Christmas
Santa Claus
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Santa Claus is a variation of a Dutch folk tale based on the historical figure Saint
Nicholas, a bishop from Turkey (then known as Myra), who gave presents to the
poor. His charity became legend when a man lost his fortune and found himself
incapable of supporting his three daughters, who would not be able to find
husbands as they lacked dowries. This man was going to give them over to a life
of prostitution; however, St. Nicholas provided them with gold, enabling them to
retain their virginal virtues and marry. This inspired the mythical figure of
Sinterklaas, the subject of a major celebration in the Netherlands and Belgium,
Germany (where his alleged date of death, December 6, is celebrated the
evening before on December 5), which in turn inspired both the myth and the
name of Santa Claus (actually a mispronunciation of the Dutch word
"Sinterklaas" by the English settlers of New Amsterdam (later renamed New
York). Whilst in those countries Saint Nicholas is celebrated as a distinct
character with a religious touch, Santa Claus is also making inroads as a symbol
during Christmas.
He forms an important part of the Christmas tradition throughout the Western
world and Japan and other parts of East Asia.
In many Eastern Orthodox traditions, Santa Claus visits children on New Year's
Day and is identified with Saint Basil whose memory is celebrated on that day.
Depictions of Santa Claus also have a close relationship with the Russian
character of Ded Moroz ("Grandfather Frost"). He delivers presents to children
and has a red coat, fur boots and long white beard. Much of the iconography of
Santa Claus could be seen to derive from Russian traditions of Ded Moroz,
particularly transmitted into western European culture through his German
folklore equivalent, Väterchen Frost.
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Conventionally, Santa Claus is portrayed as a
kindly, round-bellied, merry, bespectacled white
man in a red coat trimmed with white fur
(perhaps remotely derived from the episcopal
vestments of the original Bishop Nicholas), with
a long white beard and green or white gloves.
On Christmas Eve, he rides in his sleigh pulled
by flying reindeer from house to house to give
presents to children. To enter the house, Santa
Claus comes down the chimney and exits
through the fireplace. During the rest of the year
he lives together with his wife Mrs. Claus and
his elves manufacturing toys. Some modern
depictions of Santa (often in advertising and
popular entertainment) will show the elves and
Santa's workshop as more of a processing and
distribution facility, ordering and receiving the
toys from various toy manufacturers from
across the world. His home is usually given as
either the North Pole, in northern Canada,
Korvatunturi in Finnish Lapland, Dalecarlia in
Sweden, or Greenland, depending on the
tradition and country. Sometimes Santa's home
is in Caesarea when he is identified as Saint
Basil. L. Frank Baum placed his home in The
Laughing Valley of Hohaho.
Origins of Christmas
• Although no one knows on
which exact date Jesus
was born, Christians have
favored December 25
since ancient times. It is
the date on which the
Romans marked the winter
solstice and it is nine
months following the
Festival of Annunciation
(March 25). In ancient and
early Medieval times,
Christmas was either a
minor feast, or not
celebrated at all.
Other Dates?
• Although Christmas may be celebrated on
December 25 -31 in historically Catholic and
Protestant nations, in eastern Europe it is often
celebrated on January 7. This is because the
Orthodox church continues to use the Julian
calendar for determining feast days.[16]
• The Orthodox churches fast during the forty
days before Christmas. Christmas is dubbed the
"Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, God, and
Saviour Jesus Christ." Armenian Christians
celebrate Christmas on January 6.[17]
Other Customs
• Many Christmas practices originate in Germanic countries,
including the Christmas tree, the Christmas ham, the Yule
log, holly, mistletoe, and the giving of presents. The
prominence of Christmas in Germanic nations may be a
form of carryover from the pagan midwinter holiday of Yule.
• Russia banned Christmas celebration from 1917 until 1992.
Several Christian denominations, notably the Jehovah's
Witnesses, Puritans, and some fundamentalists, view
Christmas as a pagan holiday not sanctioned by the Bible.
