THE HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS , SANTA CLAUS , AND THE CHRISTMAS TREE . An Article by John Boyd .
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Many people who celebrate the yearly holiday don't even know the history of Christmas . How the largest celebrated holiday in the world had a humble Pagan beginning . I will share with you some of my Wiccan customs that I celebrate on Yule , and how Christmas has turned into a commercialized holiday in todays society . Christmas used to be a great holiday to me . It wasn't about the presents . It was time for lights , snow , turkey . Holiday programs like the Little Drummer Boy , Rudolph , Frosty ,and my favorites A Christmas Carol , Charlie Brown , A Christmas Story and The Grinch became a yearly tradition .
As I grew up I started to loathe the Christmas season . It lost it's true meaning of sharing a peaceful meal with family . It's now a corporate money making machine . Not only does Christmas commercials get shoved down your throat from October 27th to January 16th , there is also Christmas in July . Why did we let it lose it's magic and cheer ? I'm happy now just to sleep the whole day away .
I wondered what people in our modern times actually feel about the holiday . It seems like a big stressful hassle , to go into debt for 6 months , and spend time with relatives you can't stand all for the sake of one day . I hear adults fighting over not getting the great toy of the year that makes or breaks their yearly Christmas celebrations . Am I the only one who shivers when I hear that dreaded C word , Christmas ?
Long before the advent of Christianity , plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter . Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine , spruce , and fir trees , ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows . In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches , ghosts , evil spirits ,and illness.
They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well . Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.
As a Wiccan , we celebrate the solar festival of Yule . In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the Winter Solstice . Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak .
The ancient Egyptians started the festival over four thousand years ago . It was a 12 day feast to celebrate the rebirth of Horus , the son of Isis and Osiris , whose earthly form was an incarnation of the sun god Ra . The Egyptians saw greenery as a magical growth tool that begged the sun to return in strength . At the solstice , when Ra began to recover from the illness , the Egyptians decorated their homes, temples and pyramids with green palm rushes . These plants symbolized for them the triumph of life over death . The Egyptians began to prosper and news of their sun-worshipping ceremony spread over Mesopotamia .
It didn't take long for other countries to join in . The Babylonians incorporated gifts to the newborn sun during Zagmuk . Persians and Greeks both celebrated a solar festival called Sacaea . The Romans really took the spirit of sun-worshipping to new heights.
Early Romans marked the solstice with candles , singing , lavish gift-giving and a gourmet feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of seeds and crops. The Romans knew the solstice meant that soon farms and orchards would be green and fruitful . To mark the occasion , they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs . Beginning in the week leading up to the Winter Solstice and continuing for a full month , Saturnalia was a hedonistic time , when food and drink were plentiful and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down . For a month , slaves would become masters . Peasants were in command of the city . Business and schools were closed so that everyone could join in the fun .
Also around the time of the Winter Solstice , Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition , members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra , the god of the unconquerable sun , on December 25 . It was believed that Mithra , an infant god , was born of a rock . For some Romans , Mithra's birthday was the most sacred day of the year .
In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids , the priests of the ancient Celts , also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life . Winter Solstice celebrations spread throughout Europe and the Yule festival was born .
In Scandinavia , the Norse celebrated Jul meaning wheel from December 21 , the Winter Solstice , through January. In recognition of the return of the sun , fathers and sons would bring home large logs , which they would set on fire . The people would feast until the log burned out , which could take as many as 12 days . The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year .
In our Wiccan celebration we re-enact the battle between the aging Holly King , represented by the darkness of the old year , and the young Oak King , who represents the light of the New Year . The old king is symbolically slain and the Oak King takes his place on the throne to rule the New Year . Sound Familiar !! The story or play is usually executed during the lighting of the Yule Log to encourage the Sun's birth , and welcome back to Earth it's healing warmth .
The middle of winter is an ancient celebration of customs all over the world . Centuries before the birth of Jesus , early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter . Joyous gatherings were shared during the Winter Solstice , when the worst of the winter was over and many waited anxiously for longer days and the return of sunlight .
