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Christmas: a holy…holiday!
25th of December, we celebrate the auspicious day all over the world both as a holiday and a holy day. But hardly ever have we thought about some major facts attached to the festival other than just the birth of the Christ, the son of God.
25th of December, we celebrate the auspicious day all over the world both as a holiday and a holy day. But hardly ever have we thought about some major facts attached to the festival other than just the birth of the Christ, the son of God.
We know that Santa Clause comes on his sleigh carried by the reindeers to give us gifts, hence we put out our stockings. Have you ever wondered how did this fat chubby agent of God come into existence? Why do we put our stockings and not a huge bag that could contain bigger gifts? Pallavi Thakur has collected some facts related to all the myths and customs attached with Christmas.
What is Christmas?
The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ`s Mass." Historians claim that the first celebration of Christmas happened in Rome in 336 A.D.
Why does this celebration hold so much of importance, much more than any other festival?
It goes without saying that the largest community of our world is that of the followers of Christanity. According to the 1994 Encyclopedia Britanica Book of the Year, there are 1.8 billion Christians in a total world population of 5.5 billion, making it the largest religion worldwide. Because Christians follow Jesus, the birth of Jesus is important to them.
Why does everyone 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 mentioned in the 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."
However, no such tradition of exchanging elaborate gifts existed until late the 1800s. It was only after the advent of the Santa Claus figure, amazing retailing phenomenon that has grown since the turn of the century, made gift giving a central focus of the Christmas tradition. 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 America through Pennsylvanian German immigrants.
Why do we decorate the tree?
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... It`s probably related to the song "White Christmas".
Why do you have holly draped over the mantel and staircase? The sharply pointed leaves of the holly are supposed to symbolize the thorns in Christ`s crown and the red berries, drops of his blood. Holly became a Nativity tradition. The Christian ban on mistletoe was in effect throughout the Middle Ages.
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. And since Christmas not only has the religious note to it but also has festive celebrations attached, hence romance too becomes a part of it today.
And what about this Nativity scene in the corner?
The star, the manger, the swaddling clothes, the shepherds, the angels, the heavenly host and the wise men all come from the books Matthew and Luke in the Bible.
Why is there a big log in the fireplace?
According to the book "The Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins" by William and Mary Morris, "Yuletide for Christmastime” is a term derived from the yule log, which in olden days was a huge log used as the foundation of the holiday fires. Bringing the yule log in was, as recently as the 19th century, as much a part of the pre-Christmas festivities as putting up an evergreen tree today. Yule can be traced back to the Middle English Yollen (cry aloud) and is thought to date from early Anglo-Saxon revels in celebration of the discovery (after the winter solstice) that nights were becoming shorter."
"Up until the 19th century, the custom of burning the Yule log flourished in England, France, Germany and among the South Slavs. Out of oak, families carved a heavy, wood block. They placed it into the floor of their hearth. It glowed throughout the year under the flames of household fires. Gradually it became ash. "
And what about fruitcakes?
No word yet on how they got attached to Christmas... probably because feast makes an important part of any celebration, hence all the cakes and pudding and cookies…
Why only stockings to hanged on the mantel?
According to a very old tradition, the original Saint Nicholas (Santa Clause) 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. Up until lately, it was traditional to receive small items like fruit, nuts and candy in your stocking, but these have been replaced in the last half-century by more expensive gifts in many homes.
The tradition of a lump of coal in the stockings of naughty children comes from Italy.
Why are the carols so repetitive?
There is a set of songs that are played continuously during the Christmas Season. Since the list of these holy songs is so short, you tend to hear each song 700 times over the course of the few weeks leading up to Christmas.
Did you know that the famous ‘Jingle Bells – Jingle Bells’ was essentially composed for Thanksgiving but in the course of time, got gradually attached to Christmas celebration!
And 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 favoured 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.
Why is the day before Christmas, Christmas Eve, celebrated?
