Faith and the Forgotten Story of the First Christmas Tree

“Tell me a story.” We were created to crave stories. One last story before bedtime is a nightly ritual in homes around the world. More often than not, the tale enabling children to drift off to sleep has been repeated dozens, if not hundreds of times. God calls us to repeat our stories.

“Tell the story.” More than an encouragement to speak, the words appear repeatedly in scripture as a literal command, Exodus 12:26–27; Exodus 13:8; Exodus 13:14; Deuteronomy 11:19; Joshua 4:6–7; Joel 1:3. Why? What is so important about stories. Tragically, if we don’t repeat them, even the best ones get forgotten. Of course, the details of a time and place can be forgotten without consequence.  Forgetting what the Lord has done has devastating effects. Miracles go unremembered. Touchstones of faith are lost. Lessons fade as false witness is born.

Consider the Christmas tree. Many if not most believe it has pagan origins. Countless good people have become convinced the symbol has no place in Christian celebrations. Before we join them or dismiss them, perhaps we should consider the missionary and the miracle which presented us with the first Christmas tree.

Pulled by a passion to share the truth of the gospel with pagans, an evangelist called Boniface made his way to Germany, over 800 years before the Reformation.   After years of ministry, Boniface approached the village of Geismer on Christmas Eve, where townspeople gyrated worshipping Thor under a tree named Thunder Oak. As the missionary drew near, he spotted a child laid on the alter for sacrifice. When Boniface saw Thor’s stone hammer raised in the air preparing to deliver a death blow to the child, the minister thrust his wooden staff in the weapon’s path. Miraculously, the hammer shattered. The symbol of Thor’s power crumbled when it came in contact with a simple stick in the hand of the man of God.

As the amazed crowd stared on, Boniface grabbed an ax. With the first swing of the ax, a great wind came ripping the tree up from the roots. Scattered pieces of the mighty tree would be used to build a chapel, for the masses which turned to Christ after seeing or hearing of that night’s miracles.

Pointing beyond where the oak had stood, Boniface directed the crowd to consider a tiny fir.  Always green and pointing towards heaven, it served as an emblem of eternal life. Just before the dawn of the 20th century, a short story, “The First Christmas Tree”, retold the saga which had been passed down in church history for more than 1,000 years.  The author reimagined the very real missionary’s words like this, “See how it points upward to heaven. Let this be called the tree of the Christ-child; gather about it, not in the wild wood, but in your own homes; there it will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts and rites of kindness.”

No, Boniface’s story is not part of scripture. Neither are Fox’s Book of Martyrs, most of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the words of your favorite pastor or author, or even your own testimony. No, they do no bear the weight of the Bible’s infallible text and yet God’s word commands us to tell and retell the great works of God for us,  Exodus 10:2, Mark 5:19, Psalm 66:16,

Luke 8:39. When we take the time to rediscover great stories of faith, like Boniface’s, our eyes begin to open to the truth that what had been viewed as relics of pagan past are really remnants of forgotten miracles waiting to be rediscovered.  Tell your stories of God’s protection and provision, healing and deliverance. Future generations need them, and that is Worth Remembering.