The waning days of December held a magic time for celebration in many parts of Europe . During this time , most cattle were slaughtered so as not being tended to over the winter . For many , it was the only time of year when they had a supply of fresh meat . Alcohol , ale ,and wine made during the year was aged and waiting to be consumed .
In Germany , people honored the pagan god Oden during the mid-winter holiday . Germans feared Oden , and believed he made night flights through the sky to take notice of all , and then decide who would live or die . Due to Oden and his wrath , many decided not to
leave their homes .
In the early years of Christianity , Easter was the main holiday ; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated . During the 4th century the church acknowledged the birth of Jesus to become a holiday . The Bible contains no birth date ( Puritans used this fact in order to revoke the truth of the celebration) . Evidence has shown Jesus born in the spring (why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter?) , Pope Julius I chose December 25 . It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival . First called the Feast of the Nativity , the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century . By the end of the eighth century , the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia . Today , in the Greek and Russian orthodox churches , Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the 25th , which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day . This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger .
By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional Winter Solstice festivals , church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced , but gave up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated . By the Middle Ages , Christianity had, for the most part , replaced pagan religion . On Christmas, believers attended church , then celebrated raucously in a drunken , carnival-like atmosphere similar to today's Mardi Gras . Each year , a beggar or student would be crowned the "lord of misrule" and eager celebrants played the part of his subjects . The poor would go to the houses of the rich and demand their best food and drink . If owners failed to comply , their visitors would most likely terrorize them with mischief . Christmas became the time of year when the upper classes could repay their real or imagined "debt" to society by entertaining less fortunate citizens .
In the early 17th century, religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid the country of decadence and cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and so did the return of the popular holiday.
The pilgrims , who came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell . As a result , Christmas was not a holiday in early America . From 1659 to 1681 the celebration was actually outlawed in Boston and anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings . In the Jamestown settlement Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident .
After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor . Congress was in session on December 25, 1789 , the first Christmas under America's new constitution . Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870 . It wasn't until the 19th century that Americans began to embrace and re-invented Christmas , changing it from a raucous holiday into a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia. But what about the 1800s peaked American interest in the holiday ?
In 1819, best-selling author Washington Irving wrote The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon , a series of stories about the celebration of Christmas in an English manor house . The sketches feature a squire who invited the peasants into his home for the holiday . In contrast to the problems faced in American society , the two groups mingled effortlessly. In Irving's mind , Christmas should be a peaceful , warm-hearted holiday bringing groups together across lines of wealth or social status . Irving's fictitious celebrants enjoyed "ancient customs ," including the crowning of a Lord of Misrule . Irving's book , however , was not based on any holiday celebration he had attended . In fact , many historians say that Irving's account actually "invented" tradition by implying that it described the true customs of the season .
Also around this time, English author Charles Dickens created the classic holiday tale , A Christmas Carol . The story's message , the importance of charity and good will towards all mankind , struck a powerful chord in the United States and England . It showed members of Victorian society the benefits of celebrating the holiday .
The family was also becoming less disciplined and more sensitive to the emotional needs of children during the early 1800s . Christmas provided families with a day to lavish attention and gifts on their children without appearing to " spoil " them .
Americans began to embrace Christmas as a perfect family holiday . Over the next 100 years , they instituted traditions in which old customs were celebrated , including decorating trees , sending holiday cards , and gift-giving to fill the cultural needs of a growing nation .
During World War I the sounds of combat faded in a number of places along the Western Front in favor of holiday celebrations in the trenches and gestures of goodwill between enemies . Starting on Christmas Eve , many German and British troops sang Christmas carols to each other across the lines . Allied soldiers even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing .
At the first light of dawn on Christmas Day , some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man's-land , calling out " Merry Christmas " in their enemies native tongues . At first , the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick , but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers . The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs . There was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer .
