As we march toward another new year, we put more distance between ourselves and the origins of the traditions many of us hold dear. Fruitcake, gift giving, and hanging ornaments – they’re all a blend of cultural ideas crackling aside the hearty yule log on a holiday hearth.
“American Christmas borrows from a multitude of traditions, including Dutch, English, and Irish. There’s an incredible intermingling with all of our holidays,” said Katherine Walker, a 51ԹϺ assistant professor of English whose research focus on 16th- and 17th-century culture has led to a specialization in the history of magic and origin of traditions surrounding many modern-day holidays. “They all go back centuries and teach us a lot about history and who we are.”
And so, each of the tales you’re about to be told – courtesy of professor Walker – took place in the holiday world of old. Perhaps you’ve wondered where Christmas traditions come from. If you haven’t, I’d say it’s time you’ve begun…
Who was St. Nicholas? And when did he become the Santa Claus we know?
St. Nicholas was a real person who lived around 200 A.D. in what is now modern-day Turkey. He was incredibly pious, and known as a benevolent figure for giving away all of his inherited wealth to the poor. He was celebrated throughout Christian Europe and his feast day is Dec. 6.
St. Nicholas didn’t acquire the modern Santa-like qualities or jolly characteristics until much later — closer to the 18th and 19th centuries. Because of illustrations, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” and concerted efforts to make Christmas more communal — that’s where we eventually get the standard white beard, with the white and red outfit.
Where did the concept of hanging stockings come from?
One anecdote says St. Nicholas heard a young woman crying because she couldn’t afford her dowry to be married. And so he tossed some coins into her open window, and they landed in some stockings she had hung over a fireplace to dry.
What’s the deal with decorating pine trees with lights?
The concept of the Christmas tree comes from Northern European countries — places like Norway, where the evergreen was brought inside during the winter months as a symbol of rebirth. The pine tree stays green all year round, so it gave folks hope that spring and greenery would come again. The tree became a symbol within the home of looking forward to the new year.
The hanging of ornaments is a separate story. In early Christianity, the tradition was to hang apples on a tree. That connects with the Garden of Eden, and apples became the first types of ornaments used. It would later transform, especially through commercialization, into the glass and plastic orbs we hang today.
What about gingerbread men?
Holiday hankerings surrounding gingerbread men start in Elizabethan England. Gingerbread was a common cookie and for the English, in particular, it was a luxury to have it.
As a joke one season, Queen Elizabeth had her chefs make gingerbread cookies in the shape of her prominent courtiers. Then, they were given as gifts during the Christmas season to poke fun at some of the big-wigs in her court.
Because of her status in society, other families started to mimic that tradition. And the gingerbread man then enters our folklore, fairy tales, and becomes a staple of Christmas celebration.
Fruitcake?
It goes back to the medieval period. Sugar was scarce and you had to sweeten your meals by other means. Fruit was the natural go-to for that.
When it got to the winter and people were running low on fresh fruits, people lacked the means to properly store them. So they would throw the remaining fruit into the bread dishes and that’s how fruitcake became a holiday tradition.
How about the burning of a Yule log?
It represents, like the Christmas tree, both rebirth and hope.
Initially, the yule log was meant to be the biggest you could find. And you’d try to count the number of embers coming off from it, as it burned in your chimney place. The embers were said to represent the wealth of the new year – the more, the merrier. It’s evolved into a peaceful tradition, giving us a break from the rush of the holidays to relax with our friends and families.
Why did Christmas become a holiday themed around goodwill and gift giving?
Early on, the Christian church encountered large populations of people with what were viewed as pagan values. The Celts, Gauls, Romans, and many others were being converted to Christianity. The church found that the easiest way to encourage cooperation was to allow each group of people to carry on with their old traditions, with an added change.
The Gauls could still give each other gifts during the winter solstice. The Romans could still exchange presents during Saturnalia, which was conveniently on December 25. But they needed to consider the birth of Christ as a moment of reflection and religious practice during this period. The Christmas of today is a confluence of different cultures who were coming into Christianity. Most of our joyousness from the holidays comes from a compromise – an attempt to convert people into celebration and also religious practice.
Are there any new traditions happening in plain sight?
In the recent past, there were periods of deprivation, including within the United States. There was loss, with families being split during wartime. And when these people returned from combat, that’s when Christmas really became a celebration of the nuclear family. Gathering around, singing Christmas carols, and forces of community later shaped the music and holiday into what it is today.
In the modern day, there has been an overt commercialization of not only Christmas, but all of our holidays. If you go out to the store, some have Christmas decorations for sale in September. We have suddenly become a holiday-obsessed culture, driven by the market.
There is no need to have matching pajamas every year, but retailers will push customers in the direction of dressing for the season with the whole family. Marketers are cleverly coming up with ways of saying, “You must now have this for the holidays.” And Christmas is influencing the other themed holidays. For Halloween, you don’t just need candy anymore – you need lights, inflatables, and 40-ft. Skeletons. All the big days are being treated more and more like Christmas.
