The holiday of Christmas comes from the religious celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Although arguable, "Christmas" traditions have been around for centuries, even before Christ was born. Such traditions include the 12 days of Christmas, yule logs, the giving of gifts, carolers, and holiday feasts.
The idea of Santa Clause comes from the story of St. Nicholas, who was a Christian priest. St. Nicholas was very wealthy and traveled the country giving people gifts of money and other presents. He did not like to be seen giving his gifts so the children were told to go to sleep early or St. Nicholas would not come leave them presents.
So what's with all the candy canes, Christmas trees, the North Pole, and fruitcake you may ask??
Candy canes were originally white sticks of candy in the shape of a shepherd's staff given to children to keep them quite during the Christmas ceremonies in the 17th century. Soon, the candy cane confections spread throughout Europe, and eventually, to the United States, where they were first seen as decorations on Christmas trees. Eventually, red stripes were added to the candy canes, along with the peppermint and wintergreen flavor, which are much associated with candy canes today.
Christmas trees, or evergreen trees to be exact, had many different meanings to different cultures throughout history. But to sum it all up, the evergreen trees symbolized the green that flourished throughout summer, and it displayed the green and harvest that was to come after winter was over. It amazed people that these trees still stayed green in the dead on winter, thus calling them "evergreen" trees and making them a symbol of good to come after the cold, harsh winter. Germans orginially adapted the evergreen trees as Christmas trees, bringing them into their homes and decorating them for the celebration of Christmas. The first decorations used for Christmas trees included popcorn, apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies until the early 20th century when Americans started using homemade ornaments and candy canes. 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.
So why does Santa live in the North Pole? Who thought of that? His name is Thomas Nast. Nast first brought the idea that Santa lived in the North Pole with a few of his drawings. Kids always wondered where Santa lived and where they would address their letters to. Nast came out with a drawing in 1879 of a girl putting a letter in the mailbox address at Santa Clause, North Pole. There was always trouble at the post office with receiving letters to Santa, and the post office, unfortunately, would stamp the letters saying the address did not exist and they would end up in the dead letter office in Washington. Of course there were theories that Reindeer couldn't survive in the North Pole and other alteration came about of where Santa and his workshop really were. But the classic North Pole seemed to fit perfectly, especially with the snow and ice there, relating to Christmastime.
Fruitcake has always been a traditional food around Christmastime. Fruitcake was introduced as a custom by the Victorians, who ate cake during Christmastime, but without the toppings. The idea of using marzipan for the cake is linked to the old tradition of using a decorated marzipan cake as a centerpiece on the table during festive occasions.
The idea of hanging stockings above the fireplace comes from an old story about a poor father and his 3 daughters. The family was so poor that none of the girls could get married without any dowery for the men. One night, after washing their stockings, the girls hung them above the fireplace to dry and went to bed. Knowing of the family's poverty, St. Nicholas came to the house that night and peered into the window and saw the stockings hanging above the fireplace. The idea struck St. Nicholas, and he threw 3 bags of gold down the chimney and they landed into each of the girl's stockings. From that, the tradition of hanging stockings at Christmastime for Santa has continued for centuries.
Why do poinsettia plants represent Christmas? This tradition comes from a story told of two poor children who lived in Mexico. The children loved Christmas but were always saddened because they had nothing to offer the baby Jesus in the recreated nativity scene in their church. On Christmas Eve, on their way to church the children picked weeds along their way to offer to baby Jesus. The other children laughed at them as they placed the weeds beside the manger. But before their eyes, the green top leaves turned into bright red petals, and soon the manger was surrounded by beautiful star-like flowers that we see today.
So, what's with the mistletoe and holly? Mistletoe is a symbol for peace and joy. The idea originated in the ancient times of the Druids: whenever enemies met under the mistletoe in the forest, they had to lay down their arms and observe a truce until the next day. From this comes the custom of hanging a ball of mistletoe from the ceiling and exchanging kisses under it as a sign of friendship and goodwill. In the 18th Century, the exchanging of kisses between a man and a woman was adopted as a promise to marry. At Christmas a young lady standing under a ball of mistletoe cannot refuse to be kissed. The kiss could mean deep romance, lasting friendship and goodwill. It was believed that if the girl remained unkissed, she cannot expect to marry the following year. To avoid persecution during the Roman pagan festival of Saturnalis, the early Christians decked their homes with Saturnalia holly. As Christian numbers increased and their customs prevailed, holly and mistletoe lost their pagan associations and became symbols of Christmas.
But the most important question is...
