Ornaments on the Christmas Tree

                Over the years we have had many international students in our house at Christmas time. Many of them have never experienced Christmas like we do here in America. One of the things that often fascinates them is the Christmas tree, and the ornaments in particular. I have often had to try to answer the question what do these ornaments mean?

                In the early 1800s Christmas trees were covered with real fruits and nuts that reminded people that spring would come again and the cold wintery season would not be everlasting. The fruits and nuts symbolized the new life that would come at the end of a dark and dreary season of winter.

                The first Christmas ornaments were developed in Germany by a glassblower that lived in the town of Lauscha. He decided to blow some small glass balls and hang them on his family Christmas tree one year. His friends and family fell in love with the tiny glass bulbs. Soon the glassblower began selling them in his shop. Within a few short years, the entire town of Lauscha had glassblowers selling Christmas ornaments. By the mid to late 1800s, entrepreneurs were blowing glass Christmas ornaments all over Germany. Eventually they made their way across sea to the United States.

                By the time the Christmas ornaments actually made their way to the United States they were no longer just tiny glass balls. Christmas ornaments now consisted of all sorts of glass pieces such as fruits and nuts, hearts and stars, and dozens of other shapes of glass that had been molded and colored in an endless prism of colors and shapes. Christmas ornaments were brought to the United States by F.W. Woolworth in the year 1880 to be sold in his store also known as Woolworth's Five and Dime stores.

                My wife and I have a box full of ornaments that we sort through every Christmas. Some have been presents and some we have purchased for ourselves. Some are whimsical and some are more serious. Most of them have a story behind them.

- We have a small, pale blue place mat, complete with place setting and our picture in the middle. It was given to us as a wedding present.

- We have a set of three hedgehog ornaments that were given to Suanne because she was collecting hedgehogs.

- We have a set of small matrushka dolls that I bought in Ukraine.

- There are a few wood ornaments that Suanne bought when she was in Israel in college.

- There are a few ornaments that represent places we have visited in our travels.

- There are a number of ornaments that have something to do with one of our children.

- There are a number of angels on our tree.

- There are several nativity scenes.

- There are ornaments that never make it out of the box, because they have been replaced by others or because the tree just can’t hold them all.

                As we think about Christmas there are a number of ornaments that God hung on His Christmas tree a long time ago.

-There is the ornament of hope. During some of Israel’s darkest days, God hung the ornament of hope on his Christmas tree. He gave His people the promise of a Savior; the Messiah.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)

- There is the ornament of humble innocence and acceptance. When the time came, God tapped a young girl, by the name of Mary, to be the instrument through which the Messiah would come into the world.

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. Luke 1:26-38 (NIV)

- There is the ornament of heroic faith. Although Mary would know the reality of the angel’s message for sure, Joseph had to accept the angel’s message on faith. He had to be willing to step aside and become a spectator to God’s plans.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)

- There is the ornament of awe and wonder. God did not let the birth of Jesus go unannounced. He sent angels to a very unlikely group of people, to tell them the good news that the Messiah had arrived.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2:8-20 (NIV)

- There is the ornament of discovery and joy. God made it clear from the beginning that He intended to send his anointed one to the whole world. So he alerted a significant group of scholarly men, in a far off country, to come and discover the Messiah for themselves.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11 (NIV)

- There is the ornament of believing, saving faith. Those who were involved in the events of the first Christmas were able to see Christ for themselves. But all who have come after that time must encounter Jesus through faith.

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:24-31 (NIV)

                There are many ornaments that hang on our Christmas tree. Each one is a symbol that reminds us of something significant in our life. The most important ones are the ornaments of faith. The ornaments that are hung by God in our heart; that remind us that Jesus came into the world for us.

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Galatians 4:4-7 (NIV)