As the holiday time of year gears up, Christmas is, of course, on the minds of many. There are other celebrations with equally rich histories, but let's talk about the traditions of that season today.
Long before there was a "Christ Mass," the shorter days of the year were a fearful time for humans in general. The Winter Solstice, or Midwinter, is the shortest day, and therefore longest night, of the year, falling on December 21st or 22nd. For ancient peoples, such a lengthy disappearance of the sun was an unpleasant occurrence. Without light, there would be no spring and no food--a terrifying proposition. This may be one of the reasons Stonehenge, where the solstice is still observed, and other neolithic monuments exist and are constructed in very particular ways.
During this time, various rituals were practiced from Asia to Scandinavia. Even the ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia as a time when the deities gathered on Mount Olympus to honor the sun god. These "pagans" decorated the streets and their homes, and even shared gifts. They gambled, drank, partied, and even staged the omnipresent games. And, in a more peculiar tradition, they exchanged roles with their slaves. The festival lasted for days.
With the spread of Christianity and the agreement that there was a need to focus more on the church and less on solstice practices, a date was chosen to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Using Midwinter itself was too obvious, so December 25th was decided upon. The term "Christmas" in one form or another began to enter use around the beginning of the second millennium.
And so it continues today, as do many of the old pagan traditions. The gifts from Roman celebrations are an obvious carryover. But what of trees and holly and yule logs and mistletoe and so forth? Well, the Druids used holly branches to guard their homes from evil spirits during the short, dark days. Now it is seen as an ornamental decoration. In some cultures, revellers wear laurels of holly to symbolize Christ's thorny crown.
The Druids also believed that mistletoe (Anglo-Saxon for "dung twig") harvested at specific times after the solstice would protect them from storms and evil spirits that roamed the earth. As for the traditional kiss, Vikings associated the parasitic twigs with fertility and saw the ritual affection as an aphrodisiac, sure to produce children. Many cultures considered the plant representative of peace, or at least armistice. So this has remained part of the holiday as well.
Among the Norse, Midwinter was actually referred to as Yuletide, during which they burned the largest log they could find, feasting as long as the wood flame lasted.
The Christmas tree can be traced, as a tradition, to 8th century Germany. It was not popular outside that country until Prince Albert introduced it to Victorian England in the 1840s, and the practice of decorating an indoor evergreen became widely imitated. This seems to have been brought to American even earlier via the Pennsylvania Dutch. Its origins are debatable, but some speculate that it might go back so far as the belief in the Tree of Life or at least the Druid tradition of forest worship. And evergreen was used by most peoples at solstice time to ward off bad luck or encourage the attraction of good spirits.
Santa Claus himself is based on many legends. The original Saint Nicholas was a bishop in Turkey during the 4th century, renowned primarily for his extraordinary gifts to, and work with, the poor. In certain countries, he is still depicted in the red robes of the cleric. But somewhere along the line, he became intermingled with the Norse god Odin, who flew across the sky on a giant horse. If children left food for the animal in their shoes, they were rewarded with gifts. Many people still hang stockings and leave cookies for Santa. An eight-legged horse for the Norse god or eight tiny reindeer for Santa--is there such a great difference?
The jolly Santa of contemporary America was created by cartoonist Thomas Nast in the 19th century. This image gained popularity quickly, as it was more secular. This elfin, yet grandfatherly, character was soon everywhere--on cards and posters, advertisements and stamps.
So sometimes it is more than a hop and a skip, it can be a whole jump, to explain just what Christmas and its traditions are anyway. The most important thing to remember is that this is a time of giving and kindness.
So be kind and giving, not just on one day of the year, but on each one.
VK
Beautiful!!
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