How our Christmas decorations and activities today reflect ancient traditions.
- Dec 1, 2021
- 19 min read
Why is there a fat man trying to climb down my chimney? What are the 12 days of Christmas? Why do we bring an entire tree inside? Should you be scared Christmas Devil? (yes), Why are people kissing under a parasitic plant? All good and very valid questions, and all I will try to answer in as much detail as your attention span will allow. You best put your history hats on, this is a long one.
Christmas. The days are short and the nights are long. Blankets of snow creating a magical Winter wonderland, chestnuts roasting on an open fire and creamy eggnog that warms your soul. Oh wait. I'm so sorry – wrong hemisphere! Those northerners really know how to influence seasonal celebrations. Let me start again:
The sun is shining, the days are long and the nights are warm, with the aircon down to 18 degrees and all fans are on full speed and you’ve got Bucko and Champs Christmas album on repeat (can you even have an Aussie Christmas without this album being played at least once?), If you haven’t listened to it yet, I urge you to do so. It is the Christmas album of my childhood followed by Christmas albums of Rod Stewart and Cliff Richards, naturally. The children are doing their best to be good, Santa’s elves are working double shifts to pump out the high volume of toys needed to appease the rapidly growing population and you feel like wearing earplugs to the shopping centre because you are adamant that they have been playing the same five Christmas songs on loop since October. I'm one of those annoying people singing along to those Christmas carols and I will not apologise to anyone.
Christmas would be the only festivity that has weeks, if not months, of planning that go into a family's Christmas celebration every year. Whose house is Christmas going to be at this year? Who will be bringing what dish? Will Steve bring that girlfriend he’s been seeing for two weeks? I need to get all the Christmas decorations out of the garage, but when will I get time to put them up? Uncle Bob and Aunty Helen must not sit near each other at Christmas lunch because that will end in tears and Lucy is allergic to shellfish so she will have to sit at the opposite end to the prawns, and what should we serve for dessert this year? What am I going to gift everyone? Do I even have enough money this year? When will I find the time to go shopping for gifts? When will I have time to go shopping for food? Do we have to buy Steve's girlfriend a present? As we fuss over the finer details of our modern Christmas celebration, we tend to forget the meaning of the objects we are decorating with as we will quickly throw some decorations on the tree and hang the wreath on the door.
In this article, we delve into many common Christmas decorations and practices of today and the rich history associated with these time-honoured traditions.
Don’t have a lot of time? Don’t want to listen to my drivel? Scrolled down a bit and thought ‘no thanks?’ Here is the very, very short and sweet version:
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What is Christmas?
In the Christian faith, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Nowadays it is a holiday celebrated by both religious and secular groups, with the overall meaning of Peace, Joy and celebrating friends and family.
Who decided on the date for Christmas?
The birth date of Jesus is never mentioned. The 25th December was chosen by Sextus Julius Africanus.
What was celebrated before Christmas?
The Winter Solstice was the main festival at that time of year. It was celebrated in many different ways by many different cultures.
Who cancelled Christmas?
Oliver Cromwell in the mid 1600’s banned Christmas for 25 years.
Why do we hang wreaths on the front door and deck the halls?
Ancient cultures saw wreaths (circles) as an amulet of protection. During the winter solstice, homes and temples were decorated with wreaths and garlands made from evergreen trees to symbolise life in the darkness of winter.
What are the 12 days of Christmas?
In Christian traditions, the 12 days of Christmas refer to Christmastide; starting on the 25th December and ending on the 7th January - the day of the Epiphany. Before that, It was a Norse/Germanic/Pagan custom to continuously burn a Yule Log and feast for 12 days when the log was ceremoniously extinguished.
Why do we decorate a tree?
Possible Celtic traditions of seeing an evergreen tree as a symbol of life in winter, but mainly stems from Germanic tradition since the middle ages with the tree symbolising the Tree of Knowledge and was decorated with apples.
