Christmas Traditions Unwrapped

[crosfan]

Why do we decorate with holly?
With its vibrant red berries and its deep green leaves, holly is a natural choice for Christmas decorations during bleak winters. Since medieval times, the blood red colour of its berries and the prickles of its leaves have reminded Christians of the birth (and death) of Jesus, as alluded to in the famous English Christmas carol "The Holly and the Ivy."

Why do we hang stockings?
Medieval legend says that St. Nicholas saved three daughters of a poor man from lives of shame by dropping bags of gold into their stockings. From this come the tradition of setting out a stocking for Santa Claus to fill with presents and treats. Given Santa's usual means of entry - the chimney - the fireplace seemed the logical place for children to hang their stockings.

Why do we send cards?
In 1843, English man Sir Henry Cole decided he was too busy to write individual Christmas greetings to his family, friends and colleagues. So he asked his friend, the painter John Callcott Horsley, to design a card with a Christmas image and brief greeting. A thousand of Horsley's cards were printed and sold. Soon after, mass-printed cards replaced handwritten Christmas greetings in most of Europe and the U.S.

Why do we give gifts?
The custom of giving and receiving presents at Christmas is to remind us of the presents of gold, frankincense and myth given to Jesus by the Magi or wise men. confined to the upper classes and the monarchy for years, by the 13th century Christmas gift-giving was extended to children, who often believed St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children, brought them presents.

What's a Yule Log?
The history of the Yule log goes back to Europe's Iron Age when Celtic Brits and Gaelic Europeans would gather for a Yule festival to welcome the winter solstice at the end of December. They would burn large logs decorated with holly, pine cones or ivy and anointed with wine and salt, to cleanse the air of the previous year's events. With the advent of Christianity, the Yule log tradition continued at Christmas, but due to small hearths, come Christians started baking Yule log cakes instead of burning actual logs.

What are Advent calendars?
The Advent calendar dates to the mid-19th century, when German protestants made chalk marks on doors or lit candles to count the days leading up to Christmas. The first printed Advent calendars, featuring traditional Christmas or winter scenes, were produced in Germany in the early 1900s and included the little doors that are a staple of most Advent calendars today. Those little doors are opened - one per day - to reveal chocolate, small toys, or short messages.

Why do we kiss under the mistletoe?
The tradition of kissing underneath it is believed to have its roots in a Scandinavian myth. Jealous of Baldur the Beautiful, the god of light and spring, Loki, god of mischief, used a dart poisoned with mistletoe to kill the Baldur. Distraught by the death of her son, Frigga, the goddess of love, decreed that mistletoe would never again be used as weapon and that she would place a kiss on anyone who passed under it. In the 19th century the British started hanging mistletoe at Christmas, hoping to bring Frigga's good luck to anyone who kissed underneath it.

Why do we eat candy canes?
Legend has it that in the 1670s, the choirmaster of a cathedral in Cologne, Germany distributed candies shaped like a shepherd's staff to children during the Christmas season. The idea was that the kids wold make less noise if they were eating the large sweets. Their shape also enabled the candies to be hung from Christmas trees.

Why do we decorate trees?
In the 700s, St. Boniface converted many Germans to Christianity, so when he came across a group of Pagans worshipping an oak tree, he was so angry he chopped it down. When a fir tree sprouted in its place, St. Boniface took his as a sign from God, and it's been a Christian symbol since. Queen Victoria is credited with popularizing the tradition of decorating trees in the 1840s after her German husband Prince Albert gave her a tree for Christmas.

Why do we decorate with poinsettias?
Mexican legend tells of a poor little girl who did not have a gift to leave at the altar for the Virgin Mary and the Christ child on Christmas Eve. An angel appeared to her and suggested she bring the weeds at the side of the road. When she brought them into the church, they blossomed into the beautiful red plants we know as poinsettias (named for the first U.s. Ambassador to Mexico, Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett), or Flores de Noche Buena in Mexico (Spanish for "flowers of the holy night").

What is the origin of the cracker?
The Christmas cracker was invented in 1847 by London confectioner, Tom Smith. Inspired by the noise of a crackling fire Smith came up with a chemical formula that, when added to a strip of paper and then pulled, produced a miniature explosive snap. He soon discarded the candies from his invention and filled them with mottos, paper hats and prizes. The cracker soon became an indispensable part of Christmas dinners around the world.

Why do we sing carols at Christmas?
In the 13th century, Francis of Assisi, (who became the patron saint of animals and the environment after his death), wanted ordinary people to joyfully celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, so he added religious lyrics to popular tunes of the time. These energetic tunes were in sharp contrast to the solemn hymns sung by the priests at Christmas services. The word "carol" reflects uninhibited expression, deriving from the French word "caroler," which means "dancing around in a circle."

from Toronto Star on December 24, 2013