Some soldiers used this short-lived ceasefire for a more somber task : the retrieval of the bodies of fellow combatants who had fallen within the no-man's land between the lines . The so-called Christmas Truce of 1914 came only five months after the outbreak of war in Europe and was one of the last examples of the outdated notion of chivalry between enemies in warfare . It was never repeated-future attempts at holiday ceasefires were quashed by officers threats of disciplinary action-but it served as heartening proof , however brief , that beneath the brutal clash of weapons , the soldiers essential humanity endured .
I will always remember a line from HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS , " He puzzled and puzzed , till his puzzler was sore .
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before . Maybe Christmas , he thought , doesn't come from a store . Maybe Christmas , perhaps , means a little bit more ." That is what the Wiccan celebration of Yule embraces . How long will we let the corporate machine grind us down ?
THE HISTORY OF SANATA CLAUS .
I remember as a child waiting up all night to maybe hear or see Sanata Claus , only to fall into a deep sleep . As always , when I woke up in the morning , I missed him again . When I finally found out the truth I was devastated . That is when at 10 yrs old I started to do my own investigating into the man known as St . Nicholas . What I found was a way to comfort my nieces and nephews when the Santa bomb got dropped on them .
The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas . Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara , near Myra in modern-day Turkey . Much admired for his piety and kindness , St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends . It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick . One of the best known of the St. Nicholas stories is that he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married . Over the course of many years , Nicholas's popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors . His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death , December 6 . This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married . By the Renaissance , St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe . Even after the Protestant Reformation , when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged , St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation , especially in Holland . St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century . In December 1773 , and again in 1774 , a New York newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death.
The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick's Dutch nickname , Sinter Klaas , a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas ( Dutch for Saint Nicholas ) . In 1804, John Pintard , a member of the New York Historical Society , distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society's annual meeting . The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace . In 1809 , Washington Irving helped to popularize the Sinter Klaas stories when he referred to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of New York in his book , The History of New York . As his prominence grew , Sinter Klaas was described as everything from a "rascal" with a blue three-cornered hat , red waistcoat , and yellow stockings to a man wearing a broad-brimmed hat and a " huge pair of Flemish trunk hose ."
Gift-giving , mainly centered around children , has been an important part of the Christmas celebration since the holiday's rejuvenation in the early 19th century . Stores began to advertise Christmas shopping in 1820 , and by the 1840s , newspapers were creating separate sections for holiday advertisements , which often featured images of the newly-popular Santa Claus . In 1841 , thousands of children visited a Philadelphia shop to see a life-size Santa Claus model . It was only a matter of time before stores began to attract children , and their parents , with the lure of a peek at a " live " Santa Claus . In the early 1890s , the Salvation Army needed money to pay for the free Christmas meals they provided to needy families . They began dressing up unemployed men in Santa Claus suits and sending them into the streets of New York to solicit donations . Those familiar Salvation Army Santas have been ringing bells on the street corners of American cities ever since .
In 1822 Clement Clarke Moore , an Episcopal minister, wrote a long Christmas poem for his three daughters . Entitled, " An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas. " Moore's poem , which he was initially hesitant to publish due to the frivolous nature of its subject , is largely responsible for our modern image of Santa Claus as a "right jolly old elf" with a portly figure and the supernatural ability to ascend a chimney with a mere nod of his head ! Although some of Moore's imagery was probably borrowed from other sources , his poem helped to popularize Christmas Eve ; Santa Claus waiting for the children to get to sleep , the now-familiar idea of a Santa Claus who flew from house to house on Christmas Eve in " a miniature sleigh " led by eight flying reindeer , whom he also named and leaving presents for deserving children . " An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas , " created a new and immediately popular American icon . In 1881 , political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Moore's poem to create the first likeness that matches our modern image of Santa Claus . His cartoon , which appeared in Harper's Weekly , depicted Santa as a rotund, cheerful man with a full, white beard , holding a sack laden with toys for lucky children . It is Nast who gave Santa his bright red suit trimmed with white fur , North Pole workshop , elves , and his wife , Mrs. Claus .