Christmas Eve is a big deal for religious reasons, such as the midnight mass. Also because any holiday is generally meant to begin from the sundown of the previous day. Usually a late night is anyway a welcome thought, if the day is off.
Who is this Santa Claus person?
This image of Santa has over the years developed into what it finally exists today. It is a combined result of some facts and fiction or fabrication that has finally framed this image as it appears now.
According to the Encyclopedia Britanica Santa Claus started with a real person, Saint Nicholas, a minor saint from the fourth century.
Nicholas` reputation for generosity and kindness gave rise to legends of miracles he performed for the poor and unhappy.
His legend of a kindly old man was united with old Nordic folktales of a magician who punished naughty children and rewarded good children with presents, grew spread. Thus started the concept of Santa.
Coca-Cola also played a role in the Santa image by running a set of paintings by Haddon Sundblom in its ads between 1931 to 1964.
The red and white suit came, actually, from the original Saint Nicholas. Those colors were the colors of the traditional bishop`s robes.
Who is this one reindeer at the front named Rudolf, with red, glowing nose capable of penetrating thick fog?
Santa may be an exaggeration of some facts, but the story of Rudolf is a total fiction, and appeared, out of nowhere, in 1939. Santas at Montgomery Ward stores gave away 2.4 million copies of a booklet entitled "Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer." The story was written by a person in the advertising department named Robert May, and the booklet was illustrated by Denver Gillen. The original name of the reindeer was not Rudolf, according to the book ‘Extraordinary Origins of Ordinary Things’ by Charles Panati. The original name was Rollo, but executives did not like that name, nor Reginald. The name Rudolf came from the author`s young daughter! In 1949, Gene Autry sang a musical version of the poem and it was a run-away best-seller. The Rudolf song is second only to "White Christmas" in popularity.
Why is Christmas sometimes spelled Xmas? Especially when combined with the word "sale"?
According to the book "Did you ever Wonder..." by Jeff Rovin, the word for Christ in Greek is Xristos. The use of the shortened form Xmas became popular in Europe in the 1500s.
The word Xmas is so common in advertising most likely because "Xmas" and "sale" have the same number of letters, also because "Xmas" is significantly shorter than Christmas, hence more convenient.
Over the years the celebration of Christmas has seen lot of customs getting attached from sheer fun point of view. These customs gradually got incorporated into the festival completely, adding more fun and feasting to it. There fore making it not just a holy day but a holiday too!
What is Christmas?
The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ`s Mass." Historians claim that the first celebration of Christmas happened in Rome in 336 A.D.
Why does this celebration hold so much of importance, much more than any other festival?
It goes without saying that the largest community of our world is that of the followers of Christanity. According to the 1994 Encyclopedia Britanica Book of the Year, there are 1.8 billion Christians in a total world population of 5.5 billion, making it the largest religion worldwide. Because Christians follow Jesus, the birth of Jesus is important to them.
Why does everyone 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 mentioned in the 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."
However, no such tradition of exchanging elaborate gifts existed until late the 1800s. It was only after the advent of the Santa Claus figure, amazing retailing phenomenon that has grown since the turn of the century, made gift giving a central focus of the Christmas tradition. 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 America through Pennsylvanian German immigrants.
Why do we decorate the tree?
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... It`s probably related to the song "White Christmas".
Why do you have holly draped over the mantel and staircase? The sharply pointed leaves of the holly are supposed to symbolize the thorns in Christ`s crown and the red berries, drops of his blood. Holly became a Nativity tradition. The Christian ban on mistletoe was in effect throughout the Middle Ages.
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. And since Christmas not only has the religious note to it but also has festive celebrations attached, hence romance too becomes a part of it today.
And what about this Nativity scene in the corner?
The star, the manger, the swaddling clothes, the shepherds, the angels, the heavenly host and the wise men all come from the books Matthew and Luke in the Bible.
Why is there a big log in the fireplace?
