Did You Know?

Mistletoe and Holly
Two hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Druids used mistletoe to celebrate the coming of winter. They would gather this evergreen plant that is parasitic upon other trees and used it to decorate their homes. They believed the plant had special healing powers for everything from female infertility to poison ingestion. Scandinavians also thought of mistletoe as a plant of peace and harmony. They associated mistletoe with their goddess of love, Frigga. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe probably derived from this belief. The early church banned the use of mistletoe in Christmas celebrations because of its pagan origins. Instead, church fathers suggested the use of holly as an appropriate substitute for Christmas greenery.
Poinsettias
Poinsettias are native to Mexico. They were named after America's first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett. He brought the plants to America in 1828. The Mexicans in the eighteenth century thought the plants were symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem. Thus the Poinsettia became associated with the Christmas season. The actual flower of the poinsettia is small and yellow. But surrounding the flower are large, bright red leaves, often mistaken for petals.

Xmas
This abbreviation for Christmas is of Greek origin. The word for Christ in Greek is Xristos. During the 16th century, Europeans began using the first initial of Christ's name, "X" in place of the word Christ in Christmas as a shorthand form of the word. Although the early Christians understood that X stood for Christ's name, later Christians who did not understand the Greek language mistook "Xmas" as a sign of disrespect. 

Santa Claus

The original Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, was born in Turkey in the 4th century. He was very pious from an early age, devoting his life to Christianity. He became widely known for his generosity for the poor. But the Romans held him in contempt. He was imprisoned and tortured. But when Constantine became emperor of Rome, he allowed Nicholas to go free. Constantine became a Christian and convened the Council of Nicaea in 325. Nicholas was a delegate to the council. He is especially noted for his love of children and for his generosity. He is the patron saint of sailors, Sicily, Greece, and Russia. He is also, of course,

the patron saint of children. The Dutch kept the legend of St. Nicholas alive. In 16th century Holland, Dutch children would place their wooden shoes by the hearth in 

hopes that they would be filled with a treat. The Dutch spelled St. Nicholas as Sint Nikolaas, which became corrupted to Sinterklaas, and finally, in Anglican, to Santa Claus. In 1822, Clement C. Moore composed his famous poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas," which was later published as "The Night Before Christmas." Moore is credited with creating the modern image of Santa Claus as a jolly fat man in a red suit. However, his authorship is controversial. Some scholars suggest that it was Henry Livingston Jr. who wrote the poem.

Christmas Lights
It turns out that Christmas lights date back to the 17th century (and maybe even before that period). Sure, there wasn't electricity back then, but they did have candles. Wealthy celebrants would place candles on their Christmas trees. Then, in 1882, electric Christmas lights were introduced and Christmas was never the same (in a good way, of course).

The Transition
It seems to be human nature that once we get a good thing, we can't get enough of it. People were so pleased with electric Christmas lights that they began looking for more ways to use them. Hence, the evolution of Christmas lights from a “tree only” decoration to a house-wide decoration.



Nowadays, Christmas lights are nothing like the lights of yesteryear. You can get them in all colors, shapes and sizes. There are icicle lights for your gutters, net lights for your bushes – even lights wrapped around wire to make decorative Christmas light figures.



Of course, if you're the more traditional type you can get the plain white Christmas lights of years gone by. There are so many Christmas lights to choose from now, there's certainly something for everyone.

This year when you hang your Christmas lights, think about how lucky you are. Imagine if they hadn't yet been invited and they were each individual candles you had to arrange.


Christmas Cards
Let's go back in time to 1840s Britain. The first postal deliveries were being sent thanks to the brand new “Penny Post” that had been set up.


Now that the Penny Post enabled people to send Christmas greetings to one another it became customary to do so. However, many people found it tedious and time consuming to hand write all of their Christmas letters. In 1843, the first Christmas card was commissioned.

Christmas Cards Come to America
For about 30 years, Americans had to import their Christmas cards from Britain. It wasn't until 1875 that the first Christmas cards would be printed in the United States.



And the Christmas cards sent back then really didn't mirror today's popular cards at all. The Christmas cards of yesteryear tended to depict flowers and faeries. It wasn't until later years that Christmas cards took on a “holiday theme”.

And the Evolution Continues...
What the Penny Post did for Christmas cards back in the mid 1800s, the Internet is doing today. The way we greet one another at Christmas is changing once again. Thanks to the wider acceptance of “e-cards” all it takes is the click of the mouse to send your friends and family Christmas greetings. Who knows what tomorrow brings...

Christmas Stockings
Do you know why we hang stockings on the fireplace?
Long ago it was said that Saint Nicholas (now called Santa Claus) threw 3 coins down a chimney of the home of 3 poor sisters. Each of the coins landed inside separate stockings left on the hearth (fireplace) to dry. It is now a modern tradition to hang stockings there in hopes that we might have the same good fortune.

Christmas Cookies
Do you know that the most popular cookie kids leave for Santa is the Oreo? Maybe that’s because over 9.1 billion of them are sold each year. There is no exact date recorded but the idea of leaving cookies for Santa started sometime in the 1930’s. Naughty kids use them to bribe Santa at the last minute and nice kids use them as a way of thanking him for all his hard work on Christmas Eve.

Eggnog
Did you know eggnog used to be made with beer? In the 17th century a strong ale called ‘nog’ was very popular in Britain around the holidays. It was made from beer, sugar, egg yolks, lemon rinds and cinnamon. Later in the 19th century North Americans took the French version of the drink called ‘Lait de Poule’, made from milk, sugar, and egg yolks and added spirits. With the addition of brandy, rum or sherry, we have our own modern day eggnog. We now cook the drink to remove the threat of salmonella, but the recipe has been the same for over 150 years.

Caroling
The custom of singing Christmas carols is said to have come from 13th century Italy where a man named St. Francis of Assisi led songs of praise. It is very bad luck to send carolers away empty handed. It is customary to offer food, drink or even a little money. It is also said to be unlucky if you sing Christmas carols at any other time of the year besides the festive season.


WREATH
Can you believe people used to worship evergreen holly as a sign of eternal life because it did not brown or die in the winter? Some religious groups say that the crown of thorns placed on Jesus’ head was made of holly. The berries were supposedly white but turned bright red from Jesus’ blood. Holly is also said to represent the sun’s return after a long winter. We now place wreaths on doors or hallways to create a festive atmosphere during the holiday season.


YULE LOG
Did you know the burning of the Yule Log was taken from ancient sun worship rituals? Yule Logs are supposed to be cut from red oak trees and burned all of Christmas Eve and into Christmas Day. It is unlucky to buy your own log and lucky ones usually come from your neighbor’s woodpile. It is also customary to light the new log with a scrap of last year's log. The scrap is kept under the homeowners’ bed to protect the home from fire and lightning during the next year.