18th-century America's Santa Claus was not the only St. Nicholas-inspired gift-giver to make an appearance at Christmas time . Similar figures were popular all over the world . Christkind or Kris Kringle was believed to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children . Meaning " Christ child , " Christkind is an angel-like figure often accompanied by St. Nicholas on his holiday missions . In Scandinavia , a jolly elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats . English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home on Christmas Eve to fill children's stockings with holiday treats . Pere Noel is responsible for filling the shoes of French children . In Russia , it is believed that an elderly woman named Babouschka purposely gave the wise men wrong directions to Bethlehem so that they couldn't find Jesus . Later , she felt remorseful , but could not find the men to undo the damage . To this day , on January 5 , Babouschka visits Russian children leaving gifts at their bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven . In Italy , a similar story exists about a woman called La Befana , a kindly witch who rides a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes to deliver toys into the stockings of lucky children .
Rudolph , "the most famous reindeer of all ," was born over a hundred years after his eight flying counterparts . The red-nosed wonder was the creation of Robert L. May , a copywriter at the Montgomery Ward department store .
In 1939 , May wrote a Christmas-themed story-poem to help bring holiday traffic into his store . Using a similar rhyme pattern to Moore's " ' Twas the Night Before Christmas ," May told the story of Rudolph , a young reindeer who was teased by the other deer because of his large , glowing , red nose . Bu t, When Christmas Eve turned foggy and Santa worried that he wouldn't be able to deliver gifts that night, the former outcast saved Christmas by leading the sleigh by the light of his red nose . Rudolph's message , that given the opportunity a liability can be turned into an asset , proved popular . Montgomery Ward sold almost two and a half million copies of the story in 1939 . When it was reissued in 1946 , the book sold over three and half million copies . Several years later one of May's friends , Johnny Marks , wrote a short song based on Rudolph's story (1949) . It was recorded by Gene Autry and sold over two million copies . Since then the story has been translated into 25 languages and been made into a television movie , narrated by Burl Ives , which has charmed audiences every year since 1964 .
My favourite time of the season was getting and decorating a tree for Christmas . In my house as a child we had three , a traditional one , one for special ornaments , and one for us kids . I was the one always in charge of the lights . I remember pulling out the knotted strings and spending hours checking and replacing bulbs . Each tree in our house had at least 700 lights on them . That is not including the outdoor lights on the trees , house and windows . Our house was the Grizwalds house on the block every year . The electric company made a fortune off us .
THE ORIGINS OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE .
Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes . Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles . It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther , the 16th-century Protestant Reformer , first added lighted candles to a tree . Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon , he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens . To recapture the scene for his family , he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles .
Most 19th-century Americans found Christmas trees an oddity . The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania , although trees had been a tradition in many German homes much earlier . The Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747 . But , as late as the 1840s Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans .
It is not surprising that , like many other festive Christmas customs , the tree was adopted so late in America . To the New England Puritans , Christmas was sacred . The pilgrims second governor , William Bradford , wrote that he tried hard to stamp out " pagan mockery" of the observance , penalizing any frivolity . The influential Oliver Cromwell preached against " the heathen traditions " of Christmas carols , decorated trees , and any joyful expression that desecrated " that sacred event ." In 1659 , the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 (other than a church service) a penal offense ; people were fined for hanging decorations. That stern solemnity continued until the 19th century , when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy .
In 1846 , the popular royals , Queen Victoria and her German Prince,Albert , were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree . Unlike the previous royal family , Victoria was very popular with her subjects , and what was done at court immediately became fashionable-not only in Britain , but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society . The Christmas tree had arrived .
By the 1890s Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany and Christmas tree popularity was on the rise around the United States . It was noted that Europeans used small trees about four feet in height , while Americans liked their Christmas trees to reach from floor to ceiling . The early 20th century saw Americans decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments , while the German-American sect continued to use apples , nuts , and marzipan cookies . Popcorn joined in after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with berries and nuts . Electricity brought about Christmas lights , making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days on end . With this , Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country and having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition .
Many people who celebrate the yearly holiday don't even know the history of Christmas . How the largest celebrated holiday in the world had a humble Pagan beginning . I will share with you some of my Wiccan customs that I celebrate on Yule , and how Christmas has turned into a commercialized holiday in todays society . Christmas used to be a great holiday to me . It wasn't about the presents . It was time for lights , snow , turkey . Holiday programs like the Little Drummer Boy , Rudolph , Frosty ,and my favorites A Christmas Carol , Charlie Brown , A Christmas Story and The Grinch became a yearly tradition .
As I grew up I started to loathe the Christmas season . It lost it's true meaning of sharing a peaceful meal with family . It's now a corporate money making machine . Not only does Christmas commercials get shoved down your throat from October 27th to January 16th , there is also Christmas in July . Why did we let it lose it's magic and cheer ? I'm happy now just to sleep the whole day away .
I wondered what people in our modern times actually feel about the holiday . It seems like a big stressful hassle , to go into debt for 6 months , and spend time with relatives you can't stand all for the sake of one day . I hear adults fighting over not getting the great toy of the year that makes or breaks their yearly Christmas celebrations . Am I the only one who shivers when I hear that dreaded C word , Christmas ?
Long before the advent of Christianity , plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter . Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine , spruce , and fir trees , ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows . In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches , ghosts , evil spirits ,and illness.
They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well . Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.
As a Wiccan , we celebrate the solar festival of Yule . In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the Winter Solstice . Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak .
The ancient Egyptians started the festival over four thousand years ago . It was a 12 day feast to celebrate the rebirth of Horus , the son of Isis and Osiris , whose earthly form was an incarnation of the sun god Ra . The Egyptians saw greenery as a magical growth tool that begged the sun to return in strength . At the solstice , when Ra began to recover from the illness , the Egyptians decorated their homes, temples and pyramids with green palm rushes . These plants symbolized for them the triumph of life over death . The Egyptians began to prosper and news of their sun-worshipping ceremony spread over Mesopotamia .
It didn't take long for other countries to join in . The Babylonians incorporated gifts to the newborn sun during Zagmuk . Persians and Greeks both celebrated a solar festival called Sacaea . The Romans really took the spirit of sun-worshipping to new heights.
Early Romans marked the solstice with candles , singing , lavish gift-giving and a gourmet feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of seeds and crops. The Romans knew the solstice meant that soon farms and orchards would be green and fruitful . To mark the occasion , they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs . Beginning in the week leading up to the Winter Solstice and continuing for a full month , Saturnalia was a hedonistic time , when food and drink were plentiful and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down . For a month , slaves would become masters . Peasants were in command of the city . Business and schools were closed so that everyone could join in the fun .
Also around the time of the Winter Solstice , Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition , members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra , the god of the unconquerable sun , on December 25 . It was believed that Mithra , an infant god , was born of a rock . For some Romans , Mithra's birthday was the most sacred day of the year .
In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids , the priests of the ancient Celts , also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life . Winter Solstice celebrations spread throughout Europe and the Yule festival was born .
In Scandinavia , the Norse celebrated Jul meaning wheel from December 21 , the Winter Solstice , through January. In recognition of the return of the sun , fathers and sons would bring home large logs , which they would set on fire . The people would feast until the log burned out , which could take as many as 12 days . The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year .
In our Wiccan celebration we re-enact the battle between the aging Holly King , represented by the darkness of the old year , and the young Oak King , who represents the light of the New Year . The old king is symbolically slain and the Oak King takes his place on the throne to rule the New Year . Sound Familiar !! The story or play is usually executed during the lighting of the Yule Log to encourage the Sun's birth , and welcome back to Earth it's healing warmth .
The middle of winter is an ancient celebration of customs all over the world . Centuries before the birth of Jesus , early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter . Joyous gatherings were shared during the Winter Solstice , when the worst of the winter was over and many waited anxiously for longer days and the return of sunlight .
