Oh Tannenbaum, oh Tannenbaum wie grün sind deine Blätter! Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit, nein auch im Winter wenn es schneit. Oh Tannenbaum, oh Tannebaum Wie grün sind deine Blätter! 🌲
Along the same line, Germanic tribes believed that spirits lived in trees, so if they were going to cut one, they would knock on the tree beforehand to give the spirit time to find another home. To not knock would bring the ire of the spirit upon you and your family...hence, knock on wood to prevent evil from happening.
@@ETS186 But unfortunately in this case completely wrong - absolutely no evidence for that theory at all. The earliest references to 'touching wood' (the UK version of 'knock on wood') are from 1805 and 1828 and probably came from the very well known children's game of the time 'Tiggy-touch-wood', a chasing game where the pursued is safe if he or she touches wood of some sort. There was a chant - "Tiggy, tiggy, touch wood, I've got no wood" to tease the chaser.
@Wotsitorlabart he isn’t wrong … it only took a quick google? The phrase “knocking on wood” is english, but knocking on trees is a proto Celtic tradition that is preserved in folklore beyond the 1800s. A lot of cultures have a “knocking on wood” related practice.
Actually the Christmas tree was first decorated in Riga (Latvia) in 1510, way before the original song of O Tannenbaum was written (around 1 century later). It was erected by the guild of merchants, which traveled across Northern Europe (the Hanseatic League). The tree was decorated with natural motives and burnt to honor the god of sun, as a way of praying for the god to heat up the city during the cold winter. As you may know, Germans founded the city of Riga, so it's fair to say that this is a German thing. The truth is it's origin is Baltic.
They often caught on fire to the point that that while queen Victoria did have one with candles other English commoners lost their houses and they had to prohibit it in some places. (Making ornaments to catch sunlight/reflections instead of lights and eventually electric lights replacing candles all together) It’s why tinsel is so popular as a cheap replacement or alternative to expensive decor like glassware
Idk people put candles on trees every year and it never burns. Only if its an old and dry tree the danger increases which is why people use fresh trees
Its a era you see even today with clothing, furniture, etc. Even parts of the white house is still decorated with Victorian era furniture to some what preserve the look of the house that its always been for a century.
A rather unknown fact : The first appearance of a Christmas tree in North America, with its branches decorated with fruits and lit with candles, goes way back to 1781 in the town of Sorel (now Sorel-Tracy) in Quebec, Canada in the historical building that is now known as "La maison des gouverneurs" (The Governors House), by german baroness Riedsel when she hosted a Christmas party for British and German officers.
I worked at the local museum one summer, and we had a room dedicated to that house and that story. Also that house still exists, it's now the local visitor center as well as an art gallery!
South Park once had a Christmas themed episode in which it was performed by none other than holly jolly Adolf Hitler. 🎅🏻 I guess that counts as being sung by an adult…
The first public Christmas trees were placed by German merchant guilds in Livonia in what are modern Tallinn, Estonia and Riga, Latvia. There are records of such public trees from as early as 1441.
Yes this videos is so overly simplified that it becomes comical, but I guess the title is "How Christmas trees stopped being just a German thing" so they are maybe trying to stay on topic and keep it short I guess: God Jul!
If you wanna be technical, Evergreens were first used during the winter solstice in ancient Egypt and Rome for pagan traditions that would later be replaced with the birth of christ out of convenience, only much much later would Germans appropriate this ancient tradition.
Absolutely true! Actually the Christmas tree was first decorated in Riga (Latvia) in 1510, way before the original song of O Tannenbaum was written (around 1 century later). It was erected by the guild of merchants, which traveled across Northern Europe (the Hanseatic League). The tree was decorated with natural motives and burnt to honor the god of sun, as a way of praying for the god to heat up the city during the cold winter. As you may know, Germans founded the city of Riga, so it's fair to say that this is a German thing. The truth is it's origin is Baltic.
I always thought it was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (from the heavily-forested German state of Thuringia) who was the one who brought the Christmas tree tradition to England. You didn't bridge the gap, though, between Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria's dad was a son of Charlotte, the Duke of Kent. So the Duke knew and probably approved of the Christmas tree tradition. However, her mother was also a German--Princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Again, from the northern regions of Germany. So the Christmas tree tradition was further reinforced by Queen Victoria's very German mother.
Actually the Christmas tree was first decorated in Riga (Latvia) in 1510, way before the original song of O Tannenbaum was written (around 1 century later). It was erected by the guild of merchants, which traveled across Northern Europe (the Hanseatic League). The tree was decorated with natural motives and burnt to honor the god of sun, as a way of praying for the god to heat up the city during the cold winter. As you may know, Germans founded the city of Riga, so it's fair to say that this is a German thing. The truth is it's origin is Baltic.
If I got it right, it was actually mentioned. There was a part in the video about Charlotte's granddaughter Victoria marrying her cousin Albert from Germany et cetera er cetera.
