Christmas traditions
Christmas traditions include a variety of customs, religious practices, rituals, and folklore associated with the celebration of Christmas. Many of these traditions vary by country or region, while others are practiced virtually identically worldwide.
Traditions associated with the Christmas holiday are diverse in their origins and nature, with some having an exclusively Christian character with origins from within the religion. In contrast, others have been described as more cultural or secular in nature and have originated outside Christian influence. Christmas traditions have also changed and evolved significantly in the centuries since Christmas was first instituted as a holiday, with celebrations often taking on an entirely different quality or atmosphere depending on the period and geographical region.
Church attendance
Christmas Day (inclusive of its
Decorations
The practice of putting up special decorations at Christmas has a long history. In the 15th century, it was recorded that in London, it was the custom at Christmas for every house and all the parish churches to be "decked with
The tradition of the
The traditional colors of Christmas decorations are red, green, and gold. Red symbolizes the blood of Jesus, which was shed in his crucifixion. Green symbolizes eternal life, particularly the evergreen tree, which does not lose its leaves in the winter. Gold is the first color associated with Christmas, as one of the three gifts of the Magi, symbolizing royalty.[6]
The Christmas tree was first used by German Lutherans in the 16th century, with records indicating that a Christmas tree was placed in the Cathedral of Strassburg in 1539, under the leadership of the
From Germany, the custom was introduced to Britain, first via
Since the 16th century, the
Other traditional decorations include
Christmas lights and banners may be hung along streets, music played by speakers, and Christmas trees placed in prominent places.[36] It is common in many parts of the world for town squares and consumer shopping areas to sponsor and display decorations. Rolls of brightly colored paper with secular or religious Christmas motifs are manufactured to wrap gifts. In some countries, Christmas decorations are traditionally taken down on Twelfth Night.
Nativity play
For the Christian celebration of Christmas, the viewing of the Nativity play is one of the oldest Christmastime traditions, with the first reenactment of the Nativity of Jesus taking place in A.D. 1223 in the Italian town of Greccio.[37] In that year, Francis of Assisi assembled a Nativity scene outside of his church in Italy and children sang Christmas carols celebrating the birth of Jesus.[37] Each year, this grew larger, and people travelled from afar to see Francis' depiction of the Nativity of Jesus that came to feature drama and music.[37] Nativity plays eventually spread throughout all of Europe, where they remain popular. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day church services often came to feature Nativity plays, as did schools and theatres.[37] In France, Germany, Mexico, and Spain, Nativity plays are often reenacted outdoors in the streets.[37]
Music and carols
The earliest extant Christmas hymns appeared in fourth-century Rome. Latin hymns such as "Veni redemptor gentium", written by Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, were austere statements of the theological doctrine of the Incarnation in opposition to Arianism. "Corde natus ex Parentis" ("Of the Father's love begotten") by the Spanish poet Prudentius (d. 413) is still sung in some churches today.[38] In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Christmas "Sequence" or "Prose" was introduced in North European monasteries, developing under Bernard of Clairvaux into a sequence of rhymed stanzas. In the 12th century, the Parisian monk Adam of St. Victor began to derive music from popular songs, introducing something closer to the traditional Christmas carol.
By the 13th century, in France, Germany, and Italy, under the influence of Francis of Assisi, a strong tradition of popular Christmas songs in the native language developed.[39] Christmas carols in English first appear in a 1426 work of John Awdlay, a Shropshire chaplain, who lists twenty-five "caroles of Cristemas", probably sung by groups of wassailers, who went from house to house.[40]
The songs, now known specifically as carols, were originally communal folk songs sung during celebrations such as "harvest tide" and Christmas. It was only later that carols began to be sung in church. Traditionally, carols have often been based on
Singing of carols initially suffered a decline in popularity after the
Felix Mendelssohn wrote a melody adapted to fit Wesley's words. In Austria in 1818, Mohr and Gruber made a significant addition to the genre when they composed "Silent Night" for the Nikolauskirche in Oberndorf. William Sandys' Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833) contained the first appearance in print of many now-classic English carols and contributed to the mid-Victorian revival of the festival.[42]
Completely secular Christmas seasonal songs emerged in the late 18th century. "
Traditional cuisine
A special
In Poland, other parts of Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia, fish is often used for the traditional main course, but richer meat such as lamb is increasingly served. In Sweden, it is common with a special variety of
Cards
Christmas cards are illustrated messages of greeting exchanged between friends and family members during the weeks preceding Christmas Day. The traditional greeting reads "wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year", much like that of the first commercial
