The Top 40 Traditions of Christmas: The Story Behind the Nativity, Candy Canes, Caroling, and All Things Christmas (5 page)

Legend has it that he planted a fir tree in place of the oak, and this became the first Christmas tree.

What?

Trees, decorated and worshipped in the woods, were eventually replaced by smaller, felled trees placed outside shops to advertise their business. Gradually, smaller trees made their way into homes.

Today we have the choice of natural trees or artificial ones that can be put away and reused year after year.

Around forty million real, or specially grown, trees are bought in the United States each year during the Christmas period.

An angel or a star is usually placed on top of the tree to symbolize one of the two ways the news of Christ’s birth was proclaimed (by an angel to the shepherds or by a star to the Wise Men).

Where?

Trees first became a part of the Christmas celebrations in northern Germany. Some of those celebrations ended with the tree being set on fire!

Prussian troops took the tradition into southern Germany, but the Christmas tree stayed firmly rooted in that area for a considerable time. Germans traveling abroad might delight their friends with their decorated trees, but it wasn’t until the time of Queen Victoria (who was related to the German royal family) that the tradition became popular in the United Kingdom. From the United Kingdom it spread to the United States, although people in many states claim (with good cause) that German ancestors brought the tradition directly to them!

When?

Saint Boniface chopped the Donar Oak (Thunder Oak) down in 723 AD. But the first recorded use of a Christmas tree took place in an Estonian monastery in 1441.

In 1781 German soldiers sent to defend Quebec against America during the Revolutionary War celebrated Christmas with a decorated tree.

In 1848 a picture of Queen Victoria standing by a decorated Christmas tree was circulated throughout the United States in
Godey’s Magazine and Lady’s Book.
(The picture was altered, removing Victoria’s tiara to make it look less royal and more like one of an ordinary family.) From that time onward American families increasingly made the Christmas tree a part of their family celebrations.

Why?

Trees made convenient gathering points for pagan, midwinter celebrations. Offerings would be made and fires lit to encourage the rebirth of the sun and the fresh life it would bring. It made sense for the early Christians to adopt and adapt this into a celebration of the birth of the life-giving Son of God.

The first decorations placed on Christmas trees were wax candles, which may have indicated Jesus being “the Light of the World” or may simply have been a way of emulating chandeliers.

These days, though, the tree makes a wonderful gathering place and the perfect frame from which to hang candy canes, lights, and other sparkly stuff.

Who?

The first Christmas gift was undoubtedly from God to us, and it was Jesus. The next ones were presented to Christ himself by the Magi (or the Wise Men, or the three kings).

Across the world, children wait excitedly for a variety of gift bringers, the most famous of whom is Santa Claus. In Scandinavia a gnome called
Julenisse
delivers the gifts; in Holland it is
Sinterklaas;
Russian children get their presents from Grandfather Frost; in Spain the three kings perform the honors; and in Italy
La Befana
brings gifts—but not until Twelfth Night!

In almost every country, though, hardworking parents are usually the gift-bearer’s main helpers!

What?

The Magi famously presented the Christ child with frankincense, gold, and myrrh, representing His roles as a priest, a king, and a healer.

Since then we have given gifts as a symbol of sharing in His love, but the gifts themselves have varied with location and availability. Sometimes they have been treats; at other times they might be necessities.

In modern times, however, Christmas gifts have become ever more electronic and expensive.

But the last word on gifts has to go to columnist and author Burton Hillis, who once wrote, “The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.”

Where?

Many Christmas cards still paint a picture of bulging stockings hanging from a mantelpiece over a roaring fire. Thankfully, from a safety point of view, this image is rarely translated into real life anymore.

Once upon a time a child might only have gotten the gifts that could be fitted into his or her sock (and in hard times that sock might have been bulked out by ashes), but modern children must be glad that isn’t usually the case anymore.

In some places a room is laid aside, decorated, and filled with the children’s presents. This room is kept locked, and the curtains closed, until Christmas morning.

When?

Giving gifts at Christmastime is such an essential part of it that it seems hard to imagine a time when it didn’t happen. In medieval times gifts weren’t given at Christmas at all; rather they might be given at Twelfth Night. Some countries, notably Spain, still maintain this tradition.

Some softer-hearted parents might allow their children to open one present before bedtime on Christmas Eve, but usually Christmas morning is when all the presents get opened. Of course, the children are at liberty to make Christmas morning come around as early as they possibly can—as many a bleary-eyed, but hopefully amused, parent has found out!

Why?

The image of the gifts of the Magi is so strongly associated with Christmas that the tradition of giving gifts probably originated with them. It may also have been a way for the pious to give thanks for the blessing God had bestowed on them. There may also have been an element of feeding the hungry and clothing the poor in His name.

These admirable sentiments still exist with some people who request that gifts be made in their name to charities. But for most of us these days the primary reason for giving gifts at Christmas is to see that look of delight on the faces of our loved ones.

Who?

The original Christmas pageant took place when the shepherds, and later the Magi, came to visit the infant Christ. The characters were the real-life Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and any animals that happened to be in the stable.