@@pablosantanatur9122 what’s being discussed in this thread isn’t, however, it’s origin, but the way I’m which the tradition found it’s way to England, and thus spread throughout the Anglosphere.
Fun fact: Decorating pine trees as "Christmas Trees" is a tradition that originates all the way back to the Bronze Age, where Hittites decorated pine trees with various "ornaments" from walnut shells to sacks full of barley grains to celebrate the equinox season as "rebirth of nature," their holy day. Equinoxes are celebrated by some people to this day in Turkey.
@@noodle_tax Christmas trees as we call them today have only been around for ~300 years but evergreen trees have long been a symbol of life and brought inside the homes to celebrated the winter solstice going back a long long way. Whether the whole way back to the bronze Age, I don't know.
@Zaydan Alfariz with all due respect that’s a subjective point of view. I’d rather wear cowboy boots, jeans, and a camouflage hat. Capitalism breeds a more diverse set of cultures
As far as I know, a lot of Christian cultures in the tropics used to never have Christmas trees inside their homes during Christmas. Christmas lights and garlands were the norm. I think that this is still the norm in many Christian families in the tropics.
@Zaydan Alfariz They do sell plastic ones, but they're such an expensive decor only to be used one month of the year. It's not really practical. The closest alternative is just decorating the real trees outside your house.
I live in Lunenburg County in Nova Scotia. It is called the Balsam Fir Christmas Tree capital of the world because of all the tree farms around here. There was a lot of German immigration here in the late 1700s and along with the German name of the county, it's fitting that there are a lot of tree farms here.
Thanks for this Phil, its very interesting how German culture is super intertwined with American culture (never thought of it but like burgers and hot dogs which are considered so USA also came from German culture and we just don’t think about it) - merry christmas and happy holidays!
The same with the love of beer, microbreweries, beer gardens and the like. Budweiser and Anheuser-Busch are both very German names after all. That being said, German culture is not as celebrated in America as Irish or Italian or even Polish culture because of the vehement anti-German sentiment in the U.S. during WWI. Which then got worse in WWII. So German-Americans have kept their cultural contributions to the U.S. very much under wraps. They didn't want to suffer a nasty backlash.
Sure thats why the Christmas tree became popular in our culture but why did the kings of Christmas (Germany) start hauling trees into their homes. I was hoping for that answer.
Another commenter here says “tree cults” were just a big thing all round in Germany since forever. They say a tree struck by lightning was “blessed by Thor”, and every tree species apparently had its own properties/spirit. They don’t explain what the fir tree supposedly did, but it can be inferred the spirit it had was supposed to help with midwinter hardship.
according to tradition, Saint Boniface, when he came to convert the Germans to Christianity, cut down a revered oak tree to demonstrate that Thor had no power over him. From next to the stump of the oak, a fir tree (which, unlike the oak tree, stays green throughout winter and thus is a year-round symbol of life) sprouted up. Contrary to popular belief, it was the oak tree (not the evergreen) that was revered by the Germanic pagan tribes, and these were special trees in special groves left outside and untouched, because cutting them down was seen as sacrilegious. The elevation of evergreens to a highly-prized status is a development of and by Germanic Christians, and they're the ones who started placing trees inside and into public squares during Advent.
Funny though that the tradition of having a Christmas tree and putting the presents around it made it to the anglo-saxon world but not the tradition of opening them on Christmas eve instead of the 25th.
The German custom comes from German paganism. "Tree cults" we call them, where given trees were said to have exotic properties (I.E. a tree that survives a lighting strike was "blessed by Thor"). Tree cults were still being discovered in Germany in the late 18th century.
It’s not really surprising that German traditions sooner or later found their way into American culture since Germans are still the largest group of ancestors by country in the US (the UK is a union of countries). Up to this day a lot of typically American traditions were originally German or influenced by Germans
@@redsharktooth22 The Holy Roman Empire lasted 1000 years. And from the 15th century onwards it had the suffix “German Nation”. The German Empire, which was founded in 1870, was not called the “Second Empire” for nothing. And that didn't unite all Germans either. Austria was independent because they decided against uniting all German states ("Kleindeutsche Lösung" Little German solution). The war between Prussia and Austria before the unification was called the German-German war because the two largest German states fought for supremacy over the other german states.
The uk is not a union of countries but a union of nations and that itself is largely untrue. Britain is largely a single ethnic group and culture group at this point and for that reason Britain is the largest ethnicity in America especially considering that nost identify as American and they’re mostly old stock Saxons.
Regarding the waste of Christmas trees. In the German countryside the used Christmas trees are getting collected by the youths in the middle of January every year and stacked in a specific place (mostly on a hill). When Eastern comes around the trees and other old branches etc. are getting stacked up to a big heap. Many people are coming together around the heap, which then gets lit up around 9pm on either Friday/Saturday or Sunday (every village has their specific day) for the Osterfeuer (easter fire) celebration. In this way they are used twice for celebrations.
like Easter it's a pagan festival that Christianity sort of integrated. So in my view it's mainly about celebrating the days getting longer and breaking the long dark nights with festivity. And you can add jezus if you like as well.