Christmas cards are purchased in considerable quantities and feature commercially designed artwork relevant to the season. The content of the design might relate directly to the
Some prefer cards with a poem, prayer, or
Commemorative stamps
Several nations have issued
Gift giving
The exchanging of gifts is one of the core aspects of the modern Christmas celebration, making it the most profitable time of year for retailers and businesses throughout the world. On Christmas, people exchange gifts based on the Christian tradition associated with Saint Nicholas,[47] and the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh which were given to the baby Jesus by the Magi.[48][49] The tradition of gift giving in the Roman celebration of Saturnalia may have influenced Christian Christmas customs. Still, on the other hand, the Christian "core dogma of the Incarnation, however, solidly established the giving and receiving of gifts as the structural principle of that recurrent yet unique event" because it was the Biblical Magi, "together with all their fellow men, who received the gift of God through man's renewed participation in the divine life."[50]
Gift-bearing figures
Many figures are associated with Christmas and the seasonal giving of gifts. Among these are
The best known of these figures today is red-dressed Santa Claus, of diverse origins. The name Santa Claus can be traced back to the Dutch Sinterklaas, which means Saint Nicholas. Nicholas was a 4th-century Greek bishop of Myra, a city in the Roman province of Lycia, whose ruins are 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from modern Demre in southwest Turkey.[52][53] Among other saintly attributes, he was noted for the care of children, generosity, and giving gifts. His feast day, December 6, came to be celebrated in many countries with the giving of gifts.[54]
Saint Nicholas traditionally appeared in bishop's attire, accompanied by helpers, inquiring about children's behavior during the past year before deciding whether they deserved a gift. By the 13th century, Saint Nicholas was well known in the Netherlands, and the practice of gift-giving in his name spread to other parts of central and southern Europe. During the
However, the modern popular image of Santa Claus was created in the United States, particularly in New York. The transformation was accomplished with the aid of notable contributors, including Washington Irving and the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840–1902). Following the American Revolutionary War, some of the inhabitants of New York City sought out symbols of the city's non-English past. New York had originally been established as the Dutch colonial town of New Amsterdam, and the Dutch Sinterklaas tradition was reinvented as Saint Nicholas.[55]
In 1809, the New-York Historical Society convened and retroactively named Sancte Claus the patron saint of Nieuw Amsterdam, the Dutch name for New York City.[56] At his first American appearance in 1810, Santa Claus was drawn in bishops' robes. However, as new artists took over, Santa Claus developed more secular attire.[57] Nast drew a new image of "Santa Claus" annually, beginning in 1863. By the 1880s, Nast's Santa had evolved into the modern vision of the figure, perhaps based on the English figure of Father Christmas. The image was standardized by advertisers in the 1920s[58] and continues through the present day.[59][60]
Father Christmas, a jolly, stout, bearded man who typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, predates the Santa Claus character. He was first recorded in early 17th century England but was associated with holiday merrymaking and
There has been some opposition to the narrative of the American evolution of Saint Nicholas into the modern Santa. It has been claimed that the Saint Nicholas Society was not founded until 1835, almost half a century after the end of the American War of Independence.[61] Moreover, a study of the "children's books, periodicals and journals" of New Amsterdam by Charles Jones revealed no references to Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas.[62] However, not all scholars agree with Jones's findings, which he reiterated in a book-length study in 1978;[63] Howard G. Hageman, of New Brunswick Theological Seminary, maintains that the tradition of celebrating Sinterklaas in New York was alive and well from the early settlement of the Hudson Valley on.[64]
Current tradition in several
In
Multiple gift-giver figures exist in Poland, varying between regions and individual families. St Nicholas (Święty Mikołaj) dominates Central and North-East areas, the Starman (Gwiazdor) is most common in Greater Poland, Baby Jesus (Dzieciątko) is unique to Upper Silesia, with the Little Star (Gwiazdka) and the Little Angel (Aniołek) being typical in the South and the South-East. Grandfather Frost (Dziadek Mróz) is less commonly accepted in some areas of Eastern Poland.[67][68] It is worth noting that across all of Poland, St Nicholas is the gift giver on the Saint Nicholas Day on December 6.
References
- The United Methodist Church. 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ Setzer, Ed (December 14, 2015). "What Is Church Attendance Like During Christmastime? New Data From Lifeway Research". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
- ^ Bingham, John (October 27, 2016). "British families only attend church at Christmas, new figures suggest". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
- ISBN 0-486-23354-5, p. 272.
- ISBN 0-7692-4399-1, p. 12.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-310-87388-4. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ISBN 0-310-24880-9p.47.
