The Everything Family Christmas Book (13 page)

It is said that the Hessians (who came from an area of Germany) defeated by George Washington in the Battle of Trenton in 1776 may have been observing the holiday in the custom of their homeland by setting lighted candles upon the boughs of a tree.

The United States has its own famous Christmas trees. The ninety-foot-high tree in New York’s Rockefeller Center has been a tradition since 1933, with its annual lighting now an event that’s televised throughout North America. In Washington, a tree near the White House in Sherman Square, known as the National Living Christmas Tree, is lit every year by a member of the First Family. And the Nation’s Christmas Tree is located in General Grant National Park in Sanger, California. The huge Sequoia was given this honor on Christmas Day, 1925. It measures 267 feet high and 107 feet around and is 3,500 years old. And for more than thirty years, the Canadian province of Nova Scotia has donated a giant Christmas tree to the people of Boston, as a thank you for the city’s help after a harbor explosion in 1917 devastated the province’s capital, Halifax.

The first church in this country to display a decorated tree was that of pastor Henry Schwan in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1851. President and Mrs. Franklin Pierce were the first to popularize the Christmas tree in the White House, beginning in 1856.

Christmas Ornaments

Originally, Christmas trees were the means by which presents were displayed on Christmas morning before their owners claimed them. Small toys, candies, and other treats were hung on the boughs; children would awaken and strip the tree. The earliest Christmas ornaments thus consisted of edible goodies, typically fruits and nuts; eventually, these made way for cookies, candy, and cakes. Flowers and paper decorations provided nonedible beauty.

Candy canes appear to have originated in seventeenth-century Germany, when the choirmaster at Cologne’s cathedral gave candy sticks shaped like a shepherd’s crook to children attending Christmas ceremonies. They debuted in America in the mid-1850s, but didn’t gain their red stripe until the early 1900s.

The first commercial ornaments for Christmas trees were actually hollow, brightly colored containers that held good things to eat. The most popular of these was probably the cornucopia. When the goodies got too heavy for the tree, German glassblowers began manufacturing the first glass ornaments. But these, and other purely decorative elements, would not be the main attraction of the Christmas tree for some years.

Bringing Nature Inside

While the Christmas tree forms the focal point of holiday greenery, it’s not the only piece of nature that people bring inside. At a time of the year when winter brings darker, colder days to much of the northern hemisphere, it’s a treat to bring color into your home in the form of natural beauty.

Of course, those who celebrate Christmas in warm weather don’t depend so much on greenery to decorate their holiday as Europeans and those living in colder climates. The Christmas bell (bell-shaped flowers) and the Christmas bush (little red flowers) are common Christmas sights in Australia, while the poinsettia abounds in Mexico during the holiday season.

The Legend of the Poinsettia

The legend of the plant now associated so strongly with Christmas arose years ago in Mexico, where it was traditional to leave gifts on the altar for Jesus on Christmas Eve. As the story goes, among a group of worshipers one night was a poor boy that had no present. Upset by his inability to provide a gift, the boy knelt outside the church window and prayed. In the spot where he knelt sprang a beautiful plant with vibrant red leaves. In Mexico, this plant is called the Flower of the Holy Night.

The first American Ambassador to Mexico (1825–1829), Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, was so impressed by the vibrant plant that Mexicans called the Flower of the Holy Night that he brought it to America, where it was subsequently renamed in his honor.

With 80 percent of flowering poinsettias grown in Encinitas, California, this city just north of San Diego is known as the poinsettia capital of the world. Although traditionally red, the flower now comes in paler varieties as well, including pink and white.

The Yule Log

The tradition of the Yule log has very deep pagan roots. Celts, Teutons, and Druids burned the massive logs in winter ceremonies in celebration of the sun. The selection of each season’s Yule log was of the highest importance and surrounded by ceremony, as the log was to start the celebration fires and last for the duration of the winter festival.

In the Christian era, the log was often cut on February 2 (Candlemas Day), then set outside to dry during the late spring and summer; sometimes it was soaked in spices and decorated with greenery. Often a piece of the previous year’s log was used to light the new log. In Scandinavia, this saved piece had the additional significance of representing goodwill from Thor. Scandinavians believed that Thor’s lighting bolt would not strike burned wood and that their houses were safe from lightning as long as they had this Yule brand.

When Christianity emerged in Europe, the Yule log remained popular in England and Scandinavia. In order to justify this pagan ritual, church officials gave it a new significance, that of the light that came from Heaven when Christ was born. The log was lit on Christmas Eve and left burning throughout the twelve days of Christmas.

In some parts of France, the Yule log was presented as the source of children’s gifts. The log was covered with cloth and brought into the house, where the children whacked it with sticks, beseeching it to bring forth presents. When no presents came, the children were sent outside to confess the sins they had committed that year; when they returned, the log was uncovered, surrounded by gifts.

In the American South, plantation slaves always tried to select the biggest possible Yule log. As long as the log burned, the slaves had to be paid for any work they did.

Changes brought by the Industrial Revolution finally made the Yule Log impractical. Few had the time or space for the preparations it required, and the small fireplaces of the city could not accommodate such a massive thing. Like the boar’s head, the huge Yule log became, for most people, an emblem of the past.

It does, however, live on in the tradition of a delicious Christmas dessert: a cake rolled into the shape of a log, covered with chocolate icing, and decorated with greenery and icing sugar. You can find it in many countries, particularly England and France.

The Bird’s Christmas Tree

Also known as the Sheaf of Grain, the Bird’s Christmas Tree is a Scandinavian custom. A sheaf of grain is hung on a pole on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day as a way of sharing the Christmas spirit with the animals. Including the animals in Christmas is very important in Scandinavia, as it is believed that kindness to animals will help to ensure a prosperous new year.

Boughs of Holly

In ancient times, holly was thought to be magical because of its shiny leaves and its ability to bear fruit in winter. Some believed it contained a syrup that cured coughs; others hung it over their beds to produce good dreams. The plant was a popular Saturnalia gift among the Romans, who later brought holly to England, where it was also considered sacred.

In medieval times, holly, along with ivy, became the subject of many Christmas songs. Some of these songs gave the holly and ivy genders (holly is male, ivy female), while other, more religious, songs and poems portray the holly berry as a symbol of Christ.

Eternal Ivy

In pagan times, ivy was closely associated with Bacchus, the god of wine, and played a big part in all festivals in which he figured. English tavern keepers eventually adopted ivy as a symbol and featured it on their signs. Its festive past has not kept ivy from being incorporated into modern Christian celebrations, however: It represents the promise of eternal life.