Decorating the Christmas tree is an essential part of the celebration of the festival.
Ideally, an evergreen conifer — either a pine or a fir would be used. However, these days, artificial Christmas trees have taken the place of the real one.
It is believed that the tradition comes to us from Germany when Martin Luther ( a German monk, priest, professor of theology), inspired by the beauty of the starry skies one night, brought home a fir tree and decorated it with lighted candles. Fir symbolises fire which is an ancient sign of the spirit.
Fir is an evergreen conifer and thought to represent the ever burning fire of life and the green signifies the life force present within us through the year.
