Christmas traditions

how we live — By Bob Riel on December 24, 2008 at 3:00 pm

Tomorrow is Christmas Day, so it’s a good time to take a look at some of our holiday traditions – how they’ve evolved through the years and how much these customs are a product of celebrations from various other countries and cultures.

A story in the Orlando Sentinel makes the point that our current holiday is actually a melting pot of traditions.

Few American holiday traditions are as popular around the world as that of the jolly old man in a red suit who comes bearing gifts. But Santa Claus is coming to town only because immigrants brought him here first, either as the Greek St. Nicholas or the Father Christmas of the early English and Dutch settlers.

Even the first modern depictions of Santa were drawn by a German immigrant living in the United States in the 19th century. Immigrants brought the tradition of Christmas trees from Europe. They sang some of the first carols…

In fact, many of the yuletide traditions — some that begin tonight, Christmas Eve — that are considered quintessentially American started somewhere else. The evolution of Christmas as a mishmash of customs continues as people from other parts of the world add theirs to the cultural melting pot.

So says Edward T. O’Donnell, a history professor at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., who studies the historical and cultural aspects of Christmas.

Nowadays, Americans are as familiar with “Silent Night,” translated from German, as they are with “Feliz Navidad,” the 1970 hit by Puerto Rican singer Jose Feliciano.

And that is a good thing, O’Donnell believes. “Tradition always evolves,” he said.

The Washington Daily News took a look at the evolution of Christmas traditions.

Families and friends will sit down Thursday for a Christmas feast of ham and/or turkey, mashed potatoes, yams and a few other special favorites.

But if we were living in England centuries ago, Christmas dinner would consist of (gulp!) the head of a hog cooked with mustard. If that doesn’t kill your appetite, consider that in the Middle Ages it was customary for peacocks and swans to be consumed at Christmas time, their flesh seasoned with saffron…

Electric lights glowed on Christmas trees for the first time in 1895; they were a safer replacement for the live candles that had been used up until that time.

Mailing holiday greetings to loved ones dates back to the early 1800s; the first commercially-produced Christmas card was created in England in 1842…But as early as 1822, Americans were sending homemade Christmas cards and the practice so over-whelmed the postal service that Washington, D.C. had to hire extra mail carriers to deliver cards in that city. Today, it is estimated that over three billion Christmas cards are mailed in the United States.

And the Huntington Herald-Dispatch also ran a feature on the origin of holiday customs.

The Christmas tree originated in Germany around 1,000 years ago and was associated with mystery plays…When performed in the church, the tree was surrounded by lighted candles. After ending church plays, the candles and tree were taken to a home where the Christmas tree became a symbol of the Savior. Tree decorations over time changed to white wafers, then small pastries, colored paper, tinsel, cookies and other objects.

In time, the lighted candles were transferred from near the tree to being placed on the tree. German immigrants probably set up the first Christmas trees in America around 1710. German soldiers during the Revolutionary War popularized the Christmas tree in America during the late 1700s…

Saint Nicholas of Myra was a fourth century bishop. St. Nicholas appears on the eve of his Dec. 6 feast bearing gifts. He comes at the beginning of Advent to prepare children’s hearts and lives for the coming of the Messiah. The custom of giving presents in his name at Christmas time, therefore, originated.

Santa Claus was made popular in America by Dutch Protestants who immigrated and settled. His name is Father Christmas in England, Pere Noel in France and is named Saint (Sinterklaas) in Germany.

Just some Christmas history to enjoy as you prepare to celebrate this year’s holiday season. I wish you all the best for the holidays and in the coming year!