Christmas (or Christ's Mass) comes from the Old English name Cristes Maesse - Christ's Mass - and is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. The first recorded observance occurred in Rome in AD360, but it wasn't until AD440 that the Christian Church fixed a celebration date of December 25
Xmas is the abbreviation for Christmas to Xmas is derived from the Greek alphabet. X is the letter Chi, which is the first letter of Christ's name in the Greek alphabet. Many of our Christmas customs began long before Jesus was born. They came from earlier festivals which had nothing to do with the Christian church. A long time ago people had mid-winter festivals when the days were shortest and the sunlight was at its weakest. They believed that their ceremonies would give the sun back its power. The Romans, for example, held the festival of Saturnlia around 25 December. They decorated their homes with evergreens to remind them of Saturn, their harvest god, to return the following spring. Some of these customs and traditions were adopted by early Christians as part of their celebrations of Jesus' birthday. In Victorian times some new ideas such as Father Christmas, Christmas cards and crackers were added to the celebrations.
Father Christmas is based on a real person, St. Nicholas, which explains his other name 'Santa Claus' which comes from the Dutch 'Sinterklaas'. Nicholas was a Christian leader from Myra (in modern-day Turkey) in the 4th century AD. He was very shy, and wanted to give money to poor people without them knowing about it. It is said that one day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney. It landed in the stocking which a girl had put to dry by the fire! This may explain the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and places gifts in children's stockings. Father Christmas was originally part of an older English midwinter festival, he was normally dressed in green, a sign of the returning spring. He was known as Sir Christmas. The Ghost of Christmas Present in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is based on Father Christmas. He is described as a large man with a red beard and fur-lined green robe. The Father Christmas we know today dressed in red, became known in England during the 1870's. The image of the red coat was introduced to England in 1930s in an advertisement by Coca-Cola.
Christmas cards: The first Christmas card was created and sent in 1843. A man named John Calcott Horsely printed the first Christmas card for Sir Henry Cole, the friend who had given him the idea. Sir Henry Cole, a wealthy British businessman, wanted a card he could proudly send to friends and professional acquaintances to wish them a "Merry Christmas. In 1843, the first ever Christmas card sold 1000 copies in London. Postmen in Victorian England were popularly called "robins". This was because their uniforms were red. Victorian Xmas cards often showed a robin delivering Xmas mail.
Christmas crackers: were invented by Thomas Smith in 1846.
During a visit to Paris he came across the bob-bon, a sugar almond wrapped in tissue paper (with a twist either side of the centrally placed sweet). Thomas decided to try selling similarly wrapped sweets in the lead up to Christmas in England. His bon-bons sold well at Christmas but not at other times of the year.
In the early 1850s Thomas added a motto with the sweet. As many of his bon-bons were bought by men to give to women, many of the mottos were simple love poems. In about 1860, Thomas added the banger, two strips of chemically impregnated paper that made a loud noise on being pulled apart. At first these novelties were called 'cosaques', but they soon became known as 'crackers'.
Christmas Tree: Legend has it that a 7th century monk from Crediton, Devonshire, went to Germany to teach the Word of God. He used the triangular shape of the Fir Tree to describe the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and by the 12th century Fir Tree's where being hung from ceilings at Christmastime as a symbol.
Turkey: Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) was the first person to eat turkey on Christmas Day.
Christmas Pudding originates from an old, Celtic dish known as 'frumenty'.
The Christmas pudding known today began life as Christmas porridge called Frumenty, a dish made of wheat or corn boiled up in milk. As time went on, other ingredients, such as dried plums or prunes, eggs, and lumps of meat were added to make it more interesting. When cooked, it was poured into a dish. This pudding was called Plum Pudding. The name 'Plum Pudding' continued to be used even when people used raisins, currants, and sultanas instead of prunes.
Mince pies became a regular part of Christmas celebrations as early as the 16th century (Tudor times), when mince pies were coffin or cradle shaped, rather than round as they are now. At that time, they contained quite a bit of shredded meat in addition to the usual melange of dried fruits. The crusaders returned from the Holy Land with spices, and it was deemed appropriate to celebrate Christ’s birthday with a pie containing spices from his native land. It was important to add three spices (cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg) for the three gifts given to the Christ child by the Magi. It was thought lucky to eat one mince pie on each of the twelve days of Christmas (ending with Epiphany, the 6th of January). Alternatively to refuse one would lead to bad luck. The mince meat mixture should only be stirred in a clockwise direction. To stir it anticlockwise is to bring bad luck for the coming year. A wish should be made whilst eating one's first mince pie of the festive season, and mince pies should always be eaten in silence. Its still illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas Day as this law has never been repealed. The ban on eating mince pies on Christmas Day dates back to the 17th century and was originally designed to outlaw gluttony during the rule of the Puritanical Oliver Cromwell.
Christmas and Sweet Chestnuts - were used in divination ritual.
Girls set named nuts on the fire bars and chanted:
Maidens, name your chestnuts true.
The first to burst belongs to you!
The favoured suitor's nut would 'burst with love for her'.
Christmas Banned: In 1647, the English parliament passed a law that made Christmas illegal. Christmas festivities were banned by Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell, who considered feasting and revelry on what was supposed to be a holy day to be immoral. Anybody caught celebrating Christmas was arrested. The ban was lifted only when the Puritans lost power in 1660.
The definition of a white Christmas in England is when one snowflake falls on the roof of the London Weather Centre.)
Back to top |
