Christmas Traditions

MOST CHILDREN come to know about Santa Claus and his activities on Christmas eve which includes sleigh, reindeer, chimney and toys. What many don’t know is that this view of Santa Claus came largely from the imagination of Clement Moore who, in 1822, wrote a little poem for his own children. The first verse:

                   T’was the night before Christmas when all through the house,

                   Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse,

                   The stocking were hung by the chimney with care,

                   In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

In that poem, Moore creates the sleigh, names the reindeers, tells about the chimney drop, and the bags of toys. His inspiration for Santa’s red and white suit is derived from the Christian Saint Nicholas’ traditional bishop’s robes.

For millions of people around the world, the Christmas season is one filled with joyful activities steeped in familiar traditions. However, there were many centuries, decades and years when the date was not observed, when celebrations were discouraged and even outlawed. Here are some of the stories behind our Christmas traditions.

Natalis Solis

During the first two centuries after Christ’s death, Christmas was not celebrated. In 245 AD, when a group of scholars attempted to pinpoint the exact date of Christ’s birth, a Church council denounced the endeavour, declaring that it would be wrong to celebrate the birth of Christ “as though He were a King Pharaoh”.

In spite of official disapproval, various attempts were made to pinpoint the Nativity resulting in a confusion of dates: January 1, January 6, March 25 and May 20. The May date became the favoured one because the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:8 ff) reports that the shepherds who received the announcement of Christ’s birth were watching their sheep by night. Shepherds guarded their flocks day and night only at lambing time, which was in the spring. In winter, the animals were generally kept in corrals, unwatched.

By the middle of the fourth century, December 25 was associated as the birth day of Christ. Pope Julius (337-352) formally selected December 25 as the day for Christmas in 349 AD.

Prior to the celebration of Christmas, December 25 was already a widely celebrated day in the Roman World. On that date citizens observed the Natalis Solis Invicti (the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun) in honour of the Sun God Mithras. The festival took place just after the winter solstice of the Julian calendar. Many modern Christmas customs such as decorating a house with greenery, exchanging gifts and enjoying festive meals, originated with this pagan celebration. Scholars believe that Pope Julius selected December 25 as the date of the Nativity in order to win over followers of the Sun God Mithras, as well as giving Christians an opportunity to honour Christ on his birth date.

The origin of Xmas, an abbreviation for Christmas, originated with Greek Christians. ‘X’ is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ (Xristos). By the sixteenth century, Xmas was widely used throughout Europe among Christians who understood that it meant ‘Christ’s Mass’. Later, Christians unfamiliar with the Greek origin, mistook the ‘X’ as a sign of disrespect, and an attempt by unbelievers to rid Christmas of its central meaning. Some Christians still disapprove of the abbreviation claiming, incorrectly, that it takes the “Christ out of Christmas”.

Outlaw Christmas

In 17th century England, Puritans objected to Christian celebrations which had no clear biblical basis. As a result, the English Parliaments in 1643 outlawed Christmas, Easter and other Christian holidays. However, December 25 as a festive day was so popular that by 1660 the citizens reclaimed it. Their neglect of the religious aspects of December 25 resulted in the growing secularization of the holiday.

When the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth, Mass., in 1620, they also brought with them a great dislike for Christmas. A Massachusetts law was enacted in 1659 which fined people for celebrating December 25. Again, the day was so popular that the anti-Christmas law was repealed in 1681 although strong religious opposition lasted into the next century.

Franciscan realism

One of the most popular of Christmas traditions is the Nativity scene. Whether it is called crèche in French, presepio in Italian, nacimiento among the Spanish, or Krippe in German, the nativity scene has evolved as a religious art form as well as a symbol of Christ’s birth. The earliest depictions of the Nativity appeared in the 4th century with images chiselled onto stone coffins, painted on walls in Roman catacombs and sewn onto liturgical garments. It was the beloved Saint Francis, however, who re-created an entire living manger scene in a cave near the Italian town of Greccio on Christmas eve in 1223. At the time, scriptures and Church services were written and conducted in Latin, and Francis wanted to explain and illustrate the Nativity story for his villagers, most of whom were unable to understand Latin. So, his nativity scene included people, cattle, sheep and other animals to illustrate Christ’s birth.

The fir tree

The Christmas tree tradition was started in Germany in the late 15th century. At that time a popular theatrical performance, the Paradise Play, depicted the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, and was represented by a fir tree hung with apples. Soon the tree was placed in the homes of Christians who interpreted it as a symbol of the coming Saviour. The apples were replaced with small white wafers representing the Holy Eucharist. Later the wafers were replaced by small pieces of pastry cut into shapes of stars, angels, hearts, flowers and bells.

Pennsylvania Germans claim to have initiated the Christmas tree custom in America. The first Christmas tree is recorded under the date December 20, 1821, in the diary of a Matthew Zahm of Lancaster, Pa. The first known exhibition of a Christmas tree was held in York, Pa., in 1830. Early trees were decorated with fruits, nuts, popcorn, toys and candles. Today more than 80 percent of American families buy and decorate a tree at Christmas.

Christmas wishes

In 1822 the Superintendent of Mails in Washington, DC, complained that homemade Christmas cards sent via the mail were clogging the postal system. Concerned that he needed to hire sixteen extra mail carriers, the Superintendent petitioned Congress to limit the exchange of cards by mail, pleading, “I don’t know what we’ll do if it keeps on!”

