"Christmas Traditions"
In America we are a “melting-pot” as people have come here to live from many countries
throughout the world. Therefore, over time we have adopted a number of Christmas
traditions that these persons have brought from their countries of origin. During
December, through these blogs, I will be sharing with you some of these Christmas traditions.
The sending of
Christmas cards originated with Sir Henry Cole of England. The
year was 1843, and the first Christmas card was designed by J.C. Horsley. That year 1000 copies of the card were printed for
sale in London. I think that we safely can say that the tradition caught on.
According to
legend, St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) built the first manger scene or crèche. In an era when most people did not read or write, St. Francis built the first manger scene so as to teach
people about Jesus’ birth. Nowadays, it includes the manger, various animals,
miniatures of Jesus, Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, and the three Magi. It may
be constructed of many materials including straw and wood. Sometimes people wait
until Christmas morning to place the figure of the infant Jesus into the manger scene.
Mistletoe
was considered sacred according to the Druid religion, as it was a symbol of eternal life.
Eventually, the Romans began to value mistletoe as a symbol of peace. Kissing
under the mistletoe also was a popular Roman custom. Many of our homes today
have a sprig of mistletoe hanging from a doorway.
The giving of Christmas gifts, legend says, began
with St. Nicholas. According to the Bible, the Magi also gave gifts to the infant Jesus. The date in which people
have given Christmas gifts to one another has varied in different cultures from December 6th in memory of St. Nicholas, to
January 6th in celebration of the gifts given by the Wise Men to the infant Jesus.
Within tradition, the giver of the gifts also has varied from: Jesus himself, Old Father Christmas,
Santa Claus, a Goat, “Befana” (a female Santa in Italy), the three Magi, Christmas gnomes, various Saints, the
“Kolyada” in Russia, and the “Joulupukki” in Finland. I
am told that according to Finnish tradition, unseen persons were known to have thrown their gifts through the doorway into
the recipient’s house, and then quickly disappeared.
I hope that you have enjoyed learning about some
of these Christmas traditions. More traditions will be revealed in the next blog.
Dr.
William dePrater
