How did red and green become the colors of Christmas?
– Kathy Stewart, Minneapolis Green has long been associated with Christmas because of the use of pine trees by the Germans to celebrate the holiday. Those trees were often decorated with apples as ornaments, beginning the red and green association. The colors have strong symbolism in relation to the birth of Christ. Green is symbolic of life, and red is symbolic of sacrifice. The modern day acceptance of red in Christmas partially dates to a corporate move by Coca-Cola. Santa Claus was historically dressed in green and other colored clothing, until the 1930s, when an illustrator hired by Coca-Cola decided to depict Santa wearing red and white, the corporate colors of Coke. (© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
