Many unique traditions surround the Christmas season: stockings by the fireplace, Christmas trees in the living room, and kissing under the mistletoe. These things seem odd any other time of year, but during Christmas they are normalized. Why? This article is going to present the answers to all your burning questions about why we do Christmas traditions.
Why do we hang stockings by the fireplace?
Hanging stockings by the fireplace is a tradition that the world has held onto for centuries, though no one knows exactly where it came from. There are two main tales that foster the tradition, the most known being Clement Clarke Moore’s A Visit From Saint Nicholas. In this story, stockings were hung by the fireplace, awaiting Santa Claus’ arrival. Once he appears, Santa was said to fill their stockings with toys and goodies, then rise back up the chimney. This story is one that has been told for centuries, as it first appeared in 1823.
Where did the tale of the stocking come from?
The tale that Clement Clarke Moore told stemmed from a popular, nameless legend. The legend speaks of a widowed father of three girls, who was struggling to get enough money to marry his daughters away. They were very beautiful, but in those times you could not marry off your daughters without a dowry for the groom. St. Nicholas (later known as Santa), wanders through the town of the man and hears the rumors of their misfortune, but assumes that any form of direct charity would be refused. So, he slides down the man’s chimney in the night, and places gold coins in the daughters’ recently washed stockings, which were drying by the fireplace. Then he disappeared up the chimney once again. When the family woke up the next morning, they were overjoyed by what they saw – now the daughters could get married without fear, and all would live happily ever after due to this “miracle.”
This story does not have a true origin place or date, and is very far-fetched in the people’s minds. But, it is a great story of the Christmas spirit, and the beauty of giving charity to those in need.
Where did the decorating of Christmas trees originate from?
The origin of the Christmas tree may be older than Christmas itself, as the Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, and Germanic cultures of early Europe all practiced some version of the tree decorating ceremony that is now beloved in Christmas tradition. Generally, trees are symbolic of eternal life and fertility.
The decorating of the evergreen tree became associated with Christmas in the 16th century, in Germany. They began this tradition to celebrate the Feast of Adam and Eve, which took place annually on December 24th. By the mid-19th century, the connection was celebrated as a popular holiday decoration across Europe and America.
Where did the tradition of gift-giving on Christmas begin?
Gift-giving is a tale that is as old as time – since the dawn of man, humans have given other people presents as a way to signify their care for one another. Before Christianity had the story of Jesus and the shepherds, many people still gave gifts around the winter solstice. It signalled the New Year, which was something to celebrate for them. Different groups would gather at the Stonehenge on the solstice and give gifts of gratitude and love.
As Christianity spread into the Roman empire and Eastern world, the story of the shepherds bringing Jesus presents on his birthday, Christmas, spread like wildfire. The tradition of gift-giving took many different forms in different countries, like Boxing Day (Dec. 26), St. Nicholas Day (Dec 6), and Christmas Day (Dec 25). The one thing that holds true in each of these days is the gifts are spread to everyone, and the mood is very cheery.
What does mistletoe signify?
In history, it was a tradition to hang mistletoe in your house due to the respect of the powers of the ancient Druids. Mistletoe can outlive almost any other plant, so it was seen as a sacred plant symbolizing life, vitality, and warding off evil from your household. Though there is little evidence of the meaning of mistletoe outside of Norse mythology, the tradition is still held to this day.
Now, why do we kiss when we are under the mistletoe?
While we do not know exactly where the idea originated from, it seems to have come from England in the 1720s. Mistletoe was a decoration on the English “Kissing Bough,” an early version of a kissing booth. The association was very lax at first, but after the musical comedy “Two to One” referenced kissing under the mistletoe during the song, the tradition skyrocketed into what we know today.
I hope I answered a lot of your questions about the WHY behind our Christmas traditions. If you are still curious about a tradition that I did not cover, make sure to look it up. The history of Christmas is so unique in so many ways, and it is a great way to learn about other cultures.
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