The waning days of December held a magic time for celebration in many parts of Europe . During this time , most cattle were slaughtered so as not being tended to over the winter . For many , it was the only time of year when they had a supply of fresh meat . Alcohol , ale ,and wine made during the year was aged and waiting to be consumed .
In Germany , people honored the pagan god Oden during the mid-winter holiday . Germans feared Oden , and believed he made night flights through the sky to take notice of all , and then decide who would live or die . Due to Oden and his wrath , many decided not to
leave their homes .
In the early years of Christianity , Easter was the main holiday ; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated . During the 4th century the church acknowledged the birth of Jesus to become a holiday . The Bible contains no birth date ( Puritans used this fact in order to revoke the truth of the celebration) . Evidence has shown Jesus born in the spring (why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter?) , Pope Julius I chose December 25 . It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival . First called the Feast of the Nativity , the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century . By the end of the eighth century , the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia . Today , in the Greek and Russian orthodox churches , Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the 25th , which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day . This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger .
By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional Winter Solstice festivals , church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced , but gave up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated . By the Middle Ages , Christianity had, for the most part , replaced pagan religion . On Christmas, believers attended church , then celebrated raucously in a drunken , carnival-like atmosphere similar to today's Mardi Gras . Each year , a beggar or student would be crowned the "lord of misrule" and eager celebrants played the part of his subjects . The poor would go to the houses of the rich and demand their best food and drink . If owners failed to comply , their visitors would most likely terrorize them with mischief . Christmas became the time of year when the upper classes could repay their real or imagined "debt" to society by entertaining less fortunate citizens .
In the early 17th century, religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid the country of decadence and cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and so did the return of the popular holiday.
The pilgrims , who came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell . As a result , Christmas was not a holiday in early America . From 1659 to 1681 the celebration was actually outlawed in Boston and anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings . In the Jamestown settlement Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident .
After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor . Congress was in session on December 25, 1789 , the first Christmas under America's new constitution . Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870 . It wasn't until the 19th century that Americans began to embrace and re-invented Christmas , changing it from a raucous holiday into a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia. But what about the 1800s peaked American interest in the holiday ?
In 1819, best-selling author Washington Irving wrote The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon , a series of stories about the celebration of Christmas in an English manor house . The sketches feature a squire who invited the peasants into his home for the holiday . In contrast to the problems faced in American society , the two groups mingled effortlessly. In Irving's mind , Christmas should be a peaceful , warm-hearted holiday bringing groups together across lines of wealth or social status . Irving's fictitious celebrants enjoyed "ancient customs ," including the crowning of a Lord of Misrule . Irving's book , however , was not based on any holiday celebration he had attended . In fact , many historians say that Irving's account actually "invented" tradition by implying that it described the true customs of the season .
Also around this time, English author Charles Dickens created the classic holiday tale , A Christmas Carol . The story's message , the importance of charity and good will towards all mankind , struck a powerful chord in the United States and England . It showed members of Victorian society the benefits of celebrating the holiday .
The family was also becoming less disciplined and more sensitive to the emotional needs of children during the early 1800s . Christmas provided families with a day to lavish attention and gifts on their children without appearing to " spoil " them .
Americans began to embrace Christmas as a perfect family holiday . Over the next 100 years , they instituted traditions in which old customs were celebrated , including decorating trees , sending holiday cards , and gift-giving to fill the cultural needs of a growing nation .
During World War I the sounds of combat faded in a number of places along the Western Front in favor of holiday celebrations in the trenches and gestures of goodwill between enemies . Starting on Christmas Eve , many German and British troops sang Christmas carols to each other across the lines . Allied soldiers even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing .
At the first light of dawn on Christmas Day , some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man's-land , calling out " Merry Christmas " in their enemies native tongues . At first , the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick , but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers . The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs . There was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer .
