Christmas decorating is a custom and ritual in the family and urban environment, which marks the beginning of Christmas, from the beginning of December until the first days of January.
Although Christmas is traditionally celebrated to commemorate the birth of Jesus, its origins lie in celebrations that took place around the 25th of December, in Germanic and Vikingvillages to celebrate the winter solstice, around a gaily decorated conifer called “Yggdrasil”.
Home decoration is relatively recent. During the first centuries of Christianity, the festival was hardly celebrated at all. It began to gain importance in the Middle Ages, but with the arrival of Protestantism in the Modern Age, the festival suffered a decline, especially in non-Catholic countries, because it was considered a return to paganism. In England it was banned by the Puritan government from 1644 to 1660.
It was not until the mid-19th century that family decoration was clearly marked in the West.
It was during the reign of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria of Great Britain that the first decorative element appeared, the “Christmas tree”, a fir tree decorated with lights and coloured balls, a German tradition brought by Prince Albert from his native Germany.
The custom arrived in Spain at the end of the 19th century, decorating a pine tree with apples and candles, which came to represent sin and light, giving way over time to lights and crystal balls. Mistletoe and poinsettias are other Christmas decorations. Mistletoeis a Celtic symbol to invoke good luck and protection against diseases, curses and to improve fertility.
The poinsettia symbolises the offering of flowers that poor children brought to Jesus at the end of the Easter season. Bethlehem portal, which is performed in Catholic households to commemorate the birth of Jesus, with representative figures of the village of Bethlehem, Herod’s castle, and the arrival of the Magi.
The United States is where most of the Christmas decorations such as “Santa Claus”, lighting of buildings, shops, streets and houses currently appear.
Nowadays, all countries around the world decorate their cities and homes according to their idiosyncrasies and religious or pagan beliefs, to give Christmas a sense of joy, hope and happiness.
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