Why do we give gifts?
Because it’s a nice thing to do! It wasn’t part of traditional Christmas celebrations until the 1800’s.
What is Mistletoe?
An evergreen plant that grows on tree branches, using the tree as a host to survive and one of the very few plants that flowers in winter. Has romantic connections in Norse mythology. Frequently used in winter solstice wreaths and decorations as a symbol of life during winter.
Who is Santa?
A modern invention of commercialism? An old Turkish monk? An Italian witch? He's all of the above!
What do the naughty children get? A lump of coal or a one way ticket to Hell?
Depending whereabouts in Europe you lived, you either got a lump of coal, potatoes, or chased by Krampus and dragged down to Hell.
Okay, now for all of you that are in it for the long haul, let’s start with some of the older traditions and then we will work our way up to the big man in red.
What is Christmas?
In the Christian faith, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. The term ‘Christmas’ which comes from the Latin phrase ‘Cristes Maesse’, translates to ‘Mass of Christmas day’. It has only been around for a relatively short period of time, being first mentioned in 1038AD with the celebration before then often being referred to as ‘Yule’. Christmas is observed by both Christian and non-Christian faiths, with non-Christians focusing on the very essence of Christmas, which is the celebration of friends and family - minus any religious affiliations of course. But Christmas wasn’t always celebrated as a sombre family occasion. Until the early 1800s, Christmas in some communities was a huge carnival festival full of drunken rowdiness and feasts that lasted for days. It wasn’t until when ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens was published that saw Christmas in a new light – a time for wholesome family and humble charities. The book introduced a new meaning into Christmas celebrations and the ‘perfect family Christmas’ was born throughout England and America. People were keen to unearth long forgotten traditions and turned to immigrants for traditional customs, and in doing so produced the modern Christmas was have today with customs taken from many cultures.
Who decided on the date for Christmas?
For the Christian denominations that follow the Julian calendar, Christmas falls on December 25th. Denominations such as Orthodox whose liturgical practices follow the Gregorian calendar, their Christmas falls on the 7th January. A few denominations even observe the 6th December as Christmas day. But who decided on this?
Surprisingly, early Christian leaders didn’t even acknowledge the birth of Jesus, or birthdays at all - they thought it a pagan custom. Early Christian leaders thought the only days worth celebrating were feast days – the days when saints and Martyrs died and entered heaven – their ‘true’ birthdays. Not surprisingly, the custom of birthdays seeped its way into the Christian faith, and in 221AD, Sextus Julius Africanus declared the 25th of December as Nativity Feast Day. But why the 25th of December? Seems oddly specific and a little odd considering Jesus was said to be born around sometime in Spring. Naturally, the early Christian leaders saw the Pagan celebrations of the Winter Solstice - which marked the day of the year where the light of day is resurrected from the dark winter - and made the connection to that of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Choosing to have coinciding festivals was thought to make the conversion to Christianity more appealing, ironically adopting a pagan festival when anything pagan was so abhorrent to them.
What was celebrated before Christmas?
As mentioned above, Christmas Day was chosen to coincide with the European Winter Solstice. As Christianity spread, the celebrations of old pagan deities were practised less and less. But what, and who, was celebrated on the Winter Solstice? Most, if not all cultures, celebrated the Winter Solstice. It was a hugely important festival, marking the end of the longest days in Winter with Spring soon approaching.
In Norse mythology (and in turn influencing Anglo-Saxon and Germanic cultures), the celebration of the Winter Solstice was called Yule, and the fathers and sons would bring home huge logs that would burn in the hearth, and they would feast until the log burnt out. Throughout northern Europe, huge feasts and gatherings were held in attempt to bring life into households during the dead of Winter.
Who cancelled Christmas?
