From old English Cristes maesse (Christ’s Mass), older still, Yule, from the Germanic root geol. The traditional Christmas is not a single day but a prolonged period, normally from 24th December to 6th January. This included the New Year, thus increasing the festival value of Christmas.
BIRD'S CHRISTMAS TREE
This is a custom throughout the Scandinavian countries at Christmastime and is in keeping with the general tendency to try to share festivities with all animal and even plant life so that the coming year will be a prosperous one. A sheaf of wheat or some other grain, or even just seeds and bread, is placed on a pole and set up outside where the birds are known to congregate. This is done on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The sight and sound of the outdoor festivity at the bird’s Christmas tree can add greatly to the zest and warmth of the indoor celebration.
YULE LOG
When Yule became Christmas, the yule log was divested of its religious connotations but none of its superstitions. The log must be obtained by the family itself, not bought from someone else. It had to be lighted with a piece of last year’s Yule log. It must burn continuously for the twelve days of Christmas. If your shadow cast by the light of the Yule log fire seemed to be headless, you would die within one year. The log’s ashes could cure ailments and avert lightning.
BLOWING IN THE YULE
One of the delightfully noisy traditions of Christmas, this custom probably originated in pagan times to ward off evil spirits. It is today found in areas of Germany and the Scandinavian countries. A group of musicians take their instruments to the belfry of the local church and lustily play four Christmas carols, one in each direction of the compass. They finish with a joyful peal of the bells, which announces that Christmas has arrived.
CANDLE
Light was an important part of the pagan midwinter festivities, since this was the time when the sun ceased to wane and began to grow stronger and brighter. In imitation candles and bonfires helped to drive away the forces of cold and darkness. Wax tapers were given as gifts at the Roman festival of Saturnalia. To the Christian community, the lighting of candles took on the additional symbolic significance of Jesus as the Light of the World. Christmas candles are made in all shapes, colors and sizes and are very often scented as balsam and evergreen. The beautiful idea of Christmas candles shining from windows is a custom still practiced in Europe. In Sweden, St. Lucy appears wearing a crown of candles. In Victorian England, tradesmen made annual gifts of candles to their loyal customers. In many parts of the world, the Advent candles reflect the dawning season and remind us of the coming Light. The addition of lighted candles to the paradise tree marked the birth of our most beloved Christmas tree. The Christmas candle, with its brightness, sacredness and sense of well being, is an indispensable part of the Christmas season.
CANDLEMAS
This is the celebration of the ritual purification of Mary, which, as required by Jewish law, took place forty days after the birth of her child. Candlemas is February 2. The first celebration took place in the late seventh or early eighth centuries. The custom of blessing the candles that were carried in processions gave the day its popular name of Candlemas. In many countries, Candlemas has been looked upon as the end of the Christmas season. This was the day when the decorations would be taken down and stored for another year. The Christmas plants would be burned, with the remnants of the Yule log and the ashes spread over the gardens to ensure a good harvest. The Yule log for the next year would be chosen then. Candlemas was also a good day for weather forecasting. If it was a sunny day, there would be forty more days of cold and snow. This belief has carried into American folklore tradition as Groundhog Day, February 2.
CANDY CANE
A candymaker in Indiana, U.S.A., wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church and firmness of the promises of God. The candymaker made the candy in the form of a “J” to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the “Good Shepherd” with which He reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep have gone astray. Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candymaker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the bloodshed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life. Unfortunately, the candy became known as a Candy Cane - a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the meaning is still there for those who “have eyes to see and ears to hear.”
CHRISTMAS CAROLS
The Catholic Church valued music greatly and it is no wonder that the early Christmas songs date from the 4th century (the earliest known is Jesus refulsit omnium by St.Hilary of Poitiers). The Mediaeval Christmas music followed the Gregorian tradition. In Renaissance Italy there emerged a lighter and more joyous kind of Christmas songs, more like the true carols (from the French word caroler, meaning to dance in a ring). These songs continued to be religious and in Latin, though. In Protestant countries the tradition, as everything Christmas-related, intensified.
Luther wrote and composed his song “From Heaven above I come to You”. Music by Handel and Mendelssohn was adapted and used as Christmas carols. The old Finnish/Swedish collection Piae Cantiones was translated and published in English in the mid - 19th century. The most famous of all, “Silent Night” (Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht) was written by the Austrian parish priest Joseph Mohr and composed by Franz Gruber, church organist, in 1818. In the 19th century and later many popular songs were written by composers (e.g. Adam, Sibelius). The themes of songs surpassed religion and the totality of Christmas paraphernalia found its way to carol music.
TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.
On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree. etc.
In the middle ages, religious holidays were virtually the only holidays, so everyone was eager to extend such celebrations as long as possible. Christmas in particular was extended from a one day event to 12 days from Christmas Day to the Epiphany. In wealthy castles, a gift on each of the 12 days was quite common. This made “The Twelve Days of Christmas” a very popular song in anticipation of the gifts to come. It is not certain how old this carol is, but it probably dates back as far as the 16th century.
POINSETTIA
In Mexican legend, a small boy knelt at the altar of his village church on Christmas Eve. He had nothing to offer Christ Child on his birthday because he had no money, but his prayers were sincere and a miracle gave him the present that could be bought by no one; the first Flower of the Holy Night sprang up at his feet in brilliant red and green homage to the holy birth. Thus was born the flower we know as the Poinsettia. Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett was the American ambassador to Mexico from 1825 to 1829. His keen interest in botany made him very interested in the Flower of the Holy Night and he brought it back to his home in South Carolina. It became very popular as a Christmas plant and was named after him.
EISTEDDFOD
In Wales at Christmastime, a Christmas poem is designated each year to be set to music. Choirs all over the country vie for the honor of having their music chosen to be the official Christmas carol. These choirs come together in the marketplaces of every size town and village to sing their version as well as the official carols from many years past. This combination carol sing and contest is called an eisteddfod. There is also a National Eisteddfod, held every year since 1860, which determines the final selection and also has contests in drama, prose and poetry. The custom of choosing a national carol was begun in the tenth century.
PYRAMID
Before the Christmas tree, the Christmas pyramid was the most important decoration in Germany and much of northern Europe. It was a wooden framework in the shape of a pyramid, decorated with greenery and ornaments. Gifts or food could be placed on its shelves. As the tree became more popular the functions of the pyramid were shifted to the tree.