• In the southern hemisphere, Christmas is during the
summer. This clashes with the traditional winter
iconography, resulting in oddities such as a red fur-coated
Santa Claus surfing in for a turkey barbecue on Australia's
Bondi Beach. Japan has adopted Santa Claus for its
secular Christmas celebration, but New Year's Day is a far
more important holiday. In India, Christmas is often called
bada din ("the big day"), and celebration revolves around
Santa Claus and shopping. In South Korea, Christmas is
celebrated as an official holiday.
Twelve Days of Christmas
• These are the twelve days beginning on night of Christmas
(December 25) and ending on the day of 6 January as Epiphany
begins on (January 6). In the Middle Ages this period was one of
continuous feasting and merrymaking, which climaxed on Twelfth
Night, the traditional end of the Christmas season.
• During the twelve days of Christmas, traditional roles were often
relaxed, masters waited on their servants, men were allowed to
dress as women, and women as men. Often a Lord of Misrule was
chosen to lead the Christmas revels. Some of these traditions were
adapted from older, pagan customs, including the Roman
Saturnalia. Some also have an echo in modern day pantomime
where traditionally authority is mocked and the principal male lead is
played by a woman, while the leading older female character, or
'Dame' is played by a man.
• Some people give gifts, feast and otherwise celebrate on each of the
twelve days rather than just on one day at Christmas.
Twelve days of Christmas
(Song)
– On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
– Twelve drummers drumming,
– eleven pipers piping,
– ten lords a-leaping,
– nine ladies dancing,
– eight maids a-milking,
– seven swans a-swimming,
– six geese a-laying,
– five gold rings;
– four calling birds,
– three French hens,
– two turtle doves
– and a partridge in a pear tree.
Christmas Tree
• The Christmas tree is often explained as a Christianization of the
ancient pagan idea that the evergreen tree represents a celebration
of the renewal of life. In Roman mosaics from what is today Tunisia,
showing the mythic triumphant return from India of the Greek god of
wine and male fertility, Dionysus (dubbed by some modern scholars
as a life-death-rebirth deity), the god carries a tapering coniferous
tree. Medieval legends, nevertheless, tended to concentrate more
on the miraculous "flowering" of trees at Christmas time. A branch of
flowering Glastonbury thorn is still sent annually for the Queen's
Christmas table in the United Kingdom.
• Patron trees (for example, the Irminsul, Thor's Oak and the figurative
Yggdrasil) held special significance for the ancient Germanic tribes,
appearing throughout historic accounts as sacred symbols and
objects. Among early Germanic tribes the Yule tradition was
celebrated by sacrificing male animals and slaves by suspending
them on the branches of trees. According to Adam of Bremen, in
Scandinavia the pagan kings sacrificed nine males of each species
at the sacred groves every ninth year. According to one legend,
Saint Boniface attempted to introduce the idea of trinity to the pagan
tribes using the cone-shaped evergreen trees because of their
triangular appearance.
Christmas Stockings
• A Christmas stocking is an empty sock or sock-shaped
bag that children in the United States and some other
cultures hang on Christmas Eve so that Santa Claus can
fill it with small toys, candy, fruit, coins, or other small
gifts when he arrives. These small items are often
referred to as stocking stuffers or stocking fillers.
Tradition in western culture dictates that a child who
behaves badly during the year will receive only a piece
of coal.
• By tradition, the stocking is hung on the fireplace, but,
since many modern homes do not have fireplaces,
stockings may be hung in almost any location.
• One traditional practice is to reserve
the stocking for five gifts that stimulate
each of the five senses, for example:
– Something to eat like fruit or candy
– A toy or other item that makes a
noise (this can even include nuts to
crack)
– An item that is visually pleasing in
any way like jewelry, cuff-links or a
coloring book.
– Something that has tactile appeal
such as modeling clay, a soft toy,
lingerie or even a pair of novelty
Christmas socks.
– Any item with a distinctive scent
such as bubble-bath, cologne,
perfume, etc.