The Everything Family Christmas Book (11 page)

The Boy Bishop’s “reign” usually began on December 6, St. Nicholas’s Day, and would last until December 28, the Feast of the Holy Innocents. During this time, the Boy Bishop acted as a priest of sorts, blessing people, bringing up the offerings, and leading the choir. He always dressed the part, and in some countries Boy Bishop services were very elaborate.

In time, however, the innocence of this tradition was lost, as it became overshadowed by rowdiness; Boy Bishop services were often seen as an excuse to parody the church and have wild parties. The Boy Bishop had become too closely associated with the figure of the Lord of Misrule (described in
Chapter 4
) for many people’s taste, and as a result was eventually outlawed by the church. The popular tradition did not die out completely, however, until Henry VIII banned it from England in 1542.

Candles

In the time of darkness surrounding the winter solstice, candles were important as a source of light and heat. During the Saturnalia, Romans lit candles to convince the sun to shine again and to ward off evil. From this pagan start, the candle has gone on to become an essential part of Christmas lighting, both in church ceremonies and at home.

For Christians it symbolizes Christ himself, the light of the world; candles are used during Advent to mark the days before the coming of Christmas. The Candlemas services that celebrate the purification of Mary forty days after Christ’s birth take their name from the candles that are blessed during the ceremony.

In Victorian times, candles came to represent concern and goodwill for the poor and unfortunate during the holiday season. Candles were placed in windows during the twelve days of Christmas as a sign to needy passersby that shelter and warmth could be found within.

The first string of electric Christmas-tree lights was not sold until 1903. Only the wealthy could afford them, however, and only those with indoor electric outlets could use them. Most people continued to follow the earlier (and dangerous) tradition of affixing small lighted candles to the boughs of the tree. Larger trees bore hundreds of candles.

Candles were the preferred means of lighting Christmas trees for many years. Although replaced on trees and in windows by electric replicas for the most part, real candles are still used—with care—in many caroling ceremonies and church celebrations today.

Stockings

The idea of hanging stockings out on Christmas Eve is believed to have come from Amsterdam, where children leave out their shoes on St. Nicholas’s Eve in hopes that he will fill them with goodies. But where did the people of Amsterdam get the idea? Perhaps from St. Nicholas himself.

One of the most popular stories surrounding the saint concerns his generosity to the three daughters of a poor family. It seems the daughters were of marriageable age, but could not marry because they had no dowry. Nicholas heard of their plight and set out to help them. In the middle of the night (he wanted his act to be a secret), Nicholas threw bags of gold coins down the girl’s chimney. The bags landed in the girl’s stockings, which they had hung up by the chimney to dry. (For a more detailed account of the life of St. Nicholas, see
Chapter 2
.)

Greenery

Pagan peoples long revered evergreens for their ability to stay alive during the cold, dark winters. Often considered magical for this reason, greenery in various forms adorned the inside and outside of houses during the winter solstice festivals.

Church officials at first attempted to banish greenery, then decided it would better serve their purpose to translate the beloved custom into Christian terms. Evergreens came to symbolize Christ, who in his triumph over death gave the gift of everlasting life to the world.

The legend of the Christmas Rose tells of a young girl who wanted to worship the baby Jesus, but felt she could not because she had no present. Saddened, the girl began to cry; as her tears fell to the ground, they created a bush bearing a beautiful white rose, which she gave to the Holy Infant.

Greenery generally refers to those trees and plants that remain green and flourishing all year round. Though cypress, box, yew, rosemary, and laurel are all considered greenery, they are not as common to Christmas as holly, ivy, mistletoe, and, of course, the Christmas tree.

4
All the Trimmings

A
s Christmas celebrations evolved over the centuries, these traditions echoed those of earlier times—some from before the time of Jesus, when pagan gods were honored (or appeased) with various customs, others from new cultural or even technological developments. Not as religious in nature as other traditions, these “trimmings” of holiday fun range from the customary colors of red and green (now joined by every color in the rainbow) to the ornaments that are placed on that happiest of decorations, the Christmas tree.

Red and Green

Why are red and green the colors of Christmas? No one really knows for sure, but there have been plenty of educated guesses. Green is the easier of the two to theorize about, because it’s the color of the evergreens that symbolize so much that is important to the meaning of the holiday. The holly berry seems to be responsible for the color red, as it’s the red berry that lives through winter, symbolizing life in the face of death, and thus representing Christ.

Bells and Other Joyous Noisemakers

A holdover from pagan times, bells and other noisemakers were believed to frighten away evil spirits. As part of the midwinter solstice festivals, bell-ringing activities were very rowdy, mixing some fun in with the serious intent. As late as the 1890s in the United States, children thought of Christmas and noisemakers as nearly synonymous. The demise of the tiny, wildly popular Christmas firecracker may have as much to do with care for parental eardrums as with safety concerns. Bells, however—particularly church bells—have remained a staple of the holiday. Today, their peals serve as unmistakable heralds of the arrival of the Christmas season.

Feasts

Extravagant feasts played a large part in the winter solstice festivals of ages past. Apart from being a gathering where people exchanged goodwill and cheer, the mere existence of these feasts displayed faith in the prosperity of the upcoming year.

Holiday feasting hit its peak in medieval England, where the king and his court were constantly trying to outdo each other with outrageous quantities of food and drink. The guests at these festivities preferred their food to be presented looking as much like its animal of origin as possible—not that the work was admired for long once it made it to the table. Conspicuous consumption was, after all, the order of the day.

By Victorian times, the boar’s head, roasted oxen, and other wild beasts had been replaced by turkey, goose, plum pudding, and Yorkshire pudding. Though there are still many traditional menu items, these days the food on the table is not as important as the idea of a gathering with family and friends, full of warmth and Christmas spirit.

The Boar’s Head

According to an old English legend, there was once a philosophy student who fended off an attacking wild boar by choking the animal with a book on Aristotle. When the boar was dead, the student cut off his head to remove the book, then brought the head back to his college, where he and his friends had a grand feast. Soon, boar’s head was a must for every English household at Christmas.