Just a few interesting facts
for fun and interest.
What
is Christmas?
The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or
"Christ's Mass." Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members
of the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration of
Christmas to Rome in 336 A.D.
Christmas is both a holiday and a holy day. In America it is one of the biggest
event of the year (especially for kids), and for members of the Christian
religions it is an important day on the religious calendar.
Why
are there oversized socks hanging on your mantel?
According to a very old tradition, the original Saint
Nicholas (see the section on Santa) left his very first gifts of gold coins in
the stockings of three poor girls who needed the money for their wedding
dowries. The girls had hung their stockings by the fire to dry.
Christmas Stockings
Why
is mistletoe hanging over the front door?
For Scandinavians, the goddess of love (Frigga) is strongly associated
with mistletoe. This link to romance may be where our tradition of kissing under
mistletoe comes from.
Mistletoe
Why
do people give each other presents on Christmas day?
The tradition of gifts seems to have started with the gifts that the wise men
(the Magi) brought to Jesus. As recounted in the Bible's book of Matthew, "On
coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down
and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with
gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh."
As mentioned in the previous question, however, no one was really in the habit
of exchanging elaborate gifts until late in the 1800s. The Santa Claus story
(described later), combined with an amazing retailing phenomenon that has grown
since the turn of the century, has made gift giving a central focus of the
Christmas tradition.
Why do Christmas carolers walk around the
neighborhood singing?
In the Middle Ages in England and France, carols were dances accompanied by
singing. In the French Midi, for example, the "carol" was a kind of round dance.
In time, the word "carol" changed its meaning, referring only to certain kinds
of songs. The Anglo-Saxon tradition favored gathering together small choirs on
the village green to sing carols and Christmas songs for the pleasure of
passers-by. A number of currently very popular American Christmas carols come
directly from France and England.
What,
exactly, are the 12 days of Christmas?
The 12 days of Christmas are the 12 days that separate Christmas day on December
25 from Epiphany, which is celebrated January 6. Depending on the church,
January 6 may mark Christ's baptism (the Catholic tradition), or it may mark the
day that the wise men
visited the baby Jesus with their gifts.
In the past, there was a tradition of giving gifts throughout the 12 days,
rather than stacking them all up on the morning of December 25. That tradition,
as you might imagine, has never really caught on in America! We just aren't that
patient. The song, however, demonstrates that some people once stretched out
their gifts (and gave some fairly elaborate gifts...) over the full 12 days.
12
Days of Christmas
Why
is there a small evergreen tree in your living room?
This is a German tradition, started as early as 700 A.D. In the 1800s the
tradition of a
Christmas tree
was widespread in Germany, then moved to England and then to America through
Pennsylvanian German immigrants.
Why have you decorated this evergreen?
In Victorian times, people had already started decorating trees with candies
and cakes hung with ribbon. In 1880, Woolworths first sold manufactured
Christmas tree ornaments, and they caught on very quickly. Martin Luther, in
the 16th century, is credited as being the first person to put candles on a
tree, and the first electrically lighted Christmas tree appeared in 1882.
Calvin Coolidge in 1923 ceremoniously lit the first outdoor tree at the White
House, starting that long tradition. Fake snow and tinsel... Who knows? It's
probably related to the song "White Christmas" (we'll get to that soon).
Who is this
Santa Claus person?
Why is Santa characterized as a
short, fat and jolly pipe smoker?
Why does Santa wear such outlandish clothes?
Why does he ride around in a sleigh? Pulled by reindeer? That lands on
rooftops? So he can climb down the chimney? With a big sack full of toys?
Which he leaves under the tree for good girls and boys?
According to the
Encyclopedia Britannica, Santa Claus started with a
real person, Saint Nicholas, a minor saint from the fourth century:
According to tradition, he was
born in the ancient Lycian seaport city of Patara, and, when young, he
traveled to Palestine and Egypt. He became bishop of Myra soon after returning
to Lycia. He was imprisoned during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution
of Christians but was released under the rule of Emperor Constantine the Great
and attended the first Council (325) of Nicaea. After his death he was buried
in his church at Myra, and by the sixth century his shrine there had become
well known. In 1087, Italian sailors or merchants stole his alleged remains
from Myra and took them to Bari, Italy; this removal greatly increased the
saint's popularity in Europe, and Bari became one of the most crowded of all
pilgrimage centres. Nicholas' relics remain enshrined in the 11th-century
basilica of San Nicola, Bari.
For more information, visit
Santa.
Why
are there poinsettias on the hearth?
Poinsettias were attached to Christmas starting in 1828.
In warm climates, the poinsettia grows outdoors as a winter-flowering leggy
shrub about 3 metres (10 feet) high; as a potted plant in northern areas it
rarely grows beyond 1 metre. What appear to be petals are actually coloured
leaflike bracts that surround a central cluster of tiny yellow flowers. A milky
latex in the stems and leaves can be irritating to persons or animals sensitive
to it, but the claim that poinsettias are deadly poisonous is greatly
exaggerated.
Poinsettias
Best wishes to all for a safe and
happy holiday and a wonderful and prosperous New Year!
Look for our next month's issue of the Newsletter in
January. In February we'll be posting information about our upcoming
Continuing Education classes for 2006.
Have
a wonderful and safe Holiday and New Year!