The traditional evergreen tree or at least tree branch in the house during the winter solstice is as old as civilization. It just didn't survive as a tradition everywhere. It's a good thing that germans kept the tradition and it was not completely forgotten. It's probably one of the oldest traditions we humans stills do.
Because Christians adopted a lot of their traditions from the Celts. It was their way of converting people to Christianity. So holidays like Christmas and Easter are linked to Celtic holidays and traditions. Even the Holy Trinity is linked to the Celts.
@@amakiethagod The father, son, holy spirit. The Trinity. Celts believed that things of importance came in 3's, which is why they also have the Trinity knot. This was incorporated by Christians as a method to convert Celts to Christianity. Even Holy Water is derived from the Celts, with links to Goddesses - one being Brigid. Look it up.
I never understood the phrase "you can see it from space", because you can't. You need telescopes but again that way you can see a lone tree or a person in some cases, will that mean anything special?
Victoria was not exposed to the Christmas tree by Charlotte. They did not live in the same palace. Her mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg Saalfield (obviously German) would have exposed her to this tradition regardless of Charlotte.
The pagan Germans worshipped oak trees and decorated them during the winter solstice. Christian missionaries said it was okay to worship trees in connection to God, but only the fir trees, as their triangular shape represented the Holy Trinity. And now you know, the rest of the story.
0:18 for anyone wondering, Christmas trees actually are in the Christian Bible. Jeremiah 10:2-5 says “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. “For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.” “They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.” “They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.”
@@sirpingsalot3558 They might be, but that’s yet to be proven. My point is that the Jeremiah passage is not exegetically speaking of Christmas trees. It’s speaking of carved idols as used by ancient Israel.
It’s weird how Queen Victoria spread those traditions such as X-mas tree and white wedding dress worldwide. It proves how powerful British kingdom and its influence was.
more fun facts: the stonians are the first in recorded history to have an actual christmas "tree", in the town square. not long after, the latvians were the first ones to decorate one.
But placed by German merchants. The German Hanseatic league trade empire had huge trading points in both of these cities at the time and Germans placed them there
@@mistermist634 Your comment makes sense. If those cultural practices had their origins in Germany, the first recorded ‘christmas tree’ would have been displayed in their own country, and not in faraway lands. It is a well known fact that the balts would celebrate the changing of seasons, and one way in which they celebrated the winter solstice was by decorating the indoors with chopped down trees, twigs etc. These practices pre-date Christianity and a German national/ethnic identity.
@@freedomordeath010 well, the German Christmas traditions don’t come from Christianity either. Germans as well, as far back as when they were only mere tribes around the year 0, celebrated the winter solstice. It’s a very common tradition in European cultures. Putting up green things inside the house as well. And that’s how the Christmas tree tradition originally started - with putting plants inside during winter. I’d say it’s near impossible to say where the first Christmas tree was put up, since it’s unlikely that it was recorded or that it was made public. It might’ve been just the idea of one person which others liked and adapted. That means, we can’t be sure that it was really in Germany, but we can’t prove it wrong either.
@@zafelrede4884 Ok, then please go ahead and explain to me how your relationship with a tree leave works because of how faithful it is... (I do know what you mean, and yes, it's not completely without sense but green still makes more sense than faithful does.)
I was hoping someone else would pick up on this. I was going to let it slide, but he said it twice at least. I know it’s meant to sensationalize how big the Christmas tree farms are, but I thought it was kind of silly. In an exaggerated form I would say: “You can see this penny from space!” And then film 2 feet above it “in space”
The song actually translates to "oh great tree" the Christmas tree of originally known as the Yule tree was draped in white during Yule, and then burned. That is it's true origin.
wrong Tannenbaum means fir tree not great tree. the translation musst be "oh fir tree, oh fir tree how green are your leafes. You not only green in summer time but also in winter when snow is falling, oh fir tree oh fir tree..."
actually its a protestant German thing until Kaiser Franz Josef of Austria in Austria where no Christmas tress. In the rest of the Catholic Duchy's of Germany too.
Queen Victoria popularized the Christmas Tree, Christmas card and also wearing a white wedding dress in her wedding throughout the British Empire. The rest as they say is history.
And there you go … even VOX’s minimal research shows the relatively short tradition that has roots in pagan customs and nothing to do with what’s in the Bible
How did Christmas trees become a thing in the Anglosphere* Christmas trees had spread from Germany to other European countries (especially Scandinavia) before they were popularized in Britain and later America.
the ending feels a little weird. ‘you can see christmas tree farms from space’ seems like an odd, almost irrelevant final (and initial) word for a video about how a christmas tradition actually got started.
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"Oh, Tannenbaum" is still relatively widely sung here in Germany.
Really... How could that be possible? 😹
i believe the mellody is a little different?
Same here in Belgium!
