Every year, as we celebrate Christmas, we are surrounded by quiet traditions. They are an integral part of the holiday. While some are based in Christianity, others are rooted in other beliefs.
If you have ever pondered – while placing a beautiful nutcracker on your mantle – why it is associated with Christmas, we have your answers…
Christmas Cards
The first Christmas card was given to King James I of England in 1611. It was a large ornamental manuscript 33″ x 24″ in size and folded into panels. The “card” displayed an image of a rose in the center and a Christmas and New Year message to the King and his son.
Today’s custom of sending Christmas cards was started in the United Kingdom in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole, a senior civil servant. He and his friend John Horsley, an artist, designed the first card and sold them for 1 shilling each. The card had three panels. The outer two panels showed people caring for the poor, and in the center panel was a family having a large Christmas dinner. 1000 were printed and sold. They are now very rare and are worth thousands of dollars apiece.
Mistletoe
The tradition of hanging Mistletoe in the house goes back to the times of the ancient Druids. It was meant to possess mystical powers to bring good luck to the household and ward off evil spirits.
The custom of kissing under Mistletoe comes from England. The earliest recorded date mentioning kissing is in 1784 in a song from a musical comedy called ‘Two to One’.
Christmas Stockings
The custom of hanging stockings comes from a story attributed to St. Nicholas. It was said that he dropped gold coins into a stocking that was drying near a window of an impoverished family.
This story sparked others to mimic the Saint’s kindness and soon the custom of placing a tangerine or satsuma and often some nuts at the bottom of Christmas stockings began. Why tangerines and satsumas? Because up until the mid-20th century, these fruits were unusual and special, especially in Europe.
Poinsettias
The tradition of the Poinsettia is based on a Mexican legend. A poor girl named Pepita had no gift to present to the baby Jesus at a Christmas Eve mass. She didn’t know what she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a small bouquet. The girl felt embarrassed by her paltry gift, but as she knelt to place the weeds at the bottom of the nativity scene, the bouquet burst into bright red flowers. Everyone there claimed it was a miracle. Since that day, the bright red flowers are known as the ‘Flores de Noche Buena’ or ‘Flowers of the Holy Night’.
Nutcrackers
Nutcracker dolls have been made in parts of what’s now Germany and the Czech Republic since the late 1600s. They were originally made as symbols to bring good luck to the family and protect the home. It is said that they represent strength and power and watch over the family, keeping evil spirits and danger away.
There are records of nutcrackers being sold in a Dresden market in 1786. Napoleon occupied this area in the early 1800s, and it is believed that the nutcrackers of today might have been made to look like the French ruler and his soldiers.
Candy Canes
The first recorded ‘candy stick’ is from 1837 from an exhibition in Massachusetts. They started as straight white sugar sticks and a few years later the red stripes were added. The first time they are documented as being called ‘candy canes’ comes in 1866; their first connection to Christmas comes in 1874.
Christian meanings were associated with the canes after they became popular. Their ‘J’ shape signifies Jesus, the white represents his purity while the red stripes are for the blood he shed when he died on the cross. The peppermint flavor represents the hyssop plant that was used for purifying in the Bible.