- ^ Internet Archive Susan Topp Weber, Nativities of the World, Gibbs Smith, 2013
- ^ "Alla scoperta dei cinque presepi più belli di Bologna | Nuok". Nuok.it. January 24, 2013. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
- ^ "Presepi in Liguria: provincia di Genova, Tigullio -sito di Paolino". Digilander.libero.it. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
- ^ "Holidays at the Museums : Carnegie Museum of Natural History". Carnegiemnh.org. November 26, 2013. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
- ^ Bershad, David; Carolina Mangone, The Christian Travelers Guide to Italy, Zondervan, 2001.
- ^ "The Provençal Nativity Scene". Simplytreasures.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
- ^ Seaburg, Carl, Celebrating Christmas: An Anthology, iUniverse, 2003.
- ^ Bowler, Gerry, The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, Random House LLC, 2012.
- ^ Carol King (December 24, 2012). "A Christmas Living Nativity Scene in Sicily". Italy Magazine. Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
- ^ Collins p. 83.
- ISBN 9781451424331.
The Christmas tree as we know it seemed to emerge in Lutheran lands in Germany in the sixteenth century. Although no specific city or town has been identified as the first to have a Christmas tree, records for the Cathedral of Strassburg indicate that a Christmas tree was set up in that church in 1539 during Martin Bucer's superintendency.
- ^ "The Christmas Tree". Lutheran Spokesman. 29–32. 1936.
The Christmas tree became a widespread custom among German Lutherans by the eighteenth century.
- ISBN 9780814639320.
German Lutherans brought the decorated Christmas tree with them; the Moravians put lighted candles on those trees.
- ISBN 9781442225909.
Many Lutherans continued to set up a small fir tree as their Christmas tree, and it must have been a seasonal sight in Bach's Leipzig at a time when it was virtually unknown in England, and little known in those farmlands of North America where Lutheran immigrants congregated.
- ISBN 9781554390984.
The eight-pointed star became a popular manufactured Christmas ornament around the 1840s and many people place a star on the top of their Christmas tree to represent the Star of Bethlehem.
- ^ Wells, Dorothy (1897). "Christmas in Other Lands". The School Journal. 55: 697–8.
Christmas is the occasional of family reunions. Grandmother always has the place of honor. As the time approaches for enjoying the tree, she gathers her grandchildren about her, to tell them the story of the Christ child, with the meaning of the Christ child, with the meaning of the Christmas tree; how the evergreen is meant to represent the life everlasting, the candle lights to recall the light of the world, and the star at the top of the tree is to remind them of the star of Bethlehem.
- ISBN 9780191614910.
The same ambiguity is seen in that most familiar of angels, the angel on top of the Christmas tree. This decoration, popularized in the nineteenth century, recalls the place of the angels in the Christmas story (Luke 2.9–18).
- ^ ISBN 1-56718-765-X.
- John Wiley & Sons.
His biographer, Eddius Stephanus, relates that while Boniface was serving as a missionary near Geismar, Germany, he had enough of the locals' reverence for the old gods. Taking an axe to an oak tree dedicated to Norse god Thor, Boniface chopped the tree down and dared Thor to zap him for it. When nothing happened, Boniface pointed out a young fir tree amid the roots of the oak and explained how this tree was a more fitting object of reverence as it pointed towards the Christian heaven and its triangular shape was reminiscent of the Christian trinity.
- ^ a b Harper, Douglas, Christ Archived May 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001.
- ^ "The Chronological History of the Christmas Tree". The Christmas Archives. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
- ^ "Christmas Tradition – The Christmas Tree Custom". Fashion Era. Archived from the original on December 18, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
- ISBN 90-77135-04-9.
- ISBN 0-8117-0328-2.
- ISBN 9781135057060.
It is said to resemble the star of Bethlehem. The Mexicans call it the flower of the Holy Night, but usually it is called poinsettia after the man who introduced it to America, Dr Joel Poinsett.
- ^ "The Legends and Traditions of Holiday Plants". www.ipm.iastate.edu. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ^ "Mistletoe Traditions". The Mistletoe Pages. Archived from the original on December 25, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
- ^ "Liturgical Year : Symbolic Lights and Fires of Christmas (Activity)". Catholic Culture. Archived from the original on January 13, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
- ^ Murray, Brian. "Christmas lights and community building in America," History Matters, Spring 2006. Archived June 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ISBN 9780310873884.
- ISBN 0-486-23354-5, p. 32.
- ^ Miles, pp. 31–37.
- ^ Miles, pp. 47–48.
- ISBN 978-0-281-04300-2.
- ISBN 1-55111-476-3.
- ^ Broomfield, Andrea (2007), Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007, pp. 149–150.
- ^ Muir, Frank (1977), Christmas customs & traditions, Taplinger Pub. Co., 1977, p. 58.
