Saturday, December 6, 2008

this Christmas tree

This is Davao's giant Christmas tree. At times I wonder what makes a tree symbolic during Christmas. All I know is the star that brought to the three Magi to where baby Jesus was borne and the "belen" signifying our Lord's nativity. But I have no idea what a Christmas tree stands for.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow siguro pag hinawakan ko yan makukuryente ako LOL

Anonymous said...

Hallo nyl. i gave you an award. hope you like it. :)http://sulat-at-kamay.blogspot.com/2008/12/girly-cute-awards.html

Oooh. Yan b yung Christmas tree ng Victoria Plaza? I wonder, meron pa bng mas malaki png xmas tree jan sa Dvo? Ppxalan namen pg bkasyon. HEhe.

atticus said...

nabura comment ko. :(

para lang malagyan ng regalo at ilaw ang xmas tree. iyon lang. bah humbug.

merry xmas.

escape said...

you have a intriguing question. i too dont know the answer.

thanks to wikipedia. the answer to this is

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree

Dudong said...

ganda ng punong yan namumunga ng ilaw...well ako rin hindi ko alam eh...nakikiride na lang ako...ehehehehw

Nanaybelen said...

Ako rin.. di ko rin alam .
Oyy.. nagbabaga ang Giant X'mas tree ng Davao.

Anonymous said...

Dito sa Canada kahit anong season may christmas tree lol! (pine tree pala yun :P)

Anonymous said...

iba talaga ang pasko sa Pinas...

Nyl said...

prinsesamusang,

haha!talagang makukuryente ka nyan sa dami ba naman ng lights, tiyak ang taas ng volts nyan!:D

Samara,

yep, this Christmas tree is along JP Laurel in Victoria Plaza. I wonder if you've been there because you know the place. I think that's the tallest Christmas tree so far here in Davao.

By the way, thanks for the award!:)

atticus,

hehe!baka nga ano? para lang magandang tingnan ang mga gifts kapag tinabi sa Christmas tree.haha!hanu kaya nangyari sa komento mo at nabura?hmm.:)

merry Christmas din sa'yo!


the dong,
oh well, how resourceful of you to search for the meaning of Christmas tree. I read the links you gave and it pays!:) I got the idea already:D Thanks a lot my friend!

Dudong,

uu nga eh, a tree that bears lights..ampangit pakinggan!haha!

nanaybelen,

ok lang, sinagot na ni dong ang curiosity ko nay!:D

sa tingin ko marami na ngayon nagbabagang Christmas tree kung saan saan. i just luckily found one in my own place.:)

Manilenya,

Tiyak ang lamig lamig na ng panahon dyan sa Canada ngayon.. brrr!di ko kaya 'yan.:D

AC,

agree with you..iba parin ang pasko sa Pinas. thanks for the hop. keep coming!

Anonymous said...

ang bangis ng christmas tree nyo.. dito naman yung mga weird na angels sa plaza.. ahahaha

Anonymous said...

Hello, Cliffnotes:

From the CD-ROM I got from Catholic United for the Faith (cuf.org) here are the reasons why we have Christmas tree:

1.More and more frequently families are blessing their Christmas trees. It is good to remind children that "the tree" relates to many aspects of our faith. For example, we are reminded that our first parents were not allowed to eat from one tree, and that Christ paid the great price for our redemption by hanging on a tree (cf. Acts 5:29-32).


2. And it should be noted that Christianity has externally borrowed from pagan customs -- e.g., wedding rings, bouquets, brides wearing white, Christmas trees, and Easter eggs -- but has transformed their interior meaning to conform with Christ. Just as the Church baptizes pagans and makes them into Christians by God's grace, Christians can give old customs good, new, and richer meaning, e.g., Christmas and Easter replaced pagan feasts associated with winter and spring, respectively.

3. Pope Gregory I, who reigned from 590-604, said, "Let the shrines of idols by no means be destroyed. Let water be consecrated and sprinkled in the temples, let altars be erected...so that the people, not seeing their temples destroyed, may displace error and recognize and adore the true God....And because they were wont to sacrifice to devils, some celebration should be given in exchange for this...they should celebrate a religious feast and worship God by their feasting, so that still keeping the outward pleasure, they may more readily receive spiritual joys," quoted in John Greenway's Folklore of the Great West (Palo Alto, California: American West Publishing Company, 1970), p. 384, emphasis added.

4. On the winter solstice (December 21), pagans celebrated the feast of "Sol Invictus," the "inconquerable sun" that waned in winter-shortened days but was not "overcome" by the darkness. Christians chose to keep the natural timing of the holiday and replace its pagan meaning with the Christian message, the inconquerable Son (Jn. 1:5).

5.There are many different stories which attempt to explain why we use a tree at Christmas. For instance, St. Boniface in the eighth century gave the balsam fir tree to the Druids in place of the oak tree, the symbol of their idol. He said, "The fir tree is the wood of peace, the sign of an endless life with its evergreen branches. It points to heaven. It will never shelter deeds of blood, but rather be filled with loving gifts and rites of kindness."

6.The Jesse tree tells about Christ's ancestry through symbols and relates Scripture to salvation history, progressing from creation to the birth of Christ. The tree can be made on a poster board with the symbols glued on, or on an actual tree. For further information read, Advent and Christmas in a Catholic Home. [1]


7. The Jesse tree reminds us of Jesus' Davidic ancestry (cf. Mt. 1:1). For a greater understanding of the relationship between the house of David, Jesus, and the Catholic Church's divine origin, see CUF's FAITH FACT: "Rock Solid: The Salvation History of the Catholic Church."

Peace be with you.

pchi said...

oh, I also used to ask myself that question

but I didn't care? haha

but it's interesting what tivov shared

Nyl said...

hi father Titov,

thank you so much for enlightening me about the significance of Christmas tree..it's so overwhelming that you respond to us here who knows nothings about it in such a way. i appreciate your insights so much. God bless us all!