Christmas Customs & Traditions (2)

CHRISTMAS CAROLS

Traditionally we sing these at Christmas time. Today the meaning of the word carol is understood to be a hymn full of joy and happiness, but the word carol (or to give it its French spelling Carole) meant a dance, and in England the word meant a dance that was used to celebrate the shortest day of the year. Those pagans get in everywhere!

At the Christmas Crib which St Francis erected in Graecia in Italy, the people went home singing carols, so the tradition of street carolling began. Carols with words (as opposed to dances) were sung by minstrels in the halls of the great lords, and later by street singers. So today, the tradition is carried on in house to house carolling by groups of children or choirs!

EVERGREENS

Long before Jesus came on the scene, evergreens played an important part in the winter festivals. They were used as decorations in homes and in pagan shrines because they had a special “power” – their greenness showed they were alive when all other plants were dead.

In cold northern countries evergreens were hung to ward off evil spirits or fairy folk.

In warmer climates the evergreens were hung in honour of the god Saturn, who was the god of all growing things.

Mistletoe, holly and ivy had a special significance to pagans, for not only were they green in winter, but some of them bore berries as well. This tradition was taken over by Christians who attached Christian meanings to their use of the evergreens.

HOLLY

In Norway and Sweden the holly is known as the Christ-thorn. In Denmark it is called the Kristdorn. North Americans used the holly in their homes churches, and it is highly likely the word holly came from the English word Holy.

Christians will tell you that the holly is a holy tree because it reminds us of the death of Jesus. The prickles remind us of the crown of thorns and the red berries remind us of the blood that fell when the crown of thorns was pushed on his head.

A more recent custom, harking back to the American tradition of decorating of homes and churches with holly is the hanging of a holly wreath on the outside of a door. Many people in our country liked the idea and copied it.

MISTLETOE

There is a lovely old northern legend which explains why we hang up mistletoe at Christmas.

Balder was the Sun God, and he was so loved and respected by all the other Gods that they made a vow never to hurt, To ensure his safety they placed spells on all kinds of things so that he would not be harmed by them. For example, they placed a spell on water so that it would never be able to drown him. Arrows, spears, swords and poisons had spells put on them so that they could never kill him, but one of the things they forgot to put a spell on was the mistletoe.

Now it happened that there was an evil God called Loki, and he was jealous of the high esteem that Balder was held in, and he plotted to get rid of him. Loki discovered that the other gods hadn’t put a spell on mistletoe, so he fashioned a spear from a mistletoe branch. He put the spear into the hand of the blind god Hoder, and pointed him in the direction of Balder, telling him to throw the spear. Once it struck Balder it killed him instantly. The other gods were so saddened by the event that the conspired to bring Balder back to life and the mistletoe promised never to harm anyone again. So mistletoe became the symbol of love.

Christians were taught to love others as they would themselves, so mistletoe was taken over as their symbol of love. To remember this they kissed under the mistletoe, and so we now have the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe at Christmastime.