds kept their watching
o'er silent flocks by night,
Behold, throughout the heavens
There shone a holy light.


Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.

The shepherds feared and trembled,
When lo! above the earth,
Rang out the angels chorus
That hailed our Savior's birth.


Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.

Down in a lowly manger
The humble Christ was born
And God sent us salvation
That blessed Christmas morn."



In 1865, William Chatterton Dix wrote the Christmas carol, " What Child Is This":

What child is this, who, laid to rest
On Mary's lap, is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping? (Chorus)


This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary!

Why lies he in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear for sinners here,
The silent Word is pleading. (Chorus)


So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come peasant king to own Him,
The King of kings, salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.

Raise, raise the song on high,
The Virgin sings her lullaby:
Joy, joy, for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary!

In 1867, Mark Twain visited the Holy Land, as recorded in his book, Innocents Abroad, 1869:

"In the starlight, Galilee has no boundaries but the broad compass of the heavens, and is a theatre meet for great events; meet for the birth of a religion able to save the world."

In 1885, " Away in a Manger" was published in a Lutheran Sunday school book. It was edited in 1892 by Charles H. Gabriel and set to music in 1895 by William J. Kirkpatrick:



Away in a manger,
No crib for His bed
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down His sweet head
The stars in the bright sky
Looked down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay


The cattle are lowing
The poor Baby wakes
But little Lord Jesus
No crying He makes
I love Thee, Lord Jesus
Look down from the sky
And stay by my side,
'Til morning is nigh.


Be near me, Lord Jesus,
I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me I pray
Bless all the dear children
In Thy tender care
And take us to heaven
To live with Thee there."



In 1836, Alabama became the first state to recognize Christmas Day as a holiday.

Eventually, all 50 states recognized Christmas Day as an official legal holiday.

On Christmas Day, 1868, President Andrew Johnson proclaimed full pardon and amnesty for all who had participated in secession, without reserve or exception.

In 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a Bill making Christmas Day a Federal Holiday.

In 1880, Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, strung electric Christmas lights on his Menlo Park Laboratory.

In 1882, Edward Johnson, Edison's partner in the Edison Illumination Company, assembled the first "string" of electric Christmas tree lights.

In 1895, President Grover Cleveland placed the first "electrically- lit" Christmas tree in the White House.

In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge turned on the 3,000 electric lights on the first "National Christmas Tree," located outside the White House on the ellipse of the south lawn.

Lighting the National Christmas Tree, December 24, 1952, President Harry S Truman stated :

 

"Shepherds, in a field, heard angels singing: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men' ...