Some soldiers used this short-lived ceasefire for a more somber task : the retrieval of the bodies of fellow combatants who had fallen within the no-man's land between the lines . The so-called Christmas Truce of 1914 came only five months after the outbreak of war in Europe and was one of the last examples of the outdated notion of chivalry between enemies in warfare . It was never repeated-future attempts at holiday ceasefires were quashed by officers threats of disciplinary action-but it served as heartening proof , however brief , that beneath the brutal clash of weapons , the soldiers essential humanity endured .
I will always remember a line from HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS , " He puzzled and puzzed , till his puzzler was sore .
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before . Maybe Christmas , he thought , doesn't come from a store . Maybe Christmas , perhaps , means a little bit more ." That is what the Wiccan celebration of Yule embraces . How long will we let the corporate machine grind us down ?
THE HISTORY OF SANATA CLAUS .
I remember as a child waiting up all night to maybe hear or see Sanata Claus , only to fall into a deep sleep . As always , when I woke up in the morning , I missed him again . When I finally found out the truth I was devastated . That is when at 10 yrs old I started to do my own investigating into the man known as St . Nicholas . What I found was a way to comfort my nieces and nephews when the Santa bomb got dropped on them .
The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas . Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara , near Myra in modern-day Turkey . Much admired for his piety and kindness , St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends . It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick . One of the best known of the St. Nicholas stories is that he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married . Over the course of many years , Nicholas's popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors . His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death , December 6 . This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married . By the Renaissance , St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe . Even after the Protestant Reformation , when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged , St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation , especially in Holland . St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century . In December 1773 , and again in 1774 , a New York newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death.
The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick's Dutch nickname , Sinter Klaas , a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas ( Dutch for Saint Nicholas ) . In 1804, John Pintard , a member of the New York Historical Society , distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society's annual meeting . The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace . In 1809 , Washington Irving helped to popularize the Sinter Klaas stories when he referred to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of New York in his book , The History of New York . As his prominence grew , Sinter Klaas was described as everything from a "rascal" with a blue three-cornered hat , red waistcoat , and yellow stockings to a man wearing a broad-brimmed hat and a " huge pair of Flemish trunk hose ."
Gift-giving , mainly centered around children , has been an important part of the Christmas celebration since the holiday's rejuvenation in the early 19th century . Stores began to advertise Christmas shopping in 1820 , and by the 1840s , newspapers were creating separate sections for holiday advertisements , which often featured images of the newly-popular Santa Claus . In 1841 , thousands of children visited a Philadelphia shop to see a life-size Santa Claus model . It was only a matter of time before stores began to attract children , and their parents , with the lure of a peek at a " live " Santa Claus . In the early 1890s , the Salvation Army needed money to pay for the free Christmas meals they provided to needy families . They began dressing up unemployed men in Santa Claus suits and sending them into the streets of New York to solicit donations . Those familiar Salvation Army Santas have been ringing bells on the street corners of American cities ever since .
In 1822 Clement Clarke Moore , an Episcopal minister, wrote a long Christmas poem for his three daughters . Entitled, " An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas. " Moore's poem , which he was initially hesitant to publish due to the frivolous nature of its subject , is largely responsible for our modern image of Santa Claus as a "right jolly old elf" with a portly figure and the supernatural ability to ascend a chimney with a mere nod of his head ! Although some of Moore's imagery was probably borrowed from other sources , his poem helped to popularize Christmas Eve ; Santa Claus waiting for the children to get to sleep , the now-familiar idea of a Santa Claus who flew from house to house on Christmas Eve in " a miniature sleigh " led by eight flying reindeer , whom he also named and leaving presents for deserving children . " An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas , " created a new and immediately popular American icon . In 1881 , political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Moore's poem to create the first likeness that matches our modern image of Santa Claus . His cartoon , which appeared in Harper's Weekly , depicted Santa as a rotund, cheerful man with a full, white beard , holding a sack laden with toys for lucky children . It is Nast who gave Santa his bright red suit trimmed with white fur , North Pole workshop , elves , and his wife , Mrs. Claus .