I've definitely sung both O Tannenbaum and the English version in churches and schools in the US.
Oh Tannenbaum, oh Tannenbaum wie grün sind deine Blätter!
Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit, nein auch im Winter wenn es schneit.
Oh Tannenbaum, oh Tannebaum
Wie grün sind deine Blätter! 🌲
Along the same line, Germanic tribes believed that spirits lived in trees, so if they were going to cut one, they would knock on the tree beforehand to give the spirit time to find another home. To not knock would bring the ire of the spirit upon you and your family...hence, knock on wood to prevent evil from happening.
Wooooow...a lot of comments are funny, a lot are toxic...and a lot are informative, like yours. Thank you!
@@ETS186
But unfortunately in this case completely wrong - absolutely no evidence for that theory at all.
The earliest references to 'touching wood' (the UK version of 'knock on wood') are from 1805 and 1828 and probably came from the very well known children's game of the time 'Tiggy-touch-wood', a chasing game where the pursued is safe if he or she touches wood of some sort. There was a chant - "Tiggy, tiggy, touch wood, I've got no wood" to tease the chaser.
@Wotsitorlabart he isn’t wrong … it only took a quick google? The phrase “knocking on wood” is english, but knocking on trees is a proto Celtic tradition that is preserved in folklore beyond the 1800s. A lot of cultures have a “knocking on wood” related practice.
interesting I didn't know that
@@abbikadabie5841that’s very interesting as the original Celtic tribes originated in parts of Germay/Austria
And the „Adventskranz“ / Advent wreath and the „Adventskalender“ / Advent calendar are also German things in the weeks prior to christmas
But you can keep your Krampus. No idea where this came from. Some obscure rite from a bavarian village, was falsly made to a german thing somehow.
@@Gpcas9 Krampus is certainly NOT a thing all over Germany.
@@Gpcas9 It's also a thing in multiple parts of Austria. So while it's not a thing throughout Germany, it's not from 'one village in bavaria' either.
Actually the Christmas tree was first decorated in Riga (Latvia) in 1510, way before the original song of O Tannenbaum was written (around 1 century later). It was erected by the guild of merchants, which traveled across Northern Europe (the Hanseatic League). The tree was decorated with natural motives and burnt to honor the god of sun, as a way of praying for the god to heat up the city during the cold winter. As you may know, Germans founded the city of Riga, so it's fair to say that this is a German thing. The truth is it's origin is Baltic.
@@DerMBen it's quite likely that the Krampus spilled over from Austria to Bavaria, so it is not German in origin at all.
It's really weird to see those old Christmas trees weren't burnt by extensive decorations of lit up candles 🙃
They were. Sometimes. You have to really careful to not knock them over.
They often caught on fire to the point that that while queen Victoria did have one with candles other English commoners lost their houses and they had to prohibit it in some places. (Making ornaments to catch sunlight/reflections instead of lights and eventually electric lights replacing candles all together)
It’s why tinsel is so popular as a cheap replacement or alternative to expensive decor like glassware
@@arianaink100 Great insight!
Idk people put candles on trees every year and it never burns. Only if its an old and dry tree the danger increases which is why people use fresh trees
It was standard to put a bucket of water next to it.
When you're so American, even in a video about Germany, you still manage to mention Mount Rushmore
Youre aware this video is made in America, right?
@@PrivateAccountXSG that doesn't change the fact that mt. rushmore has absolutely nothing to do with the topic
But also: who cares.
@@RandyMahnke Did you watch the video? The connection about Mount Rushmore was explained in the video.
@@tubester4567 yes I did. There is no connection, it was fabricated. Totally useless
The Victorian era really was such an influential era
Yess. My favorite era
Its a era you see even today with clothing, furniture, etc. Even parts of the white house is still decorated with Victorian era furniture to some what preserve the look of the house that its always been for a century.
My favorite is the attitude era. 2 middle fingers up for lord stone cold steve austin
Everyone loves the Victorian era and it’s flavour of colonialism
😮💨
@@Whatarenoginthe no one was talking about colonialism
A rather unknown fact : The first appearance of a Christmas tree in North America, with its branches decorated with fruits and lit with candles, goes way back to 1781 in the town of Sorel (now Sorel-Tracy) in Quebec, Canada in the historical building that is now known as "La maison des gouverneurs" (The Governors House), by german baroness Riedsel when she hosted a Christmas party for British and German officers.
@@majrminer It was revealed to them in a dream.
@@majrminer You work as a college professor? Why are you intent on getting a source in such an inconsequential forum?
@@majrminer You can just search for it if you dont trust the info. The story is easy to find.
I worked at the local museum one summer, and we had a room dedicated to that house and that story. Also that house still exists, it's now the local visitor center as well as an art gallery!
This is the first time I have heard adults sing tannenbaum.
