December is here again and we are wrapping up the first week of December already. That means that Christmas is now just 18 days away counting Christmas Eve.
I have most of my shopping done, but the “making” is going pretty slowly. If you can’t guess, I have a sewing project in the works and I really need to buckle down to get it done in time!
We had our annual family Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day again this year. It was the second year in a row that the family, at least some of it, celebrated on the holiday.
When Lisa and I both worked at the newspaper, and Micki was driving truck, we had hectic weeks and early deadlines leading up to the holiday, so we started a tradition of Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday.
Now Micki and I both work from home and Lisa gets holidays off, so she switched back to the big dinner on Thursday.
It was a lovely day and we enjoyed some interesting conversation, relived a few memories, had great food and games while everyone was at Lisa and Terry’s.
One year, we got to talking about Christmas traditions like the tree and Santa and wondering where they all came from, so I thought you might enjoy some of what I found at allthingschristmas.com that time.
Christ’s birth
It is believed that Christ was born on the 25th, although the exact month is unknown. December was likely chosen so the Catholic Church could compete with rival pagan rituals held at that time of year and because of its closeness with the winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere, a traditional time of celebration among many ancient cultures.
Santa Claus
The origin of Santa Claus began in the 4th century with Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, an area in present day Turkey. By all accounts St. Nicholas was a generous man, particularly devoted to children.
His kindness and reputation for generosity gave rise to claims he that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of Russia, where he was known by his red cape, flowing white beard, and bishop’s mitre.
In Greece, he is the patron saint of sailors, in France he was the patron of lawyers, and in Belgium the patron of children and travelers. Thousands of churches across Europe were dedicated to him and some time around the 12th century an official church holiday was created in his honor. The Feast of St. Nicholas was celebrated December 6 and the day was marked by gift-giving and charity.
In 1822 Clement C. Moore composed the poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas, as a gift for his children, and published as The Night Before Christmas. In it, he portrays Santa Claus as the jolly elf who delivers presents on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Stockings
According to legend, a kindly nobleman grew despondent over the death of his beloved wife and foolishly squandered his fortune. This left his three young daughters without dowries and thus facing a life of spinsterhood.
The generous St. Nicholas, hearing of the girls’ plight, set forth to help. Wishing to remain anonymous, he rode his white horse by the nobleman’s house and threw three small pouches of gold coins down the chimney where they were fortuitously captured by the stockings the young women had hung by the fireplace to dry.
Christmas trees
In 16th-century Germany fir trees were decorated, both indoors and out, with apples, roses, gilded candies, and colored paper. In the Middle Ages, a popular play featured a fir tree hung with apples, which was used to symbolize the Garden of Eden — the Paradise Tree. The play ended with the prophecy of a savior coming, and so was often performed during the Advent season.
It is held that Protestant reformer Martin Luther first adorned trees with light. While coming home one December evening, the beauty of the stars shining through the branches of a fir inspired him to recreate the effect by placing candles on the branches of a small fir tree inside his home.
Mistletoe
Mistletoe was used by Druid priests 200 years before the birth of Christ in their winter celebrations. They revered the plant since it had no roots yet remained green during the cold months of winter.
Scandinavians associated the plant with Frigga, their goddess of love, and it may be from this that we derive the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. Those who kissed under the mistletoe had the promise of happiness and good luck in the following year.
