Message of the Christmas Tree

"The feast of Christmas, perhaps the dearest to popular tradition, is very rich in symbols connected with different cultures. Among them all, the most important is surely the Nativity scene, as I had occasion to underscore last Sunday.

"Next to the Nativity scene, as here in St. Peter's Square, we find the traditional 'Christmas tree,' also a very ancient custom, which exalts the value of life, since in winter the Evergreen becomes a sign of life that does not die. Usually the tree is decorated and Christmas gifts are placed at its feet.

"The symbol thus becomes eloquent also in a specifically Christian sense: calling to mind the 'tree of life' (see Genesis 2:9): a representation of Christ, God's supreme gift to humanity.

"The message of the Christmas tree, therefore, is that life is 'ever-green' if one makes a gift not of material things, but of oneself: in friendship and sincere affection, in fraternal help and forgiveness, in time together and listening to each other...."

Pope John Paul II
Angelus message (excerpt), Sunday, December 19, 2004