Ever threaten your kids with ‘I’m going to call Santa and tell him to cancel Christmas’? Well one guy actually did cancel Christmas for 24 years! In the 1600s England had a civil war, the monarchy was overthrown and Oliver Cromwell took leadership of the country calling himself the ‘Lord Protector’. Cromwell didn’t like the idea of kings, even though his ‘Lord Protector’ role was of monarchy status and was passed down a hereditary line. Cromwell was of Puritan faith, a religious reformation movement of the 1600’s preferring a simple, more disciplined lifestyle. Under Cromwell dancing, heavy drinking and gluttony we seen as sins and during his leadership, parliament banned the theatre, co-ed dancing, ‘disorderly sports’ such as football and boxing, makeup on ladies, dresses that had too much colour, loose hair, decorations of any sort, and the biggest sin of them all, Christmas, which was seen to be a Catholic invention and focused too much on the secular ideas of the celebration like gift giving and friends and family. Birthdays are not mentioned in the bible as they were seen as a pagan custom, and even Jesus didn't have any special birthday privileges from the Puritans, and so Christmas was banned, along with all feast days and other festivals. The puritans saw a celebration, and especially the Christmas celebration, full of excessive drinking and gluttony which gave Cromwell's parliament more reasons to ban these ‘sins’. Naturally, the people did not take kindly to this ban and throughout the entire 26 year ban, riots and rebellious Christmas parties would break out with armed forces deployed to break up the festivities. Celebrating Christmas was a punishable offence and the ban on Christmas remained in place from 1644 until one pro-Christmas riot turned into another civil war and with the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, we saw the return of Christmas.
Why do we hang wreaths on the front door and deck the halls?
Christmas wreaths are found hanging on the entrances to homes, although today they are placed on these entrances as decoration and not for their original intent, which was to protect one's home. In Australia, we only see wreaths decorating doors at Christmas, but Harvest Wreaths are still a common sight in a lot of European cultures. Harvest Wreaths date back to the time of the Etruscans, where wreaths were made every year from vines such as ivy, laurel leaves, wheat and berries. They were hung on doors and in temples like amulets to provide protection against plagues and the like, and to bring good fortune with crops the following year. Cultures such as the ancient Greeks would take these wreaths on a ritualistic procession called eiresîonê before hanging them in households and temples.
The Winter Solstice in northern Europe was a harsh time, and people would use wreaths and garlands to lavishly decorate households and temples, especially during the roman festival of ‘Saturnalia’ and like today, they were made out of fir branches, holly and mistletoe, the very few plants that remained evergreen throughout Winter. These evergreen wreaths served as a reminder that there is life during the darkness and life will return with the Spring. The Romans would also decorate with greenery and the outside of their homes with little metal ornaments, often representing a God.
The Northern Pagans also decorated wreaths with Holly, but the holly adorning these wreaths had a special meaning, symbolising the pagan king, the Holly King (Winter) who would battle (and win) with the oak king of the past summer season (autumn).
Christianity also adopted this wreath, likening the circle to be a symbol of God’s eternal love (there is no end), but instead would lay the wreath flat on a table with 5 candles in the centre, one to be lit weekly in the lead up to Christmas (a custom most likely inspired from the Jewish practice of Hanukkah). This wreath is called the Advent wreath and is still used today in homes and churches (although this practice is done only by Catholics and Lutherans). The wreath was made out of the same greenery found in the pagan wreaths (as there wasn’t much choice at that time of year) but naturally changed the symbol of holly to that of the crown of thorns upon Jesus’s head and the holly berries as Christ’s blood.
Why do we decorate a tree?
Much like the use of wreaths and garlands, Christmas trees can be traced back to the pagans. It is widely accepted that Christmas trees were taken from German traditions dating back to medieval plays where fir trees were used to portray the Tree of Knowledge from the Old Testament. Fir trees then began being brought inside during Christmas, being decorated none other than hanging apples.
