This time of year is steeped in history that many of us are not aware of. The historian in me loves to share this information with others ~ happy reading.
CHRISTMAS - Cristes maesse or Christ’s Mass is the Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. The holiday was actually dated in Rome in 336 AD to circumvent the pagan Saturnalia celebrating the birth of Saturn, god of the sun.
THE CHRISTMAS TREE – German legend says that Boniface, an English missionary in 8th c Germany, stopped the sacrificial slaying of a young boy by cutting down the tree it was taking place by in one stroke – in place of the oak sprang a young fir tree. Boniface told the pagans that this was the tree of life and that stood for Christ. It is said that Luther was the first to put candles on the tree and in 17th c Germany people began decorating the trees with paper roses, apples and wafers followed by white pastry in the shapes of animals and men. German immigrants brought this tradition to the US in 18th c Pennsylvania. Grover Cleveland was the first to put electric lights on the Christmas tree, an idea that spread quickly throughout the US.
SANTA CLAUS – a derivation of the name St. Nicholas who was a real person born in the 3rd c. He became a bishop in Greece where he was famed for unexpected gifts of kindness, particularly that of a bag of gold he was said to have dropped down the chimney of a poor man with three daughters who, without money for a dowry, would have been sold into slavery. It is said that the bag of gold landed in the girl’s stockings that were hanging up to dry by the fireplace. The Netherlands adopted him as the patron saint of children and in 1809 Washington Irving wrote, “A History of New York” where he describes him as being a jolly, pipe smoking saint who flew over the treetops in a wagon dropping presents down chimneys for children. In 1822, Clement C. Moore wrote his famous poem, “A Visit from Saint Nicholas”, more commonly known as, “The Night Before Christmas” where he develops the legend of the reindeer. In 1863, Thomas Nast did a series of engravings for Harpers Weekly of the Santa, as we know him today working in his workshop and reading endless letters from children.