18th-century America's Santa Claus was not the only St. Nicholas-inspired gift-giver to make an appearance at Christmas time . Similar figures were popular all over the world . Christkind or Kris Kringle was believed to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children . Meaning " Christ child , " Christkind is an angel-like figure often accompanied by St. Nicholas on his holiday missions . In Scandinavia , a jolly elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats . English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home on Christmas Eve to fill children's stockings with holiday treats . Pere Noel is responsible for filling the shoes of French children . In Russia , it is believed that an elderly woman named Babouschka purposely gave the wise men wrong directions to Bethlehem so that they couldn't find Jesus . Later , she felt remorseful , but could not find the men to undo the damage . To this day , on January 5 , Babouschka visits Russian children leaving gifts at their bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven . In Italy , a similar story exists about a woman called La Befana , a kindly witch who rides a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes to deliver toys into the stockings of lucky children .
Rudolph , "the most famous reindeer of all ," was born over a hundred years after his eight flying counterparts . The red-nosed wonder was the creation of Robert L. May , a copywriter at the Montgomery Ward department store .
In 1939 , May wrote a Christmas-themed story-poem to help bring holiday traffic into his store . Using a similar rhyme pattern to Moore's " ' Twas the Night Before Christmas ," May told the story of Rudolph , a young reindeer who was teased by the other deer because of his large , glowing , red nose . Bu t, When Christmas Eve turned foggy and Santa worried that he wouldn't be able to deliver gifts that night, the former outcast saved Christmas by leading the sleigh by the light of his red nose . Rudolph's message , that given the opportunity a liability can be turned into an asset , proved popular . Montgomery Ward sold almost two and a half million copies of the story in 1939 . When it was reissued in 1946 , the book sold over three and half million copies . Several years later one of May's friends , Johnny Marks , wrote a short song based on Rudolph's story (1949) . It was recorded by Gene Autry and sold over two million copies . Since then the story has been translated into 25 languages and been made into a television movie , narrated by Burl Ives , which has charmed audiences every year since 1964 .
My favourite time of the season was getting and decorating a tree for Christmas . In my house as a child we had three , a traditional one , one for special ornaments , and one for us kids . I was the one always in charge of the lights . I remember pulling out the knotted strings and spending hours checking and replacing bulbs . Each tree in our house had at least 700 lights on them . That is not including the outdoor lights on the trees , house and windows . Our house was the Grizwalds house on the block every year . The electric company made a fortune off us .
THE ORIGINS OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE .
Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes . Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles . It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther , the 16th-century Protestant Reformer , first added lighted candles to a tree . Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon , he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens . To recapture the scene for his family , he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles .
Most 19th-century Americans found Christmas trees an oddity . The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania , although trees had been a tradition in many German homes much earlier . The Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747 . But , as late as the 1840s Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans .
It is not surprising that , like many other festive Christmas customs , the tree was adopted so late in America . To the New England Puritans , Christmas was sacred . The pilgrims second governor , William Bradford , wrote that he tried hard to stamp out " pagan mockery" of the observance , penalizing any frivolity . The influential Oliver Cromwell preached against " the heathen traditions " of Christmas carols , decorated trees , and any joyful expression that desecrated " that sacred event ." In 1659 , the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 (other than a church service) a penal offense ; people were fined for hanging decorations. That stern solemnity continued until the 19th century , when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy .
In 1846 , the popular royals , Queen Victoria and her German Prince,Albert , were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree . Unlike the previous royal family , Victoria was very popular with her subjects , and what was done at court immediately became fashionable-not only in Britain , but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society . The Christmas tree had arrived .
By the 1890s Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany and Christmas tree popularity was on the rise around the United States . It was noted that Europeans used small trees about four feet in height , while Americans liked their Christmas trees to reach from floor to ceiling . The early 20th century saw Americans decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments , while the German-American sect continued to use apples , nuts , and marzipan cookies . Popcorn joined in after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with berries and nuts . Electricity brought about Christmas lights , making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days on end . With this , Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country and having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition .
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