Before Christianity began, the idea of a ‘Christmas tree’ can be found with the ancient Celts, with evergreen trees revered as a symbol of immortality as the evergreen trees were able to survive the Winter. Just like the ancient Romans, the Celts would use evergreen branches and boughs to decorate homes – a celebration of life in the middle of winter. Even the ancient Egyptians revered trees and saw palm trees as a symbol or resurrection and rebirth. They would bring palm fronds inside for decoration during festivals (especially the Summer and Winter Solstices).
Why do we give gifts?
Other than being a really nice thing to do, it is because we are told to give gifts by marketing geniuses. The Christmas gift industry has grown at an exponential rate from its inception in the early 1800s. That’s right, gift giving wasn’t even a Christmas custom until then. What started the trend? The first department stores opened up, introducing a new way for customers to shop, the Santa Clause craze was taking hold and people just had more money in general and had the means to spoil loved ones, especially children.
The act of gift giving has no doubt been around since the dawn of time – it is a nice thing to do after all. But as luck would have it, the Winter Solstice was a time where gift giving was a tradition in many pagan cultures. In the Roman festival of Saturnalia, one of the days of celebrations was known as Sigillaria which took place on the 19th December and it was customary to give gifts of pottery figurines to loved ones or taper candles symbolising the return of the sun.
Christianity found a way to link the practice of gift giving with St Nicholas and his generosity, but mainly because of the Magi, also known as the Three Wise Men, and their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Jesus.
What is Mistletoe?
Mistletoe has big connections with the Winter Solstice and has remained pretty prevalent for thousands of years, for one main reason – romance. You can take the pagan out of a Christian but you can't take the mistletoe out of a romantic.
One of the very few plants to not only survive the harsh Winters of northern Europe, but to actually fruit in the dead of Winter - it is easy to see why it became a symbol of life during the Winter Solstice. It had mystical connotations as mistletoe doesn’t grow in the ground and get nutrients from the earth, it is a parasitic plant that grows on branches using tree as a host to sustain its life. It is evergreen, even when the host tree would die back in winter. The ancient Celts would gather mistletoe to use in tonics for fertility, and it was also the symbol of the Norse goddess of love, Frigg. Historians aren’t sure of why the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe began, but there is a legend in Norse mythology that might have a connection. The legend goes that Odin’s son Baldur was prophesied to die, and his mother Frigg sought pledges from all living things that they would not harm her son. Loki realised that she had overlooked mistletoe, made an arrow from the plant and killed Baldur. Some versions of the story end with Baldur being resurrected and Frigg’s tears of joy formed the white berries on the plant, and she declared that it would never again become a weapon and those who walked under it would receive a kiss instead.
One of the first references found about kissing under the mistletoe was from a song published in 1784 - “What all the men, Jem, John, and Joe, Cry, ‘What good-luck has sent ye?’ And kiss beneath the mistletoe, The girl not turn’d of twenty.” Why it became a popular Christmas tradition is clearer. In the 1820’s, an American author had returned from England and had recorded some Yuletide traditions in a book. He said of the tradition: “The mistletoe is still hung up in farm-houses and kitchens at Christmas, and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases.” due to the popularity of the book which was a best seller, the practise quickly spread and as the celebration of Christmas grew more popular, so did the mistletoe tradition.
Mistletoe doesn’t really have a place in Australian Christmas – and that’s simply because it blooms in Winter. Our summer Christmas in Australia means the only time we get to really see mistletoe is on the silver screen, along with the white Christmas that we so often see depicted by our northern cousins.
Why are there 12 days of Christmas?
We all know the tune, but always forget the lyrics. ‘And a partridge in a pear tree’ is usually as far as I can get - I know, very un-Chrissmassy of me. But as with everything in history there's always an inspiration, and 12 days is not a random number.