South Park once had a Christmas themed episode in which it was performed by none other than holly jolly Adolf Hitler. 🎅🏻 I guess that counts as being sung by an adult…
Same here, sounds cool though
I've heard adults sing it several times.....but I grew up in Germany so that's probably why :)
But they didn't play a nice version of it 🤔
Nat Cole performed it in German and English on his Christmas album.
The first public Christmas trees were placed by German merchant guilds in Livonia in what are modern Tallinn, Estonia and Riga, Latvia. There are records of such public trees from as early as 1441.
Yes this videos is so overly simplified that it becomes comical, but I guess the title is "How Christmas trees stopped being just a German thing" so they are maybe trying to stay on topic and keep it short I guess: God Jul!
If you wanna be technical, Evergreens were first used during the winter solstice in ancient Egypt and Rome for pagan traditions that would later be replaced with the birth of christ out of convenience, only much much later would Germans appropriate this ancient tradition.
Absolutely true! Actually the Christmas tree was first decorated in Riga (Latvia) in 1510, way before the original song of O Tannenbaum was written (around 1 century later). It was erected by the guild of merchants, which traveled across Northern Europe (the Hanseatic League). The tree was decorated with natural motives and burnt to honor the god of sun, as a way of praying for the god to heat up the city during the cold winter. As you may know, Germans founded the city of Riga, so it's fair to say that this is a German thing. The truth is it's origin is Baltic.
@@pablosantanatur9122 the first instance is known to have been in Tallinn though in 1441. :)
there was no germany in 1441, therefore, no germans.
I always thought it was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (from the heavily-forested German state of Thuringia) who was the one who brought the Christmas tree tradition to England. You didn't bridge the gap, though, between Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria's dad was a son of Charlotte, the Duke of Kent. So the Duke knew and probably approved of the Christmas tree tradition. However, her mother was also a German--Princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Again, from the northern regions of Germany. So the Christmas tree tradition was further reinforced by Queen Victoria's very German mother.
Greetings from Coburg by a direct Descendant of His Brother :)!
Amen.
Actually the Christmas tree was first decorated in Riga (Latvia) in 1510, way before the original song of O Tannenbaum was written (around 1 century later). It was erected by the guild of merchants, which traveled across Northern Europe (the Hanseatic League). The tree was decorated with natural motives and burnt to honor the god of sun, as a way of praying for the god to heat up the city during the cold winter. As you may know, Germans founded the city of Riga, so it's fair to say that this is a German thing. The truth is it's origin is Baltic.
If I got it right, it was actually mentioned. There was a part in the video about Charlotte's granddaughter Victoria marrying her cousin Albert from Germany et cetera er cetera.
@@pablosantanatur9122 what’s being discussed in this thread isn’t, however, it’s origin, but the way I’m which the tradition found it’s way to England, and thus spread throughout the Anglosphere.
That Charlotte/Mecklenburg ending 👌
Fun fact: Decorating pine trees as "Christmas Trees" is a tradition that originates all the way back to the Bronze Age, where Hittites decorated pine trees with various "ornaments" from walnut shells to sacks full of barley grains to celebrate the equinox season as "rebirth of nature," their holy day. Equinoxes are celebrated by some people to this day in Turkey.
If we're talking about Christmas, do you mean winter solstice rather than equinox?
Fun fact: christmas didnt exist untill long after the bronze age
@@noodle_tax which is why he used the quotation marks
@@benja_mint ok
@@noodle_tax Christmas trees as we call them today have only been around for ~300 years but evergreen trees have long been a symbol of life and brought inside the homes to celebrated the winter solstice going back a long long way. Whether the whole way back to the bronze Age, I don't know.
It’s hard to be believe that at one point people didn’t have trees in their houses.
@Zaydan Alfariz with all due respect that’s a subjective point of view. I’d rather wear cowboy boots, jeans, and a camouflage hat. Capitalism breeds a more diverse set of cultures
It's hard to believe at one point people used real trees and real candles in their houses.
As far as I know, a lot of Christian cultures in the tropics used to never have Christmas trees inside their homes during Christmas. Christmas lights and garlands were the norm. I think that this is still the norm in many Christian families in the tropics.
@Zaydan Alfariz They do sell plastic ones, but they're such an expensive decor only to be used one month of the year. It's not really practical. The closest alternative is just decorating the real trees outside your house.
@Zaydan Alfariz Right, comrade. You are free to move to Cuba or North Korea.
In the Contemporary version of "oh Tannenbaum" it's not "how faithful are your leaves" but "how green are your leaves"
Yeah. It's sad how much can get lost in translation
loved the connection from Charlotte to Charlotte at the end. Fun.
“It’s cold this month. Let’s cut some trees to warm the world”
I live in Lunenburg County in Nova Scotia. It is called the Balsam Fir Christmas Tree capital of the world because of all the tree farms around here. There was a lot of German immigration here in the late 1700s and along with the German name of the county, it's fitting that there are a lot of tree farms here.
Thanks for this Phil, its very interesting how German culture is super intertwined with American culture (never thought of it but like burgers and hot dogs which are considered so USA also came from German culture and we just don’t think about it) - merry christmas and happy holidays!
