The Christmas tree is a Viking tradition: The evergreen trees of the Scandinavian forests were a potent symbol of life for the Vikings. When all other trees and other plant life were apparently dead in midwinter, the evergreen tree still looked healthy and green. To the Vikings it represented the promise of life that even in the midst of winter at the death of the year there was still a seed of life to begin the new cycle. As the evergreen trees were so revered, at Yule they would be decorated with small carvings and gifts for the spirits of the trees and plants to encourage them to come back soon and start the new spring. Decorating evergreen trees did not stop with the Vikings though, through their Germanic descendants it spread to England and America and to the rest of the world. Decorating a Christmas tree is a Viking ritual that is performed worldwide every year! #Norse #history #myculture #Viking #Christmas