The Origins of Christmas Customs
Christmas Tree
Just as early Christians recruited Roman pagans by associating
Christmas with the Saturnalia, so too worshippers of the Asheira
cult and its offshoots were recruited by the Church sanctioning
“Christmas Trees”. Pagans had long worshipped trees in the
forest, or brought them into their homes and decorated them, and
this observance was adopted and painted with a Christian veneer
by the Church.
Mistletoe
Norse mythology recounts how the god Balder was killed using a mistletoe arrow by his rival god Hoder while
fighting for the female Nanna. Druid rituals use mistletoe to poison their human sacrificial victim. The Christian
custom of “kissing under the mistletoe” is a later synthesis of the sexual license of Saturnalia with the Druidic
sacrificial cult.
Christmas Presents
In pre-Christian Rome, the emperors compelled their most despised citizens to bring offerings and gifts during the
Saturnalia (in December) and Kalends (in January). Later, this ritual expanded to include gift-giving among the
general populace. The Catholic Church gave this custom a Christian flavor by re-rooting it in the supposed gift-giving
of Saint Nicholas (see below)
Stockings
The origin of the fireside footwear owes more to myth than fact. We know, thanks to Twas the Night Before
Christmas, that hanging stockings by the chimney dates back at least to the poem's 1823 publication. According to
legend, the original Saint Nicholas, who travelled around bringing gifts and cheer, came upon a small village one year
and heard of a family in need. An impoverished widower could not afford to provide a dowry for his three daughters.
Saint Nick knew the man was too proud to accept money, so he simply dropped some gold coins down the chimney,
which landed in the daughters' stockings, hanging by the fireplace to dry. From this, it is said the modern tradition was
born.
Santa
Also known as Saint Nicholas, or Kris Kringle, or Father Christmas, Santa Claus has been crafted by folklore
(and commerce) into a toy distributor and assessor of child behaviour, but he is actually based on a real person.
Saint Nicholas was born around the year 270 in Turkey. He dedicated his life to serving God, giving all he had to
the poor. He became the bishop of a town called Myra, and was known for his generosity and love for children.
Stories tell of how he did many kind deeds in secret, expecting nothing in return. Within a century of his death he
was celebrated as the patron saint of children and the anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, Saint
Nicholas Day, December 6.
In his satiric 1809 book A History of New York, Washington Irving created the jolly characterization of Santa
Claus as a portly, bearded man who smokes a pipe. Irving's story also included the first mention of Santa sliding
down a chimney. Drinks giant Coca-Cola is often said to have been behind the coloring of Santa; the image of
his red suit, illustrated by artist Haddon Sundblom, was widely circulated in 1931 as part of an advertising
campaign, and has since become mainstream.
Candy Canes
Legend has it that in 1670, the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany handed out sugar sticks among
his young singers to keep them quiet during the long Living Crèche ceremony. In honor of the occasion, he had a
candy shaped into shepherd’s crooks.
It wasn’t until 1847, that a German-Swedish immigrant named August Imgard of Wooster, Ohio, decorated a small
blue spruce with paper ornaments and candy canes. Red and white stripes and peppermint flavors became the norm
for all candy canes after this.