The 12 days of Christmas as we know it today refer to the 12 days after Jesus’s birth. Christmas Day being the first day, and leading all the way up to the 6th January, Epiphany Eve, when the three wise men appeared before the infant Jesus after following a star. During these 12 days, various saints have their feast days. This tradition started in the middle ages with these 12 days referred to as ‘Christmastide’. Christmastide is synonymous with the term Yuletide in Northern European countries with Viking connections. But what if I told you that the 12 days of Christmas could be traced back to the Vikings? Well, you most certainly shouldn’t be surprised, because we all know early Christianity was just one big story topper – like my friend Davo who just always seems to have a better version of what happened to them. We all have a friend like Dave. Anyway, I digress. Where was I? Ah yes, Yule.
Yule was the Norse celebration of the winter solstice. The Vikings (and in turn pagans such as Wiccans and the ancient Romans) saw fire during the winter solstice as a symbol of the returning sun, and would burn candles inside their homes to celebrate the sun’s return. Candles were immensely expensive, and giant log was much easier to come by. On the night of the Winter solstice, Yule logs were hauled in from outside, lit from the remnants of the previous year's log, and then left to burn. The burn time of the log was significant, for the feasting did not stop until the log was entirely burnt up (every year you would leave just one piece of the log to ignite the following years log). These logs were so big that they would burn for – yep, you guessed it – 12 days, and the ceremoniously extinguished.
During Yule, festivities included Wassailing (pronounced vaw-sal-ing). This was the act of going door to door with friends and family and carrying a big batch of Wassail (basically warm apple cider). Songs would be sung at the doorsteps of houses and Wassail would be given out in exchange for gifts. Wassailing would also be done on fields and in orchards, singing to the earth to encourage a good crop. Wassailing developed into the Carolling practice we know today.
The 12 days could also have a loose connection with the 8 day Roman Saturnalia festival, which started on the 17th December and running all the way through to the 24th December. As the early Christians tried to complete with the festivals of the Winter Solstice, they realised that their one Christmas day of celebration wasn’t going to cut it, and decided on the 12-day festival of Christmastide, with each day celebrating a different Saint and thus making it easier for the conversion of Pagans as everyone was celebrating something, and as Christianity spread, those celebrating Saturnalia eventually ceased.
Who is Santa?
The legend of Santa is a far cry from the jolly man in the red suit we know today. You can find pieces of our modern-day Santa in many legends from all across Europe.
Most of us would know about the legend of St Nick, a Monk born in 280 AD in modern-day Turkey. St Nicholas would travel the countryside, giving away all his wealth and helping the sick and poor and would later become known as the patron Saint of children. He remained a popular figure throughout time, especially in Holland. In France, Santa is Père Noël who fills the shoes of French children. In Italy, there is a legend of La Befana, a witch who rides a broomstick down the chimney and delivers toys into the stockings of good children. In Sweden, a jolly elf named Jultomten delivered gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats.
But if you look back a little further and delve a little bit into some Norse mythology, you can find Frigga, the goddess of Love. She distributed gifts to women during the Winter Solstice and her feast day just happens to be on December 25th. But there is one notable mention that draws some very interesting comparisons. This figure, is none other than the Norse God, Odin.
Before we knew Santa as the fat man in red (pre-1800's), he was portrayed as an old bearded man riding a horse in a hooded, fur trimmed cloak. According to legend, Odin was a shapeshifter and one of his favourite disguises was this exact description, travelling the worlds in search for ‘knowledge.’ But let’s admit it, he was basically spying.
He was believed to be ‘all knowing,’ and he would also send out his two ravens to gather Intel on the worlds and report back to him on who he distrusted and who he favoured (naughty and nice).
Santa riding across the night sky in a sleigh has a strong shared imagery with Odin’s Great Hunt. The Great Hunt was when Odin was joined with other Norse God’s, elves and mythical beasts hunting forces of evils. In his travels across the night sky, if you angered Odin in anyway during this time he would bestow bad luck upon you, and those who were in favour of Odin would receive good fortune and gifts. Sometimes Odin would show up randomly throughout the year and give gifts of coins to those who were truly worthy. The Great Hunt is strongly associated with the Yule festival, although legend says it is not strictly tied to this festival and can happen anytime during Winter.
