pees a eee The history and legend of ¢ Christmas ‘ by. Philip Musselman ‘What is Christmas? Glisten- “ing, powdery snow peacefully ~ falling to the earth as gently as dandelion fluff? Children whose - smiling faces ‘betray material Christmas wishes? Carolers boldly singing cheerful tunes depicting the joy of Christmas? Happiness and warmth as families join together to share _ the love which overflows from the holiday? A chuckling red “bandit”? who slides down the Nu another symbol that represents life even when winter often is bleak and mortifying. Other plants have been tradi- tionally linked with Christmas including rosemary, the rose of Jericho, and hawthorn, Hawthorn is linked with -Christmas because of an inci- dent which took place soon after the death of Jesus. One - Christmas Eve, the hawthorn chimney to leave gifts for chil- ° _ dren? The delicious feast of staff reputed to have belonged to Joseph of Arimathaea, who had transported Jesus’ body from the cross to his timb, was Nicole Walsh and Jacqul Ganson were two of the Grade 1 students who participated In Parkside Schooi’s annual Christmas concert. turkey and all the fixings that leaves everyone full and con- tent? Or a celebration of the birth of one who. founded a faith .. based on love and sacrifice? — | The answer is, Christmas is everything mentioned above plus a whole lot more. It’s a time when people enjoy peace, warmth and joy. The Christmas tradition has been going on for centuries. In fact, the first known birthday of Jesus that was celebrated on Dec. 25 occurred sometime in the middle of the fourth century in Rome. Later the tradition spread to other western nations ‘through the spread of Chris- tianity. - In the east a celebration, tak- ing place on Jan. 6, has been traced as early as the second cen~ tury, In 598, Christmas in England climaxed. with the baptism of 10,000 English converts by St. Augustine. As time moved on, more and more nations began to celebrate . Christmas. Germany began in 813, while Norway followed suit near the middle of the 10th cen- tury. Traditions evolved making the holiday _ more ‘merry’? and family-like; practises were pass- ed on and new ones were created. A common complaint of Christmas being too commercial has been said to be unjustified, -because research suggests that Christmas consisted of feasting and shopping from the very be- ginning. Many other traditions remain also; for instance, Christmas time in the past held a tradition - of decorating with green plants, like holly, mistletoe or ivy. These plants were seen as sur- vivors during the bleak winters and were collected as good luck symbols to represent the rebirth of the upcoming spring. Today, people still decorate with eet and marvel at its beau- Christntas trees, again, are then spiked into the soft soil of Glastorbury.Tor, and the- next day the hawthorn staff burst in- to. blo om. - Since, then,” everye Christinas the staff bloomed, even. when it was later transplanted to the. grounds of Glastonbury Abbey. The blossoming of the thorn was quite popular until the seventh century when puritani- cal Christians decided that belief in the hawthorn was sacrilegious and one of them at- tempted to chop down the twin- trunk tree. After successfully dropping one trunk he received thorns in his eye trying to cut the second. The felled portion of the hawthorn continued to bloom for about 30 years, and it mysteriously disap- peared. It was rumored’ that “King ‘James I had paid handsomely for the felled trunk of the tree, and the remaining one was cut down during the Civil War. But the tree’s legend remained, since graftings and cuttings of the Original thorns were planted throughout the years and had survived, | In 1753, England adopted the Gregorian calendar and Christmas was moved back 11 days. On Dec. 25 crowds gather- ed to see the hawthorn bloom, but it did not, According to Gentleman’s magazine, it did, however, bloom on Jan. 5, which would have been the old Christmas day, and a comment was made about the foolishness of meddling with the calendar. The. conventional Christmas tree is a legend, not quite like the hawthorn, perhaps more of a tradition. The history behind the Christmas tree is quite short in comparison to that of the hawthorn or other Christmas greenery, but its importance to _ the holiday is widely spread in the west and even in the east where even some non-Christian countries like Japan practice the custom. The tree’s origins lie in Germany, ‘In the Middle Ages, German - peoples decorated fir trees with apples in order to represent the Feast of Adam and Eve and the fall season. Following the feast, Christmas, on the next day, saw a lighting of pyramid-shaped candelabra, and eventually this and cookies were added to the fir to create what would become. the Christmas tree. In America the Christmas tree was first recognized before it had spread through Europe. Legend has it that the Christmas tree was first developed by the Protestant reformer Martin Luther. Luther _ was said to have seen a beautiful scene consisting of snow-clad fir trees. He set a sapling with candles in his cottage in order to simulate the scene, and thus the Christmas tree was born. Alas, this legend is chronologically in- corréct. It occurred several ‘hhin- dred‘ years after ‘the tradition’ had already become popular. © The first known tree in America was among German settlers in Pennsylvania around 1746; this custom didn’t spread to France until the early 19th century and England in 1840. Unfortunately Christmas trees, with their holiday impor- tance, were a danger that