“Christmas is just plain weird. What other time of year do you sit in front of a dead tree in your living room and eat candy out of your socks?”
This joke, put up in our staff room, made me wonder about all the strange traditions we follow and where exactly they come from. So I did a little Internet searching and came up with some interesting facts (whether they’re true or not, I can’t say for certain, since many traditions’ origins are murky):
Christmas trees: In 16th century Germany, fir trees were decorated with apples, roses, gilded candies and colour paper. Decorated trees inside homes also signaled hopes for spring – I think we can all appreciate that one. A popular religious play from the Middle Ages used to depict a fir tree hung with apples to symbolize the Garden of Eden and the Paradise tree. The play ended with the prophecy of a saviour coming, so it was often performed during the Advent season. Prince Albert, husband to Queen Victoria, brought the tradition of decorating trees for Christmas from his native Germany to Great Britain, and it has spread worldwide.
Christmas lights: This one sprang from the lighting of Christmas trees, which was originally done with candles. It’s all fun and games until your Christmas tree is on fire, though – after a tragic fire in New York City in 1917 involving Christmas tree candles, 15-year-old Albert Sadacca got the idea to invent electric Christmas lights. I suppose once people saw how easy it was to stick the plug and enjoy instant prettiness, they just wanted to put lights up everywhere.
Christmas stockings: The story goes that a nobleman, saddened by the death of his wife, squandered away his fortune, and that his three young daughters were left impoverished and without any chances for marriage. St Nicholas, hearing of the girls’ plight, rode by the nobleman’s house and threw three small pouches of gold coins down the chimney. Although the tale could have ended badly with the gold going up in flames, luckily, the pouches were caught by the girls’ stockings left hanging to dry. I’ve never put up stockings before, but after learning about that story, I guess it can’t hurt to try.
Candy canes: What would religious services be without parents trying to muffle their hyper children fidgeting in their seats? According to popular legend, a German choirmaster in the 1600s had the bright idea to calm down his young singers not by giving them a sedative, as one might think might be more effective, but sugar. The white sugar sticks were popular at the time, but the story goes that the choirmaster had them bent into their current shape, either to represent a “J” for Jesus or a shepherd’s crook.
Most of us know that Dec. 25 was not the date of Jesus’ birth, but selected because it coincided with popular pagan festivals, and in fact, many Christmas traditions predate Jesus’ birth and Christianity, and have pagan roots. But somehow, these traditions have become wrapped up in our Christmas celebrations; you very likely have some personal ones of your own to add. For instance, in my husband’s family, one of the annual rituals seems to be competing in Monopoly and accusing one another of cheating, while another is breaking a chocolate orange into the gravy.
The reasons for these traditions may have gotten murkier over time, just like the reasons for putting up a tree and hanging stockings, but marking traditions each year celebrates a bond of family, friendship, love and goodwill that persists throughout the years, no matter the distance or time that seems to separate you from your loved ones. So this year, crack a chocolate orange into your gravy, break out the Monopoly and the boxing gloves, or do whatever it is to remind you that tradition will be the eternal thread tying your past, present and your future and hopefully making all your Christmases bright ones.
