“...tree worship is well
attested for all the great European families of the Aryan
stock. Amongst the Celts the oak-worship of the Druids is
familiar to everyone. Sacred groves were common among
the ancient Germans, and tree-worship is hardly
extinct among their descendants at the present day”
- The
Golden Bough, by James George Frazer, p. 58
“Therefore, the 25th of
December, the day that was observed at Rome as the
day when the victorious god reappeared on earth, was
held at the Natalis invicti solis, 'The birthday of the
unconquered Sun.' Now the Yule Log is the dead stock of
Nimrod, deified as the sun-god, but cut down by his enemies;
the Christmas-tree is Nimrod redivivus -- the slain
god come to life again”
- The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop,
p. 98