The same with the love of beer, microbreweries, beer gardens and the like. Budweiser and Anheuser-Busch are both very German names after all. That being said, German culture is not as celebrated in America as Irish or Italian or even Polish culture because of the vehement anti-German sentiment in the U.S. during WWI. Which then got worse in WWII. So German-Americans have kept their cultural contributions to the U.S. very much under wraps. They didn't want to suffer a nasty backlash.
"cookies" comes from the dutch word of "koekjes". they were introduced in new york which has big dutch roots.
Thank you very much.
Let's not forget that English is basically a Germanic Language..
Not to mention the English language!
I had never expected to hear Mecklenburg mentioned in a Vox video, being from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern myself.
Sure thats why the Christmas tree became popular in our culture but why did the kings of Christmas (Germany) start hauling trees into their homes. I was hoping for that answer.
Probably it has its roots in pagan culture but i dont know either
part of Yule tradition.
@@olafsigursons Yes we know it's tradition. But why? What started the tradition, what is the symbolism?
Another commenter here says “tree cults” were just a big thing all round in Germany since forever. They say a tree struck by lightning was “blessed by Thor”, and every tree species apparently had its own properties/spirit.
They don’t explain what the fir tree supposedly did, but it can be inferred the spirit it had was supposed to help with midwinter hardship.
according to tradition, Saint Boniface, when he came to convert the Germans to Christianity, cut down a revered oak tree to demonstrate that Thor had no power over him. From next to the stump of the oak, a fir tree (which, unlike the oak tree, stays green throughout winter and thus is a year-round symbol of life) sprouted up.
Contrary to popular belief, it was the oak tree (not the evergreen) that was revered by the Germanic pagan tribes, and these were special trees in special groves left outside and untouched, because cutting them down was seen as sacrilegious. The elevation of evergreens to a highly-prized status is a development of and by Germanic Christians, and they're the ones who started placing trees inside and into public squares during Advent.
This feels such a wholesome episode.....
Funny though that the tradition of having a Christmas tree and putting the presents around it made it to the anglo-saxon world but not the tradition of opening them on Christmas eve instead of the 25th.
As far as I know the British royal family actually opens their presents on Christmas Eve, due to the German heritage
The German custom comes from German paganism. "Tree cults" we call them, where given trees were said to have exotic properties (I.E. a tree that survives a lighting strike was "blessed by Thor"). Tree cults were still being discovered in Germany in the late 18th century.
Humans have such a strong connection with trees probably because human ancestors used to live in them.
@@oledshwfgk3068 We all use to live around them, anyway. Urban life is the exception in human civilization, not the norm.
Bookmark comment later
You have a source for that ?
Dutch: Oh denneboom, oh denneboom, wat zijn uw takken wonderschoon.
It's funnier if you let Google translate
This sounds atrocious.
ik heb uw laatst in het bos zien staan, toen hongen er nog geen lichtjes aan
It’s not really surprising that German traditions sooner or later found their way into American culture since Germans are still the largest group of ancestors by country in the US (the UK is a union of countries).
Up to this day a lot of typically American traditions were originally German or influenced by Germans
Well, up until 1870 germany was also not really a thing... But there sure is some German influence in American traditions
@@redsharktooth22 a German nation-state didn’t exist sure, but Germany, the German nation, certainly did.
@@redsharktooth22 The Holy Roman Empire lasted 1000 years. And from the 15th century onwards it had the suffix “German Nation”. The German Empire, which was founded in 1870, was not called the “Second Empire” for nothing. And that didn't unite all Germans either. Austria was independent because they decided against uniting all German states ("Kleindeutsche Lösung" Little German solution). The war between Prussia and Austria before the unification was called the German-German war because the two largest German states fought for supremacy over the other german states.
The uk is not a union of countries but a union of nations and that itself is largely untrue. Britain is largely a single ethnic group and culture group at this point and for that reason Britain is the largest ethnicity in America especially considering that nost identify as American and they’re mostly old stock Saxons.
@@evilofparadiseyeah so does the British nation.
Regarding the waste of Christmas trees.
In the German countryside the used Christmas trees are getting collected by the youths in the middle of January every year and stacked in a specific place (mostly on a hill). When Eastern comes around the trees and other old branches etc. are getting stacked up to a big heap. Many people are coming together around the heap, which then gets lit up around 9pm on either Friday/Saturday or Sunday (every village has their specific day) for the Osterfeuer (easter fire) celebration. In this way they are used twice for celebrations.
Merry Christmas to you all! And thank you for informing me of this.
This video is so clever, so beautifully thought and written. Thank you for gracing us this on Christmas, Vox!
That last line was perfection. Bet you were very happy when you found that piece :D
This was a nicely wrapped video, clear, concise, and to the point. Great job Vox
It's sad to see how little people actually know about Christmas...
German Christmas you mean?
@@mtaylorfoofa the whole concept,,, the true history behind it,,, not the commercialised thing we see...
