As Christmas is coming closer and closer, everyone is thinking of decorating trees, baking gingerbread, leaving out cookies for Santa, and hanging up snowman decorations. But where did all these traditions come from if Christmas was originally a holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus?
One of the most popular Christmas commodities is Santa Claus and his reindeer. Santa is known as a jolly man with his classic white beard and red coat, flying over cities and towns to deliver presents to children’s houses on Christmas Eve..
This legend comes from Saint Nick, who was the patron saint of children. He was admired for his kindness, and gave away all his wealth to help the poor and sick. Santa was modeled after Saint Nick’s appearance and warm-hearted personality.
The book “Twas The Night Before Christmas,” which was published in 1823, really made the staple of Santa traditions and stereotypes. It started the famous story of Santa arriving in his sleigh with his flying reindeer, him eating the cookies the children left out for him, and stuffing their stockings with little gifts.
While Santa is popular worldwide, one of the most general Christmas traditions are the colors red and green, covering every square inch of shopping malls and Christmas stores.
Red represents the blood of Christ’s crucifixion, while green is the evergreen tree, which represents eternal life as it doesn’t lose its leaves in the winter.
Additional colors like white and silver mean peace and innocence, which is an important factor in celebrating Christmas. The colors were established as “Christmas colors” in the 1300s, which were made to have a true meaning to Christmas.
The popular tradition of building snowmen, or using snowmen decor to adorn your house with, has become a staple for Christmas. Even though building snowmen is more of a recreational activity, it can be traced back to medieval times.
Many people saw it as a form of “art from nature”, and used it to create sculptures and statues. Since it only snows in the winter in most places, snowmen quickly became associated with Christmas. It also brings joy and adds an extra sense of festivity to the Christmas season.
Another sought after Christmas experience is baking gingerbread to create little gingerbread men and houses decorated with icing and candy.
In fact, gingerbread can be traced all the way back to the ancient Egyptians, who used it for ceremonies. There had also been evidence that it was worn as a talisman in battle, since gingerbread was rumored to ward off evil spirits.
Gingerbread even had a dark history. It was rumored that witches made gingerbread figures and ate them, representing their next victims.
It wasn’t really until the late 1700s that it became associated with Christmas; bakers made gingerbread men and women that replicated the amount of people attending Christmas parties.
All in all, Christmas has many never-to-be-forgotten staples, and they all have a true meaning behind it.