caused tragedy in many families during their early popularity because of the fire hazard that the candles presented. Now electric lights have removed most of the danger, but part of the tradition is also lost. _ Various. nations make use of the tradition of the Christmas tree, but not all countries use the same type of tree. In Japan the bonsai tree is used. Municipal trees are now quite popular, but this portion of the tradition did not spread from Germany until 1909. In some communities, communal trees are very important. Canada, like other immigrant nations, is a melting pot of tradi- tion. The first known Canadian Christmas took place in 1535, * Gift | Certificates . * Sun Tanning 4551 Greig Avenue 635-4130 Terrace Review — Wednesday, December 23, “1987: 715 The holiday was not enjoyed by the.110 people who inhabited a small fortress on the banks of- the St. Croix (St, Charles) River, near where Quebec stands to- day. =>. The cold had penetrated all the weak points in the settlers’ winter defenses. Food. was ‘scarce, water could only be pro- vided through melting snow and the cold air couldn’t be kept out, of the buildings. Christmas. couldn’t be- en-. joyed with the threat of: star-. vation, scurvy and other i impen- ding dangers. - Later on, Christmas meals did not resemble the ones we. have become used to today. The owners of a land parcel (the Seignior and his lady) would sit. in chairs at the head of a table while the tenants, who worked | the land, sat on rough benches. Table ware consisted of a little silver (if any), birchbark squares | to and wooden bowls. Each person.’ had his own.knife, while bark spoons took the place of forks. The food was yet another variant of today; cornbread, kettles of eels, salmon and beans all boiled together and served in bowls. Also rich meats, soup thickened with crushed nuts and vegetables would be provided as the next course. And then venison, fruits and nuts were served, along with deep squirrel pie, roast birds, like blackbird and pigeon, and cakes as a sort of dessert. -Even the Indians had a special interest in Christmas, they were fascinated with the birth of Jesus. Many of them wanted to see the Christ child: Christian in-: fluence had reached various por- tions of the Iroquois Indian na- tions, including the Hurons and the Algonquins. Canadian pioneers celebrated the holiday with much vigor. Green decorations were spread all over, cranberries and winter greens were used to create a complementary look. Some homes would kill a goose, since turkeys were very Tare, and cook it for Christmas dinner;' plum pudding was a common dessert amongst some families. To many French Canadians, Christmas is.a sacred day, but others celebrate their holiday at New Years. Canada has many. traditions varying from people to people. Some consider Jan. 6.to be the Holy Day. Many different beliefs and traditions have made Christmas the most interesting of holidays. Different practices by Canada’s mix of ethnic peoples have developed and created several Holy days instead of one. Therefore, Dec. 25, Jan. 6 and. Jan, 7 are all considered Holy days’ by . ‘different sects in Canada. Santa Claus is another variant of Christmas tradition, but his reindeer haven’t always béen part of the picture, nor has -he always made his way in through the chimney. Actually, - this Christmas character. was not known to have eight reindeer un- til just a little over 100 years ago when “Twas the Night Before Christmas’? was written by Dr. Clement Clarke. The Dutch prefer the previous idea of Santa Claus and Sleipner, the eight-legged horse. The Dutch celebrate St.. ‘Nicholas Eve on Dec, 6 when the horse is said to make his rounds leaving gifts for young children who put grain in their shoes for Sleipner. Mennonites celebrate four wecks of Christmas from Dec. 6 Jan. 6, They begin with St. Nicholas Eve, when the Saitit ‘appears inquiring about the chil- dren’s behavior during the year, and he leaves candy and nuts for the children. On Christmas Eve, plates are left outdoors and in the morning fruit is found on them, Legends of Santa Claus have been passed on over the years, changing all the time. His other names include St. Nicholas (for . whom he has been named) and ~ Father Christmas (Le Pere Noel in French), St. Nicholas, in Jegend, was born in Lycia in’ Asia Minor . where he studied in monasteries until he made a pilgrimage to Egypt and Palestine. When he returned,.”. ‘he . was... appointed Bishop of Myra. 9 The Saint was imprisoned for preaching Christianity by Diocletian, Emperor of Rome, and didn’t return to his work un- til he was set free by Constan- tine. St. Nicholas died during the Fourth Century. He was buried in Myra; but his bones were moved in 1087 to the Shrine of San Nicola in Bari, Italy. ~~ Many legends follow the life of St, Nicholas. It was said that he gave an inheritance to the poor secretly. He was said to . have visited a poor nobleman’s home, leaving purses of gold for — each of his three daughters. The purses are today symbolized by three golden balls which are hung in front of every Jewish pawn shop. But the most popular tale of St. Nicholas comes from young boys and girls who find presents under the tree on Christmas morning, who keep insisting that Santa is the only one who could have put them there. Merry Christmas?! . : 12/2, 12/16, 12/30 COSTOMIZE your MORTGAGE . INSURANCE * *ie: a couple aged 36 On either Life: WE PAY $50,000 On disablility: WE PAY $500./mos.. They Pay: $19.38 /mos. | *Certain conditions apply: please obtain a quote. Frank “fa whe Skeena Mall Terrace 695-2387 ° . .