The Origin and Significance of Christmas Angels

Decorative angels on the top of artificial Christmas trees is something that dates back several years…and many people take the angels theme and integrate this into the rest of their trees. However, have you ever wondered why we put angels on artificial Christmas trees? If you have, then once you discover the why of this practice, chances are you are going to want to put angels on your own artificial Christmas trees this year!

It turns out that this custom dates back to the original Christmas narrative. Angels play an important role in the first Christmas: angels visited Joseph and the Virgin Mary to inform them of the impending birth of Jesus, and angels appeared in the sky over Bethlehem on the night of his birth to announce his entrance to the world. But, why are angels something that are used as toppers for these trees?

People began placing angels high on the tops of their trees as a way to commemorate the birth of Jesus because angels appeared high in the sky on the first Christmas. If you’ve ever seen a star on top of a Christmas tree, you’ll know what I’m talking about: In addition to angels, the star of Bethlehem (commonly known as the Christmas star) shone in the sky to guide people to infant Jesus, according to the Christmas account.

The Surprising History of Artificial Christmas Trees

An interesting historical aspect about the angel is that because this practice has such religious connotations, it was once considered that hanging an angel on top of the tree (and thus expressing the family’s beliefs) would ward off evil spirits during the holidays. No one really knows why this was believed, but it was something that was passed down from adults to children and continued on for several years.

It’s been suggested that the original angels were made-at-home ornaments (usually made from natural, inexpensive materials like straw). Europeans began producing glass angel ornaments in the 17th century, which evolved into the full-size angels that perch atop the tree today. So, if you really want to try your DIY skills, you could always try to make your own paper angels!

The rich history associated with angels on trees is just one way that many people try to keep these rich histories alive by doing this every year. So, will you be putting an angel on your tree this year? If this is something that you have never done, knowing the history, many are going to have angels displayed on their trees in one form or another.