This is the top!
On the 13th of November 1972 a heavy storm raged over the Netherlands. The damage in the woods was enormous. The blown over and fallen trees that had broken down like matchsticks were allowed to be taken home to serve as a Christmas tree. That’s how that Christmas the beautiful top of a high Scots Pine ended up in our flat. Not the traditional Christmas tree like the fir but a pine with long needles and a high plume as a top. That plume caused a problem because our treetop didn’t fit. In those days our treetop was a big star, traditionally made of straw and luckily not too heavy. With some effort we managed to put the treetop on the beautiful tree.
But what’s the story of the treetop that really ‘finishes’ your tree, that’s literally the highlight of the Christmas tree? The first treetops we find in old pictures of Christmas trees are angel figures. At first these were made from beeswax, papier-mâché and cloth. Later the treetops were made from blown glass. The angel refers to the Archangel Gabriel who, as a messenger from God, informed Mary about the upcoming birth of Jesus. In later days we often see a large star as treetop. The star refers to the star of Bethlehem that appeared in the sky and showed the Three Wise Men the way to the stable in Bethlehem where Jesus was born.
The glass treetop that’s most common, the one with a pointed tip and a convex, has its own story. Some claim that this shape was a German invention and was inspired by the shape of a Prussian soldier's helmet, the so-called Pickelhaube. This type of helmet was introduced in 1842 by Frederick William IV. The helmet was made of pressed leather with metal decorations and had a high metal tip. The point was often decorated with a kind of ponytail of cloth and wire and was intended to protect the head during sabel fights. In the First World War, this type of helmet turned out to be completely unsuitable. Not only because it did not protect well enough against falling debris and shrapnel, but mainly because the tip of the point protruded above the trenches and the German soldiers proved to be an easy target.
This well-known treetop certainly does resemble the tip of the Pickelhaube helmet, but the connection is somewhat implausible. Not least because war, army and weapons are rather difficult to reconcile with the story of Christmas and the Christmas tree. It’s more credible that this somewhat simpler treetop has something to do with the celebration of Christmas in Catholic or more Protestant circles.
In the Christian church Christmas was initially seen as a pagan feast but later embraced by both Catholics and Protestants as the celebration of the birth of Jesus. In the Catholic Church, the feast was surrounded by symbolism, with an emphasis on the Biblical stories surrounding the birth of Jesus. The first glass works dedicated to the manufacturing of Christmas decorations were situated in Central Europe, in areas in Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland where people were predominantly Catholic. In the Protestant church, Christmas was seen as a festival of light and people were more reluctant to emphasise symbols and images such as the star or the angel. That may explain the popularity of a simpler treetop in the Protestant Netherlands.
Today there are treetops in all shapes and colours, and everyone can find one that suits their conviction, faith or the way they want to celebrate Christmas. In any case, our Christmas tree in 1972 was the most beautiful tree ever. Not because of the treetop, but because the tree was a Scots pine. Why Scots pines are never grown and sold as a Christmas tree is a mystery to me.