单选题 An evergreen tree, often a pine or fir(冷杉), decorated with lights and ornaments as a part of Christmas festivities. The use of evergreen trees, wreaths(花冠), and garlands(花环) to symbolize eternal life was a custom of the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. The worship was common among the pagan Europeans and survived their conversions to Christianity in the Scandinavian custom of decorating the house and barn with evergreens at the New Year to drive away the devil and of setting up a tree for the birds during Christmastime; it survived further in the custom, also observed in Germany, of placing a Christmas tree at an entrance or inside the house during the midwinter holidays.
The modern Christmas tree, though, originated in western Germany. The main prop of a popular medieval play about Adam and Eve was a "paradise tree", a fir tree hung with apples that represented the Garden of Eden. The Germans set up a paradise tree in their homes on December 24, the religious feast day of Adam and Eve. They hung wafers on it; in a later tradition the wafers were replaced by cookies of various shapes. Candles, symbolic of Christ, were often added. In the same room was the "Christmas pyramid", a triangular construction of wood that had shelves to hold Christmas figurines and was decorated with evergreens, candles, and a star . By the 16th century the Christmas pyramid and the paradise tree had merged, becoming the Christmas tree.