Editing Christmas tree (section)

===Historical practices by region===
====Estonia, Latvia, and Germany====
{{multiple image
| total_width       = 400
| align             = left
| image1            = Tallinn Christmas market 2014 1.JPG
| alt1              = Tallinn Christmas Market in Estonia
| image2            = Christmas Hanukkah decoration Pariser Platz 2020-12-11 25.jpg
| alt2              = Christmas tree and menorah with Brandenburg Gate in background
| footer            = Left: [[Tallinn Christmas Market]] in Estonia; Right: Christmas tree with [[Hanukkah]] Menorah next to it in [[Pariser Platz]] in Berlin, Germany
}}
Customs of erecting decorated trees in winter time can be traced to Christmas celebrations in Renaissance-era [[guild]]s in [[Northern Germany]] and [[Livonia]]. The first evidence of decorated trees associated with Christmas Day are trees in guildhalls decorated with sweets to be enjoyed by the apprentices and children. In Livonia (present-day [[Estonia]] and [[Latvia]]), in 1441, 1442, 1510, and 1514, the [[Brotherhood of Blackheads]] erected a tree for the holidays in their guild houses in [[Reval]] (now Tallinn) and [[Riga]]. On the last night of the celebrations leading up to the holidays, the tree was taken to the [[Town Hall Square, Tallinn|Town Hall Square]], where the members of the brotherhood danced around it.<ref>{{cite book |first=Friedrich |last=Amelung |title=Geschichte der Revaler Schwarzenhäupter: von ihrem Ursprung an bis auf die Gegenwart: nach den urkundenmäßigen Quellen des Revaler Schwarzenhäupter-Archivs 1, Die erste Blütezeit von 1399–1557 |language=de|trans-title=History of the Tallinn Blackheads: from their origins until the present day: from the testimonial sources of the Tallinn Blackheads archive. 1: The first golden age of 1399–1557 |location=[[Tallinn|Reval]] |publisher=Wassermann |year=1885 }}</ref>

A [[Bremen]] guild chronicle of 1570 reports that a small tree decorated with "apples, nuts, dates, pretzels, and paper flowers" was erected in the guild-house for the benefit of the guild members' children, who collected the dainties on Christmas Day.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D1jgAAAAMAAJ&q=%22aus+Deutschland%22|title=Das Weihnachtsfest. Eine Kultur- und Sozialgeschichte der Weihnachtszeit|first=Ingeborg|last=Weber-Kellermann|author-link=Ingeborg Weber-Kellermann|publisher=Bucher|year=1978|isbn=978-3-7658-0273-7|page=22|language=de|trans-title=Christmas: A cultural and social history of Christmastide|quote={{lang|de|Man kann als sicher annehmen daß die Luzienbräuche gemeinsam mit dem Weinachtsbaum in Laufe des 19. Jahrhunderts aus Deutschland über die gesellschaftliche Oberschicht der Herrenhöfe nach Schweden gekommen sind.}} ({{langx|en|One can assume with certainty that traditions of lighting, together with the Christmas tree, crossed from Germany to Sweden in the 19th century via the princely upper classes.}})}}</ref> In 1584, the pastor and chronicler [[Balthasar Russow]] in his {{lang|gml|Chronica der Provinz Lyfflandt}} (1584) wrote of an established tradition of setting up a decorated [[Picea abies|spruce]] at the market square, where the young men "went with a flock of maidens and women, first sang and danced there and then set the tree aflame".

After the [[Protestant Reformation]], such trees are seen in the houses of upper-class Protestant families as a counterpart to the Catholic [[Nativity scene|Christmas cribs]]. This transition from the guild hall to bourgeois family homes in the Protestant parts of Germany ultimately gives rise to the modern tradition as it developed in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the present-day, the churches and homes of Protestants and Catholics feature both Christmas cribs and Christmas trees.<ref name="Foley2022">{{cite book |last1=Foley |first1=Michael P. |title=Why We Kiss under the Mistletoe: Christmas Traditions Explained |date=6 September 2022 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-68451-281-2 |language=en}}</ref>

====Poland====
{{Main article|Podłaźniczka}}
[[File:Podlaznik.jpg|thumb|An illustration of a ''[[Podłaźniczka]]'' from the region of [[Lesser Poland]].]]

In [[Poland]], there is a folk tradition dating back to an old [[Early Slavs|Slavic]] pre-Christian custom of suspending a branch of [[fir]], [[spruce]], or [[pine]] from the ceiling [[rafter]]s, called {{lang|pl|[[podłaźniczka]]}}, during the time of the [[Koliada]] winter festival.<ref>Janota E. Lud i jego zwyczaje. Lwów, 1878, str. 41–42</ref> The branches were decorated with apples, nuts, acorns, and stars made of straw. In more recent times, the decorations also included colored paper cutouts ({{lang|pl|[[wycinanki]]}}), [[wafer]]s, [[cookie]]s, and [[Christmas baubles]]. According to old pagan beliefs, the powers of the branch were linked to good harvest and prosperity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kmt.pl/pozycja.asp?ksid=5025|title=Zwyczaje, obrzędy i tradycje w Polsce. Mały słownik|website=Księgarnia Mateusza|language=pl|access-date=15 December 2019|archive-date=15 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215205828/http://kmt.pl/pozycja.asp%3Fksid%3D5025}}</ref>

The custom was practiced by the peasants until the early 20th century, particularly in the regions of [[Lesser Poland]] and [[Upper Silesia]].<ref>Rok karpacki: obrzędy doroczne w Karpatach polskich Urszula Janicka-Krzywda. 1988, s. 13 "W całych Karpatach znano drzewko wigilijne zwane podłaźnikiem. Był to wierzchołek jodły zawieszany u powały szczytem na. dół, ubierany jabłkami i tzw. światami"</ref> Most often the branches were hung above the {{lang|pl|[[wigilia]]}} dinner table on [[Christmas Eve]]. Beginning in the mid-19th century, the tradition over time was almost completely replaced by the later German practice of decorating a standing Christmas tree.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://niezalezna.pl/303442-slomiane-snopy-i-podlazniczki-to-nasze-poprzedniki-choinki-te-zas-ozdabiano-jablkami |title=Słomiane snopy i podłaźniczki – to nasze poprzedniki choinki. Te zaś ozdabiano jabłkami |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=24 December 2019 |website=Niezależna |access-date=25 December 2019 }}</ref>