Riding alongside Odin in the Great Hunt was Odin’s eight-legged horse, Sleipnir (an eight-legged horse seems a bit of a stretch but 8 flying reindeer ...) . Sleipnir also conveniently pulls a sleigh.
'Santa’s workshop' can also be found in the lore of Odin. ‘Odin’s Men’ were Elves and Dwarves who were the tradesmen who made all manner of things and many magical items including Thor’s Hammer.
During the popularisation of Santa in the 1800’s (‘‘Twas the night before Christmas’ might sound familiar), public interest was focused on all the expeditions of the largely unexplored arctic circle and the race to the North Pole. It was at this time that the mysterious North Pole was plucked from the imagination of the man who created Santa as we know him today (more on him later), and with the North pole being in such close vicinity with the Northern European legend of Father Christmas, it's not hard to see how the two merged.
Which leads me to the name, Father Christmas. A name I don’t here too much these days unfortunately as Santa seems to have taken over. Odin is referred to as the All-father and also the Yule father. As Yule is celebrated alongside Christmas, we can then get Father Christmas.
It was the Dutch who brought the popular European St Nicholas to America in the late 1700’s, when on the 6th December they would celebrate the feast day of ‘Sint Nikolaas,’ Dutch for Saint Nicholas. ‘Sinter Klaas’ was a shortened version, and in turn we get Santa Claus.
The first mention of the modern-day Santa was in 1822 in the poem ‘An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas,’ best known for its first line: ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas.’ In the poem, Santa Clause is described as a large jolly man who flies on a sleigh led by reindeer, delivering gifts to deserving children. Using this description as inspiration, in 1881 Cartoonist Thomas Nast drew a picture of Santa, giving him his iconic look that we know so well today.
Department stores in the late 1800’s began to realise that Santa was a marketing goldmine and began using this image of Santa in their Christmas advertising. They would advertise a sneak peek of the ‘real life Santa’ and would lure Santa-crazed children and their parents into stores.
In the 1930’s, Coca-Cola created an advertisement with Nast’s version of Santa with a bottle of Coke, and from then on Santa had been solidified in American Culture and spread rapidly throughout the world.
Santa’s mode of transport consists of travelling the world in his sleigh pulled by reindeer. The most famous reindeer of all – Rudolph, didn’t actually come into the picture until the 1930’s when a department store owner invented the story of Rudolph to lure customers into his department store that sold the book. He created a story about a young reindeer who was an outcast among his peers because of his red lit nose. One night Santa had no way of seeing is way through thick fog but Rudolph was able to lead the way and save Christmas. The story was so popular that a few years later in 1949 the immensely popular song ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’ was produced and the story was even turned into a beloved movie in 1964.
What do the naughty children get? A lump of coal or a one way ticket to Hell?
As the story goes, Santa will leave gifts in the stockings of all the children who had been good that year, but if you were naughty and had misbehaved, you would get a lump of coal (or potatoes depending on where you lived). As with a lot of European legends, there was always an evil counterpart. Krampus is from Austrian legend, and has roots in old Pagan traditions that survived Christianity. Krampus is the half man, half goat who comes every year on the feast day of St Nicholas (6th December). He chases naughty children down the street and if he catches you, he will drag you down to Hell. St Nicholas wasn’t always the image of a nice man helping good children either. In other European versions of St Nicholas, he would freely punish the naughty children himself as well as rewarding the good children. In northern Germany he is man who wears disheveled furs, sometimes a mask and has a long tongue. He has pockets filled with cakes for the good children and carries a cane to beat the naughty children. Nothing like a little disciplinary fear to get your child to behave.
And that, was a ‘brief’ history on Christmas. How many times did all those important dates cross over between each culture?! I hope you found some interesting facts; I certainly learnt a lot researching all this. I hope there is a really Christmas specific Pub trivia night coming up because we would all win!
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