THE MICHIGAN DAILY WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4,1957 oyland Fascinates Young Visitors OLD TRADITION: Christmas Tree Custom Came from Germany By JANET SMITH Oaks, maples, agd elms of Ann Arbor will soon be rivaled by the balsam, pine and spruce from the Upper Peninsula for Christmas trees are coming to campus! The exact origin of the Christ- mas tree is obscure, but folklorists have offered several explanations. Some think that it has to do with the worship or invocation of the "spirit of vegetation," and relate it to other ceremonial trees, such' as the May Pole. Another story associates it with St. Boniface, who is said to have. cut down a sacred oak on Christ- mas Eve, beneath which human' sacrifices had been. offered. As it fell a young fir tree seemed to appear, unstained with blood. The saint proposed this tree as a sign or emblem of the new faith. Nature Transformation Others connect the Christmas tree with an old legend about a marvelous transformation of na- ture at the birth of Jesus, when the rivers flowed with wine and the trees blossomed in the midst of ice and snow. The Christmas tree has come; to the United States from Ger- many, although it did not gain its present popularity until the+ nineteenth century. The German tree has no decorations hanging+ from its branches. The tree alone is considered a thing of beauty, and the Germans attach a reli- gious feeling to it. The Christmas tree was intro- duced m Finland in 1800, in Den- mark and Norway in 1830, in France in 1840, in England in the 1840's, and in Sweden in 1863. First Account The first historical account of the Christmas tree is found in the notes of a Strasburg citizen, writ- ten in 1605, who said, "At Christ- mas, they set up fir trees in the parlours at Strasburg and hang thereon roses cut out of many colored paper, apples, wafers, gold foil, and sweets." So, from Strasburg to Ann Ar- bor, the Christmas tree comes to a college campus. University resi- dence halls , will receive their trees through the Residence Halls Office. Sorority or fraternity houses will get their trees from the Inter- Fraternity Council. Distributes 87 Trees Dorm residents from the Upper Peninsula will have a part of home placed right in the middle of their lounge or dining room. The Residence Halls Office will distribute 87 Scotch and red pines that were grown about 350 miles from Ann Arbor, about 40 or 50 miles beyond the Straits of Mack- inac. Leonard A. Schaadt, business manager of the Residence Halls, said that there was a greater va- riety of trees in previous years with balsam and spruce having been added to the list. These trees, however, often were cut too soon and were not fresh. This year the trees will be cut and brought to Ann Arbor imme- diately afterwards, s o m e t im e around December 6.-f Size Determines The trees will be distributed ac- cording to the size of the resi- dence hall with one for the lounge of each house; one for each large lounge serving the whole dorm, one for each dining room, and trees for, any other appropriate place. Schaadt commented that all tree decorations used in residence halls must be fire proofed. Today Christmas tree lights usually take the place of the candles which were originally ased - probably for safety reasons. The first mention of candles on trees comes from a Latin work written by Karl Gottfried Kissling in 1737. He tells of a woman who set up a little tree for each of her children, lit candles on or around the trees, placed presents beneath them, and called her children one by one into the dining room to take the trees and gifts intended for them. Mistletoe Oiven In addition to trees, wreaths, greens, roping and mistletoe will be distributed to residence halls. As Schaadt laughingly said, "We want to make these boys and girls happy." Contrast this with the custom in Munich, where Christmas trees also appear in the cemetery. Graves are decorated on Christ- mas Eve with holly and mistletoe and little trees with gleaming lights, perhaps to let the departed share in the brightness of the holiday. Fred Zinger, head of Fraternity Services Committee of IFC, said that as in previous years the com- mittee will sell trees to fraterni- ties and sororities. About 50 trees will be'brought from Grand Rap- ids and other places in the lower peninsula and sold to about three- fourths of the fraternities and sororities, said Zinger. Santa Sells Santa, too, is selling trees this year. You can find him passing out candy and talking to the chil- dren at a local tree lot. The own- er said that children tell their mothers, "We just have to buy our tree from Santa." "To buy a tree with a heart" is the slogan attached to every tree sold by the men's club of the Ann Arbor YMCA. This service group will be selling Scotch pine, red pine and balsam fir for the fifth year. The group will obtain 18,000 trees from Muskegon and the Up- per Peninsula. Proceeds will be used by the club for various proj- ects, mainly camp improvements for the YWCA of Ann Arbo?. Work All Night "You have to be up all night to sell Christmas trees." said Mrs. Joseph Yanitsky, "because you never know when a person wants to buy a tree." Mrs. Yanitsky, an Ann Arbor resident for 30 years, finds selling trees a very interest- ing job." She has sold trees for 12 years and has the help of 10 members of her family. ,VIrs. Yanitsky said that she likes to "joke around" with her customers, and find out where they live. She sells trees to people from all over, some of whom have never seen a Christmas tree be- fore. Cut Own Trees If her customers want a tree cut smaller or branches trimmed, Mrs. Yanitsky hands them a hatchet and saw and says, "cut it the way you want to." The Christmas tree is essen- tially a domestic institution, but found its way into Protestant churches in Germany and from there into Catholic churches. The tree may have been Christianized by association with the old legend of the Tree of Life. Christmas $ Cards, * Fine selection of assorted. and single cards at prices that will please YOU! Christmas notes (for that personal message) in many designs. , .Exciting, new assortment Of Christmas Party Invitations STATIONERY4 A Christmas gift that will be appreciated! Many fine values in plain and decorated papers for men, women and children. We have a large selection of notes; plain, decorated and -initialed. K an TaET .- ANR Br 119 EAST LIBERTY ST. -- ANN ARBOR 4 46^4"*kk4# g , "04 #0A*Af r s x . , HEADQUARTERS for ALL WOOL [1 I 11 54x72allwool yellow felt Block M .........$10.00 54x72all wool yellow felt Block M ..........$13.00 54x72 Heavy wool yellow chenille Block M.. . .$16.00 60x90 Virgin Wool, Chenille M, felt binding . .$26.75 60x80 Heavy wool yellow chenille Block M ... $19.50 60x80 Extra soft wool yellow felt Mich. seal .. .$25.00 Ulrich's You are invited to come downtown and browse at THE BERRY PfITCH 4' 107 E. Liberty St. Phone NO 2-2830 GIFTS FOR ALL OCCASIONS BEAUTIFUL IMPORTED CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS / RELIGIOUS ARTICLES 4, I RIGHT TO THE'JAW-Rich lands a haymaker on a bounce-back punching bag as Jan backs out of the way. They laughed when it nearly collided with a shelf of boxes, were delighted with nervous reactions of other customers. 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