@@oldbeergangster2381 It's just a pretext to gather together, like the lunar new year. I am not capitalist or Christian but Xmass is fun.
like Easter it's a pagan festival that Christianity sort of integrated. So in my view it's mainly about celebrating the days getting longer and breaking the long dark nights with festivity. And you can add jezus if you like as well.
How exactly is it sad? I don’t know all the history behind every other religion so why should christianity be an exception?
christmas trees do be goin viral
Today I realised that my operating systems book was written by a fir tree
Yes! I studied computer science in Germany and it was quite the odd name for such a book xD
Thanks for this story. Amazing
Oh Tannenbaum
Always enjoying Vox's videos! Thank you!
Fun Fact:
The hymn of Maryland is the same music from „Oh Tannenbaum“
I wonder where the tradition to put nativity sets under the tree originates from, then. Or the one to put presents under it.
Presents at Christmas didn't come around until roughly 1800.
Short answer Christians...really any other answer. Shoving their religion down everyone's throats
Interesting! But we really need to talk about the point of saying “can see from space” if we’re referring to high resolution satellite cameras
Came here to say this too. Bugged me both times it was said.
Brilliant fact for Xmas dinner talk ❤
Title option: how the Christmas tree, originated from Germany, became an international thing
Those candles on the tree, such a giant fire hazard.
Today I learned "Maryland, My Maryland" got the tune from a German song about fir trees
Honestly, it feels so weird to know that Christmas Trees are a relatively young Christmas trend
The traditional evergreen tree or at least tree branch in the house during the winter solstice is as old as civilization. It just didn't survive as a tradition everywhere. It's a good thing that germans kept the tradition and it was not completely forgotten. It's probably one of the oldest traditions we humans stills do.
Not in Germany
"They aren't in the Christian Bible."
This should be the most important statement one could learn on this video about christmas trees.
Because Christians adopted a lot of their traditions from the Celts. It was their way of converting people to Christianity. So holidays like Christmas and Easter are linked to Celtic holidays and traditions. Even the Holy Trinity is linked to the Celts.
@@MsEdgely please expand on the last sentence
Yep, there are no tannenbaums in the holy land.
@@amakiethagod The father, son, holy spirit. The Trinity. Celts believed that things of importance came in 3's, which is why they also have the Trinity knot.
This was incorporated by Christians as a method to convert Celts to Christianity. Even Holy Water is derived from the Celts, with links to Goddesses - one being Brigid. Look it up.
Most ideas of pagan belief originate from ancient Babylon and Egypt.
I never understood the phrase "you can see it from space", because you can't.
You need telescopes but again that way you can see a lone tree or a person in some cases, will that mean anything special?
Victoria was not exposed to the Christmas tree by Charlotte. They did not live in the same palace. Her mother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg Saalfield (obviously German) would have exposed her to this tradition regardless of Charlotte.
Merry Christmas !
The pagan Germans worshipped oak trees and decorated them during the winter solstice. Christian missionaries said it was okay to worship trees in connection to God, but only the fir trees, as their triangular shape represented the Holy Trinity. And now you know, the rest of the story.
No. Don't lie.
@@deokspatch8458No, he is right
Dieser Kommentarbereich ist nun deutsches Eigentum!
what a fascinating story!
Is it me or VOX has had a massive improvement in quality of video
0:18 for anyone wondering, Christmas trees actually are in the Christian Bible.
Jeremiah 10:2-5 says “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. “For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.”
“They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.”
“They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.”
That’s not about Christmas trees. That’s about idols.
@@jjmonty8090 Christmas trees are idols.
@@sirpingsalot3558 They might be, but that’s yet to be proven. My point is that the Jeremiah passage is not exegetically speaking of Christmas trees. It’s speaking of carved idols as used by ancient Israel.
George III was german as well, his gamily was from Hanover. Thats how they got to marry each other
He wasn't German, his distant ancestors came from Germany
You do the animation too Phil? That's cool.
Queen Victoria was the ultimate influencer.
To be fair, you can technically see everything from space.
What is this famous Christmas song at the beginning called, can't find it anywhere?
Carol of the Bells?
@@axolotlhappy2340 Thanks!!
Answer to title:
"Money!" - Mr Krabs.
It’s weird how Queen Victoria spread those traditions such as X-mas tree and white wedding dress worldwide. It proves how powerful British kingdom and its influence was.
This is possibly the best video I’ve seen by Vox. Wonderfully put together!
more fun facts: the stonians are the first in recorded history to have an actual christmas "tree", in the town square. not long after, the latvians were the first ones to decorate one.
Queen Charlotte was directly descended from Margarita de Castro y Sousa, a Black branch of the Portuguese royal house.
The first christmas tree wasn’t displayed in Germany, it is actually contested between Tallinn, Estonia; and Riga, Latvia.