Francis of Assisi started a “living Nativity,” where people enacted the Holy Family and their visitors. The church adopted the idea, but in many instances replaced it with sculpted and molded tableaux.

These days the pageant’s roles are most often played by excited children, while their parents paint scenes, create costumes, and help with lines. What was originally a family “performance” has become a family event once again.

What?

Christmas pageants are living depictions of the event that all of Christianity stems from—the birth of Jesus Christ. It can be serious and reverential, but, in keeping with the joy of the salvation it represents, it is usually a fun event, where children and adults recreate that humble stable and the events that took place in it.

Secular society isn’t always welcoming of such overtly faith-filled displays, but thankfully there are still enough churches, community centers, schools, homes, towns, and cities willing to recreate the greatest story ever told for the Christmas pageant to be a favorite and much-anticipated part of the festive season.

Where?

The scene depicted in countless Christmas pageants took place in Bethlehem in Judea. Bethlehem is the city referred to in the song “Once in Royal David’s City.” It was the birthplace of King David.

Frances of Assisi’s living Nativity took place in a cave near Greccio in Italy, perhaps inspired by some traditions that say the birth took place in a cave outside Bethlehem rather than in a stable.

Modern Christmas pageants might be held in community halls, churches, or schools. Larger sponsored events might be held in public areas. But those who believe will find a way and a place to celebrate the event, wherever they might be.

When?

No one knows for sure when the Nativity occurred, but common consent has it being in the first year AD. It may have been a few years before or several years after.

The live Nativity staged by Francis of Assisi took place in 1223. During the next century the tradition spread so that almost every church in Italy had one.

Modern pageants are held in December, but dates will depend on “earthly” factors such as venue availability. The most emotionally evocative date is, of course, Christmas Day, but, with most people spending that day with their families, the last opportunity for a pageant is often Christmas Eve.

Why?

Children learn through play, and they love playacting. So pretending to be shepherds, Wise Men, Mary, and Joseph is surely the ideal way of learning about the miraculous events of so long ago.

Those who already know the story offer their pageants as a tribute of love and a way of keeping the story alive in people’s memories. As well as providing an entertaining show, the organizers usually hope the occasion plants a seed of belief in the minds of some who have never considered faith before.

Why did those real-life characters enact the first-ever Christmas pageant? For nothing less than the salvation of all mankind!

Who?

When God came down to earth, He could have come in glory, riding clouds and flashing lightning. He could have walked into the most opulent palace in the world and declared it His. Who would have argued? Instead He appeared in a stable and entrusted Himself to—a family! Then that family had an odd assortment of visitors popping in. So, you see, right from the very first time, family gatherings have always been at the heart of Christmas.

When you think that God is our Father, we are His children, and He came to visit us, what could be more beautifully appropriate than family gatherings at Christmas?

What?

Family is what you make it. The Holy Family was not really all that conventional. Mary was probably in her teens; Joseph may have been a much older man. She carried a child that not only wasn’t his but also was God’s! And they both talked to angels!

By comparison even the most unusual of modern families seems quite ordinary. If you are lucky enough to have a “conventional” family, appreciate it, and spread the blessing. If you aren’t, then remember, a family is where love is, and you can make one of your own by putting love where there was none.

Where?

That “First Family” of Christianity spent the first Christmas in Bethlehem, a town about eight miles from Jerusalem and with an illustrious history. Sometimes called Ephrata, Bethlehem is referred to frequently throughout the Old Testament.

But their gathering didn’t take place in a nice, comfortable home, or even in an uncomfortable one—it happened in a stable! So it doesn’t really matter if your family gathering takes place in a beautiful house with its own grounds or in a trailer or in a fast-food restaurant. Jesus has already proven that He doesn’t mind about the location, just so long as you remember to invite Him along!

When?

Scholars aren’t really sure when Joseph and Mary became “Mommy” and “Daddy.” So, by common consensus, they agree on the first year AD, but it could have been a year or two earlier, or several years later.

These days the date is, thankfully, more certain, and people can plan in advance. Christmas, perhaps more than any other holiday, is the time families want to be together. Airports and railroads will be busier in the lead-up to December 25 than at any other time of the year.

How long they stay after that depends on how well the family gets on and how soon the Christmas spirit wears off!

Why?

As families, we are often more like groups of individuals, and that can cause friction, but Christmas is a reason to come together that is bigger than any one of us. The reason at the heart of it all is love, and no matter how badly or otherwise we get on with our families, deep down we all want to be loved by them. That longing may have been what brought God down to earth to be with His children.

Christmas is about God and family. If you can be with your family, then love them for His sake. If you can’t, then gather some of His other children to you and love
them.

Who?

The Chinese invented greetings cards. They (and much later the Egyptians) sent cards celebrating the New Year.

Homemade cards were probably being exchanged for different events, including Christmas, before Sir Henry Cole produced the first commercially available Christmas card. He designed the world’s first stamp, invented a prize-winning teapot, and wrote children’s books. As founder of the Victoria and Albert Museum, in London, he had the ear of the royal family and was often affectionately referred to as “Old King Cole” by the press.