The first commercially printed Christmas cards originated in London in 1843. Sir Henry Cole, a wealthy British businessman and patron of the arts, commissioned London artist John Calcott Horsley to create a card he could proudly send to friends and professional acquaintances to wish them a “merry Christmas”. Cole sent just 1,000 Christmas cards in 1843. The idea of using commercially printed cards caught on. Currently Americans exchange nearly 3 billion Christmas cards annually, making Christmas the largest card-sending holiday in the United States.

Christmas plants

Americans may hang mistletoe in the doorway for the purpose of stealing a kiss, but early Britons who started this custom believed the mistletoe heightened fertility in humans. Britons called mistletoe “all heal,” believing the plant had magical powers which could cure disease, neutralize poisons, and bring good luck to couples who sealed their love with a kiss beneath the mistletoe.

The presence of poinsettias in churches and homes at Christmas time is traced back to a village in Mexico. According to the legend, it was a custom for villagers to place gifts before the crèche in the church on Christmas Eve. A small boy, too poor to give anything, knelt to pray in the snow outside. On the spot where he knelt, the legend says, a beautiful plant with scarlet leaves grew immediately. The boy took it into the church and presented it as his gift to the Christ Child. Mexicans call the plant Flor de la Noche Buena (Flower of the Holy Night), and it is thought to resemble the Star of Bethlehem. The poinsettia plant is named after Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States minister to Mexico and an accomplished amateur botanist. He discovered the beautiful plant there in 1828 and brought it to the United States where it was named in his honour.

Gifts and presents

St. Nicholas, the godly bishop of Myra in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) is the source of the Santa Claus tradition. He was widely known as a generous Christian who was especially kind to children. After his death a St. Nicholas legend evolved that he visited children on Christmas eve and left gifts. During the Reformation of the 16th century St. Nicholas’ popularity was diminished and some countries banished the custom completely. As a result a more secular version emerged, Father Christmas in England and Papa Noel in France. When Dutch settlers came to America they brought St. Nicholas (‘Sinter Klaas’ in Dutch) with them to this country. This ‘Sinter Klaas’ became completely secularized into the person we now know as Santa Claus. He was no longer a bishop, but still came during the night leaving gifts for children. The red and white colours associated with Santa Claus’ uniform are derived from the colours of a bishop’s vestments.

According to legend, the practice of hanging up stockings originated with St. Nicholas. It is believed that St. Nicholas learned about a man who was hopelessly in debt. His creditors were about to sell him and his daughters into slavery. Moved with compassion, Nicholas put together a bag of gold from his own resources. Wishing to give anonymously, Nicholas went to the man’s home in the dark of the night and threw the bag of gold through the man’s window. The bag of gold landed in one of the daughter’s stockings which had been hung up to dry.

Special foods

Christmas is also a festive time of eating, and the season brings it’s own distinctive foods. In Italy there is panettone, a light, fluffy cake traditionally made with raisins, candied citron or with a rich cream filling. The cake, which may be tall or short, is covered with chocolate or flavoured with various liquors. There are many legends which seek to explain the origin of panettone. One of the most charming attributes the creation of this cake to Sister Ughetta, a young nun living in a very poor convent. In order to enhance Christmas celebrations for her community, she took ordinary bread dough turning it into a delightful dessert by adding sugar, butter, candied fruit and raisins.

Among the British, a popular dessert served only in December is the Christmas Pudding. Although early versions of Christmas pudding included an odd assortments of ingredients such as chopped poultry, pheasant, partridge, rabbit along with sugar, apples, raisins, candied oranges and lemons, by 1595 this Christmas cake became plum pudding. It was made up of dried fruit, eggs, breadcrumbs and various spirits. In 1664 the Puritans banned it as a “lewd custom,” unfit for the people of God. However, in 1714, King George I re-established plum pudding as part of the royal Christmas meal. His recipe eliminated meat in favour of more sweets. People began to sprinkle plum pudding with brandy, setting it aflame when serving it to their guests. Traditional plum pudding is a labour of love requiring time and intensive marinating which often takes eight hours to cook.

Among Germans, gingerbread is the dessert of choice at Christmas. In some places it is a soft, delicately spiced cake; in other places it is a crisp, flat cookie, while yet at other locations it is a warm, thick, dark square of ‘bread’ sometimes served with a pitcher of lemon sauce or whipped cream. Sometimes it is light, other times it is dark, but always sweet and spicy. In Germany, the gingerbread is usually cut into shapes of men, women, stars or animals and colourfully decorated and dusted with white sugar.

One popular treat for those with a sweet tooth is the candy cane. The original candy cane was born in the 1670s when the choirmaster of Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, bent sticks of white sugar candy into canes to represent a shepherd’s staff. Thus, the candy cane today is meant to symbolize the shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem who first learned about the birth of Jesus. Hearing the angels announce his birth, these humble shepherds went to the stable paying homage to the newly born child.

A state of mind

Christmas is the only religious holiday in America which is also a national holiday. In 1836, Alabama became the first state to declare Christmas an official holiday. By 1890 all other states followed suit.

Of the many statements made about Christmas, one of the finest comes from President Calvin Coolidge who reminded people: “Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas”.