The Origins of 12 Christmas Traditions and How They Came into Being

Come December and you know there is a warm and comely atmosphere in the air. The feeling of Christmas is truly upon you with shops decorated, shoppers in malls and the Santas already sitting in department stores.  But while we engross ourselves in the celebration, how much do we know about the origins and history of such traditions like carols, Christmas trees and decorations.

1. Christmas Cards

It was Sir Henry Cole and artist John Horsley who made the first Christmas card in the UK in 1843. Cole set up the Public Records Office now the Post Office and wanted to encourage people to start utilizing the services; Hence he encouraged the sending of Christmas cards which cost people a shilling at the time. By the 1900's, sending cards became a tradition throughout Europe. The Christmas card was made the subject of one of our favorite Christmas songs "An old Christmas Card" written by Vance  Horton in 1949 but made more famous by Jim Reeves in 1963.

2. The Christmas Tree

There are a few different stories behind the origin of the modern-day Christmas tree, although not all are rooted in fact. Evergreen trees were actually used by pagans in winter festivals for thousands of years. During the winter solstice, evergreens signified the coming of spring. As Christianity spread throughout Europe, the trees began to be used as a symbol for Christmas. In mystery plays in Germany, they were often used as props, garnished with apples to represent the Garden of Eden.

 

But it wasn't until the mid-19th century that the Christmas tree as we now know it became custom. England's Queen Victoria encouraged her husband, Prince Albert, to decorate a tree as he had done back at home in what is now Germany. When a drawing of the royal family with their exquisite Christmas tree appeared in a London newspaper in 1841, the tradition became also became popular throughout the UK and the US.

3. Mince Pies

Years ago traditional mince pies were made of meat, fruit and spices. It was an inspiration from the time of the crusaders who learnt of the tradition in Middle Eastern countries and brought the tradition back with them. Mince pies would have thirteen ingredients that represented Jesus and the 12 apostles. However, by Victorian times, meat disappeared and was replaced by more acceptable ingredients.

4. Stockings and Santa Claus

The tradition of stockings and Santa Claus dates back to the ancient time of St Nicholas who lived sometime in 300 AD. He was a charitable Bishop famed for his acts of helping others in need. As legend has it, St Nicholas once helped out a man who couldn’t afford the dowry for the marriage of his three daughters. St Nicholas came one night and put the money in their stockings and asked the father not to reveal who had given it.

Santa Claus is also attributed to St Nicholas who soon became a patron saint of Christmas in Europe during the renaissance. In Holland, he was known as Sinter Klaus. Eventually, he became known as Santa Claus and the first known representation of jolly Santa Claus was depicted by American Artist John Pintard who in 1804, created an illustration of The Santa we know today. By the 1880’s the Salvation Army hit upon the idea of dressing men as Santa to collect donations for charity, this eventually cemented the trend of Santa Claus in The USA.

5. Holly and Ivy

Holly and ivy was used way back during the time of the druids when people celebrated the winter solstice. The holly and ivy lend color to the dark time of the year. In ancient Christian traditions, the holly and ivy represent the crown of thorns and the blood Jesus shed when it was placed on his head. In various countries, it represents Jesus and Mary.

6. Christmas Crackers (Bon Bons)

Bon Bons are a familiar Christmas tradition invented in the late 1840s by London sweet maker Tom Smith. Although he would put riddles and toys inside, they didn’t sell. When he hit upon the idea of making them crack, then sales soared and the Christmas cracker was born.

7. Turkey

Turkeys were first found in Mexico and then brought to Great Britain by William Strickland in 1526.  It was King Henry the VIII who made the trend of eating turkey in high society. In the 19th century, Edward the VII introduced it to the middle classes as well.  Turkey always was a luxury even till the fifties.

8. Christmas Pudding

What’s Christmas without plum pudding. Known at one time as Figgy pudding, it was a staple for Christmas and dates back to the middle ages. It originated as a wheat-based pottage and Figee was in fact a dish of fish and curds, but it soon evolved into a dessert of figs boiled in wine. In the  17th century, it further evolved into a thicker dessert that was made with eggs and contained fruits and alcohol.

9. Mistletoe

Mistletoe is a pagan tradition that was adopted by the early Christians. Mistletoe is an Anglo Saxon word and kissing beneath it has its roots in England where each time a couple kissed, a berry had to be plucked from the mistletoe until none were left.

10. Christmas Carols

Carols were also a pagan practice at one time adopted for Christmas. The earliest known Christmas carol dates back to 1643 and written by a missionary named Jean De Brebeuf who lived with the Hurons in Canada. He titled it “Twas in the Moon of Wintertime and it is regarded as Canada’s oldest Christmas song. 

It was St Francis of Assisi who encouraged the concept of Christmas carols when he would organize nativity plays in 1223. The tradition grew but the term carol itself was first coined by an English Chaplain who wrote a book called “The Caroles of Cristemas” in 1426. In USA the most famous carol was Irving Berlin’s white Christmas who sang it over radio for troops at war.

11. Why do we drink Eggnog?

Most culinary historians agree that eggnog stems from a medieval British drink called "posset," a thick, boozy, ale-like concoction seasoned with whatever spices were on hand. As the milk, eggs and sherry used to make posset were foods of the rich, the drink was used in toasts to prosperity and good health.

Eggnog became a holiday tradition when it was brought over to the American colonies, where cows, chickens and rum were much more accessible. As for the name? The term "nog" referred to a certain type of strong, English beer, while a "noggin" was a small cup intended for brewing nog.

12. Where do Candy Canes come from?

This is one of those traditions that we're not too sure about. One story goes that a German choirmaster in 1670 was worried about children being disruptive during long church services, so he went to a candy maker for sticks of white sugar to keep them quiet. To give the candy an educational slant, the choirmaster asked the candy maker to make the sticks in the shape of a cane so that the kids would remember the story of the shepherds who came to visit baby Jesus. However, all the references to this story are anecdotal and there are no real records to prove it's actually true.

What we do know is that in 1919, Bob McCormack started making candy canes in Georgia and eventually became one of the world's leading candy cane producers. Since manually shaping candy canes into their traditional 'J' shape was inefficient and labor-intensive, McCormack's brother-in-law, a Catholic priest named Gregory Keller, invented the Keller Machine to automate the process of shaping straight candy sticks into today's J-shaped candy canes.

Hope you enjoyed reading this.