- ^ "Imbuljuta". Schoolnet.gov.mt. Archived from the original on January 22, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ^ "Christmas card sold for record price" Archived February 5, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, BBC News. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
- ISBN 9780310873884. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
The legend of St. Nicholas, who became the bishop of Myra in the beginning of the fourth century, is the next link in the Christmas-gift chain. Legend has it that the priest rode across Asia Minor during his life, bestowing gifts upon poor children.
- ISBN 978-0691011264. Archivedfrom the original on December 31, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
This exchange network of ceremonial welcome was mirrored in a second reciprocity allowing early Christians to imagine their own magi: the phenomenon of giving gifts.
- ISBN 9780310873884. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
Most people today trace the practice of giving gifts on Christmas Day to the three gifts that the Magi gave to Jesus.
- ISBN 978-0-85702-613-2.
For the Enlightenment educationalist, gift-giving turned out to be a relic of a pagan custom, namely, the Roman Saturnalia. After the introduction of the Julian calendar in Rome, the 25th of December became the day of Sol invictus when people greeted the winter solstice. It was the day of the Sun's rebirth, and it was the day of the Christmas festivities – although it was only in the year 336 AD that it appears to have become established as the day of Jesus's birth (see Pannenberg 1989: 57). The Eastern Church adopted this date even later, towards the end of the 4th century, having previously regarded the 6th of January as the day of gift-giving, as it still is in the Italian community of Befana. The winter solstice was a time of festivity in every traditional culture, and the Christian Christmas probably took its place within this mythical context of the solar cult. Its core dogma of the Incarnation, however, solidly established the giving and receiving of gifts as the structural principle of that recurrent yet unique event. 'Children were given presents as the Jesus child received gifts from the magi or kings who came from afar to adore him. But in reality it was they, together with all their fellow men, who received the gift of God through man's renewed participation in the divine life' (ibid.: 61).
- ISBN 978-0-7614-2052-1.
Until quite recently, the celebrations focused solely on Saint Nicholas, or Sinterklaas (SIN-ter-klahs), as the Dutch call him. ... Interestingly, the American Santa Claus was born out of the Dutch Sinterklaas.
- ISBN 978-0-313-30733-1.
Saint Nicholas (Bishop of Myra) replaced Sabino as the patron saint of the city... A Greek from what is now Turkey, he lived in the early fourth century.
- ISBN 978-0-310-56456-0. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
Nicholas was born in the Greek city of Patara around 270 AD. The son of a businessman named Theophanes and his wife, Nonna, the child's earliest years were spent in Myra... As a port on the Mediterranean Sea, in the middle of the sea lanes that linked Egypt, Greece and Rome, Myra was a destination for traders, fishermen, and merchant sailors. Spawned by the spirit of both the city's Greek heritage and the ruling Roman government, cultural endeavours such as art, drama, and music were mainstays of everyday life.
- ^ ISBN 0-520-25104-0, pp. 68–79.
- ^ Jona Lendering (November 20, 2008). "Saint Nicholas, Sinterklaas, Santa Claus". Livius.org. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
- The Great Game: The Emergence of Wall Street as a World Power: 1653–2000(Scribner), 1999.
- ^ Forbes, Bruce David, Christmas: A Candid History, pp. 80–81.
- Archive-It, Snopes.com, 2006.
- ^ Win Rosenfeld (December 25, 2007). "America's Next Top Santa". NPR. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
Father Christmas – but this Santa also goes by the name Jonathan Meath....
- ^ Mary Ann Georgantopoulos (December 25, 2007). "Miracle on Mass. Ave.: City Santa takes suit seriously". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
Meath, who is in his first year of being a full-time Santa, makes appearances around Massachusetts at places such as Swing City in Newton....
- ^ "History of the Society". The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
- ^ Jones, Charles W. "Knickerbocker Santa Claus". The New-York Historical Society Quarterly. Vol. XXXVIII, no. 4.
- ^ Jones, Charles W., Saint Nicholas of Myra, Bari, and Manhattan: Biography of a Legend (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978).
- ^ Hageman, Howard G. (1979). "Review of Saint Nicholas of Myra, Bari, and Manhattan: Biography of a Legend". Theology Today. Vol. 36, no. 3. Princeton: Princeton Theological Seminary. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2008.
- ^ "St. Basil (330–379)". Skiathosbooks.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- ^ Matera, Mariane. "Santa: The First Great Lie" Archived September 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Citybeat, Issue 304.
- ^ "Kto przynosi Wam prezenty? Św. Mikołaj, Gwiazdor, Aniołek, Dzieciątko czy może Dziadek Mróz?". Bezprawnik (in Polish). December 22, 2016. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
- ^ "Nie tylko Mikołaj, czyli kto według tradycji rozdaje prezenty w różnych regionach Polski?". gazeta.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2017.