THE IRON CHRISTMAS TREE
We all look forward to Christmas for many reasons, but our congregation has a special reason. For some years now we have celebrated this Holy Day with a midnight service beginning at 11:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve and ending on Christmas Day.
Each year at this service our Iron Trees are lighted for the first time. These trees were purchased from Pastor Bergman, formerly at Trinity Lutheran Church in Marcus, Iowa. They are made of wrought iron, known as Swedish Christmas trees and stand nine feet tall. We have two trees.
One tree represents the tree of knowledge from the garden of Eden, the other is the tree of Life from Revelation. The first typifies the fall of man; the other for man's salvation.
Just as Doctor Martin Luther decorated the first Wittenburg tree, the one had 33 red ornaments (apples were used originally) to depict the first tree which tempted Eve to sin; 33 being a significant number, since Jesus lived 33 years on earth atoning for the sins of man. The predominate color is Red as a reminder of Isaiahs' word: "Though your sins be as scarlet, yet they shall be whiter than wool".
Green, symbolic of the hope laid up for us in Heaven is the prevailing color of the second tree. Both trees are topped with a five pointed star, symbolic of the star of the wisemen, speaking of the five wounds of Jesus upon his cross.
Brunsville, Iowa
51008