According to the book "The Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins" by William and Mary Morris, "Yuletide for Christmastime” is a term derived from the yule log, which in olden days was a huge log used as the foundation of the holiday fires. Bringing the yule log in was, as recently as the 19th century, as much a part of the pre-Christmas festivities as putting up an evergreen tree today. Yule can be traced back to the Middle English Yollen (cry aloud) and is thought to date from early Anglo-Saxon revels in celebration of the discovery (after the winter solstice) that nights were becoming shorter."
"Up until the 19th century, the custom of burning the Yule log flourished in England, France, Germany and among the South Slavs. Out of oak, families carved a heavy, wood block. They placed it into the floor of their hearth. It glowed throughout the year under the flames of household fires. Gradually it became ash. "
And what about fruitcakes?
No word yet on how they got attached to Christmas... probably because feast makes an important part of any celebration, hence all the cakes and pudding and cookies…
Why only stockings to hanged on the mantel?
According to a very old tradition, the original Saint Nicholas (Santa Clause) 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. Up until lately, it was traditional to receive small items like fruit, nuts and candy in your stocking, but these have been replaced in the last half-century by more expensive gifts in many homes.
The tradition of a lump of coal in the stockings of naughty children comes from Italy.
Why are the carols so repetitive?
There is a set of songs that are played continuously during the Christmas Season. Since the list of these holy songs is so short, you tend to hear each song 700 times over the course of the few weeks leading up to Christmas.
Did you know that the famous ‘Jingle Bells – Jingle Bells’ was essentially composed for Thanksgiving but in the course of time, got gradually attached to Christmas celebration!
And 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 favoured 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.
Why is the day before Christmas, Christmas Eve, celebrated?
Christmas Eve is a big deal for religious reasons, such as the midnight mass. Also because any holiday is generally meant to begin from the sundown of the previous day. Usually a late night is anyway a welcome thought, if the day is off.
Who is this Santa Claus person?
This image of Santa has over the years developed into what it finally exists today. It is a combined result of some facts and fiction or fabrication that has finally framed this image as it appears now.
According to the Encyclopedia Britanica Santa Claus started with a real person, Saint Nicholas, a minor saint from the fourth century.
Nicholas` reputation for generosity and kindness gave rise to legends of miracles he performed for the poor and unhappy.
His legend of a kindly old man was united with old Nordic folktales of a magician who punished naughty children and rewarded good children with presents, grew spread. Thus started the concept of Santa.
Coca-Cola also played a role in the Santa image by running a set of paintings by Haddon Sundblom in its ads between 1931 to 1964.
The red and white suit came, actually, from the original Saint Nicholas. Those colors were the colors of the traditional bishop`s robes.
Who is this one reindeer at the front named Rudolf, with red, glowing nose capable of penetrating thick fog?
Santa may be an exaggeration of some facts, but the story of Rudolf is a total fiction, and appeared, out of nowhere, in 1939. Santas at Montgomery Ward stores gave away 2.4 million copies of a booklet entitled "Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer." The story was written by a person in the advertising department named Robert May, and the booklet was illustrated by Denver Gillen. The original name of the reindeer was not Rudolf, according to the book ‘Extraordinary Origins of Ordinary Things’ by Charles Panati. The original name was Rollo, but executives did not like that name, nor Reginald. The name Rudolf came from the author`s young daughter! In 1949, Gene Autry sang a musical version of the poem and it was a run-away best-seller. The Rudolf song is second only to "White Christmas" in popularity.
Why is Christmas sometimes spelled Xmas? Especially when combined with the word "sale"?
According to the book "Did you ever Wonder..." by Jeff Rovin, the word for Christ in Greek is Xristos. The use of the shortened form Xmas became popular in Europe in the 1500s.
The word Xmas is so common in advertising most likely because "Xmas" and "sale" have the same number of letters, also because "Xmas" is significantly shorter than Christmas, hence more convenient.
Over the years the celebration of Christmas has seen lot of customs getting attached from sheer fun point of view. These customs gradually got incorporated into the festival completely, adding more fun and feasting to it. There fore making it not just a holy day but a holiday too!