But placed by German merchants. The German Hanseatic league trade empire had huge trading points in both of these cities at the time and Germans placed them there
@@freedomordeath010 which assumes that german people dont have Paganini roots
@@mistermist634 Your comment makes sense. If those cultural practices had their origins in Germany, the first recorded ‘christmas tree’ would have been displayed in their own country, and not in faraway lands. It is a well known fact that the balts would celebrate the changing of seasons, and one way in which they celebrated the winter solstice was by decorating the indoors with chopped down trees, twigs etc. These practices pre-date Christianity and a German national/ethnic identity.
@@freedomordeath010 well, the German Christmas traditions don’t come from Christianity either. Germans as well, as far back as when they were only mere tribes around the year 0, celebrated the winter solstice. It’s a very common tradition in European cultures. Putting up green things inside the house as well. And that’s how the Christmas tree tradition originally started - with putting plants inside during winter. I’d say it’s near impossible to say where the first Christmas tree was put up, since it’s unlikely that it was recorded or that it was made public. It might’ve been just the idea of one person which others liked and adapted.
That means, we can’t be sure that it was really in Germany, but we can’t prove it wrong either.
I can spot a Phil video from space.
Now we just need em' to celebrate on the 24th too!
Where is 2022 a look back video I am waiting for it very excitedly😄😄
"You can see [X] from space" has become a useless statement in an era where we can resolve a bicycle.
I am blind.
Great video! Now do the history of the aluminum pole 😛
1:03 "Treu"? I only know that song with "green" which makes a lot more sense considering they remain green year-round.
the song has multiple versions with slightly different variations
No, treu makes more sense.
@@zafelrede4884 Ok, then please go ahead and explain to me how your relationship with a tree leave works because of how faithful it is...
(I do know what you mean, and yes, it's not completely without sense but green still makes more sense than faithful does.)
3:47 I was born here!
(Also, I live near that city. I currently live in Harrisburg, NC. (Yes, that city exists.))
You cant see them from space.
I was hoping someone else would pick up on this. I was going to let it slide, but he said it twice at least. I know it’s meant to sensationalize how big the Christmas tree farms are, but I thought it was kind of silly. In an exaggerated form I would say: “You can see this penny from space!”
And then film 2 feet above it “in space”
Anyone know whose rendition of Tannenbaum that is?
Great history! What is the song starting to play around 2:28?
christimas trees are beautiful, but my dream is to have a large nativity scene
The song actually translates to "oh great tree" the Christmas tree of originally known as the Yule tree was draped in white during Yule, and then burned. That is it's true origin.
wrong Tannenbaum means fir tree not great tree. the translation musst be "oh fir tree, oh fir tree how green are your leafes. You not only green in summer time but also in winter when snow is falling, oh fir tree oh fir tree..."
As soon as I saw this title, I was like "This sounds like a Phil Edwards video" and then I remembered Phil still works for Vox, lol.
According to Herodotus, the practice of putting gifts under trees comes from the Persians.
Me, a North Carolinian, only now learning why it's called Mecklenburg county lol
Small world this. I grew up outside Charlotte, NC
Nowadays you can see everything from space. It's just a matter of good optics in your satellite.
Hey vox, can you do mistletoe next? What other Christmas plants are you show us next?
Really good channel for the learning English
no no no
Dang my brain expected a Phil Edwards breakdown after the main video ended
actually its a protestant German thing until Kaiser Franz Josef of Austria in Austria where no Christmas tress. In the rest of the Catholic Duchy's of Germany too.
Nice Recommendation ⭐
Queen Victoria popularized the Christmas Tree, Christmas card and also wearing a white wedding dress in her wedding throughout the British Empire. The rest as they say is history.
And there you go … even VOX’s minimal research shows the relatively short tradition that has roots in pagan customs and nothing to do with what’s in the Bible
Never know Christmas 🎄 we're a German thing👀 happy holidays. Merry Christmas eve❤
We have the trees because they're just so dang cheerful. And completely non-denominational.
How did Christmas trees become a thing in the Anglosphere*
Christmas trees had spread from Germany to other European countries (especially Scandinavia) before they were popularized in Britain and later America.
is that connection at the end coincidental? That's nuts
A Christmas tree farm you can see from space… yeah if you zoom enough you can. Like so many other things.
Your shots aren't from space. They are drone shots a couple hundred feet from the ground.
the ending feels a little weird. ‘you can see christmas tree farms from space’ seems like an odd, almost irrelevant final (and initial) word for a video about how a christmas tradition actually got started.
bros be like "you can see from space" like it's something impressive
with modern satellite image quality i could detect a squirrel on a lawn
Fascinating! I hope you do a video on mistletoe!
Mistletoe, wreaths and sacred trees are from the Druid religion that, at one time covered most of western Europe. Until the Roman legions came.
Funnily enough king Georg III was also from a german house.
The house of Hannover.
Just a side note: Brandenburg is a German state and not county.
No sound credit for remake of Leontovych's "Shchedryk" or "Carol of the bells" ? 0-0.40 sec