Trivia about "Christmas" traditions before we jet out of here.

[tyresias]

I'll confess, I don't know the source of this stuff. So if anyone can provide any, that'd be great.

Christmas TriviaThe word "Christmas" comes from Old English - Cristes maesse or Mass of Christ.

Birth Date of Christ - The pivot point of history, every event and year before Jesus' birth counts down to it, and every event and year after his birth counts up from it. The Gregorian calendar we use is known to be inaccurate by 4-6 years. In the 6th century (around 533AD), the monk Dionysius Exigous (means Dennis the short) was commissioned by Pope John I to set divisions. Dennis studied the records and set the divisions (BC, Before Christ & AD, Anno Domini, "the year of the Lord"), to the calendar and apparently missed the birth of Christ by a few years. To this date no one knows how he came up with this date as the year Jesus was born. {He also forgot to put in a "0" year, so it jumps from 1BC to 1AD, this makes new centuries begin on the second year, the 21st century begins on midnight of Dec. 31st, 2000, not 1999.}
Because we know according to Roman records that there was an eclipse near the time of Herod the Great's death and modern astronomy can account for one in 4BC, and we know Herod was still living at the time of his birth. According to this and Luke's account of the census, we can now fairly accurately place the birth of Christ somewhere around 7 to 6BC. But there's currently no way to place the month or day.

Cards - Began with school children drawing pictures of biblical scenes and a message like Happy Holidays and I promise to be good, etc., and giving to their parents before Christmas. In 1846 after the advent of the British postal system, the first Christmas Card was produced, showing a family celebrating a Christmas dinner in center and on each side were acts of charity picturing feeding and clothing the poor, with the message "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.", by John Calcott Horsley, 1000 were made.

Gift Giving

- In the Dec. 17th Roman festival of Saturnalia and Jan. 1st Roman New Year holidays, gifts were given as good luck emblems and houses were decorated with greenery. The early Christians frowned on this pagan ritual, and wouldn't have any part of it. For years though, many of the converts wouldn't part with the practice of giving gifts and related it to the Magi’s giving of gifts and later to St. Nicholas’s gift giving. Gift giving became widely accepted by the middle ages.
The most popular gift requests of boys & girls are of toys, but in the 19th and early 20th century it was fruit, nuts and candy and for many of the early letters to Santa printed in newspapers would include this.

Santa Claus, St. Nicholas

By the early 1900’s Santa Claus had become a favorite in Christmas cards and advertising and in 1927 the New York Times described him in detail; the pack full of toys, dressed in red, with white whiskers, ruddy cheeks and nose, and of course jolly. In 1931 Haddon Sundblom an illustrator for Coca-Cola created at least one Santa Claus advertisement every year. The widespread popularity of the Coca-Cola advertising firmly planted the image we now have of Santa Claus

Christmas TreeLights - The lighting of candles and decorating with candles has always been popular, but also one of biggest sources of danger during the Christmas holidays. In 1895 a New England Telephone employee, Ralph Morris, while looking at the newly installed string of lights made for the telephone switchboard decided to take some home to decorate his tree with.

Christmas Trees - No one knows for sure when the first use of Christmas tree started, but an early legend has it that an early Christian missionary St. Boniface who attempting to win over the pagan Germans on Christmas Eve, came upon a human sacrifice taking place under a sacred oak tree. Boniface took an ax and with one blow toppled the tree and at foot was a tiny evergreen, pointing at the tiny fir he explained Christ was like this tree, bringer of life and evergreen. This started a revival among the German pagans.

 

Santa Clause – (Historically St. Nicholas.) A real man born in AD280 in Asia Minor, became bishop of Myna, (now Demre, Turkey). It’s not sure that what all we know about him is 100% accurate and true. It’s said he was born in a wealthy family and upon inheriting his father’s fortune he gave it all away to the poor. It’s been claimed that he was present at the 1st Council of Nicaea AD325. Was imprisoned by Emperor Diocletian for being a Christian. And later released by Emperor Constantine and died in AD343, with Dec. 6th being the date observed for his death. He was noted for his begging money for the needy and also disguising himself from being recognized, (since he was a very popular Bishop of the church), then going around villages and giving to the poor children. Many stories and legends have sprung up about him. Since after his death it has always been quite popular to dress like him and give out gifts to children at Christmas time. More European churches are named after him than any other patron saint.

The Dutch pronounce St. Nicholas as Sinter Klaas our Santa Claus. Until the 1800's the most common description of him would have him looking like the Pope. In 1809 Washington Irving wrote "A History of New York, by one Diedrich Knickerbocker" in which he made fun of the Dutch traditions. In it he included St. Nicholas and added a revision in 1812 of Nicholas "riding over the tops of the trees, in that selfsame wagon wherein he brings his yearly presents to children.". In 1821, "Santeclaus" a poem by William Gilley described him dressed in fur and driving a sleigh pulled by one reindeer. In 1822 or 1823 Clement Moore wrote a poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" having him flying though the air with a sleigh and 8 reindeer. (Note it's disputed whether Clement Moore actually wrote "A Visit from St. Nicholas", many credit it to Dutch immigrant Henry Livingston for various reasons. No one ever claimed credit for until 1844, when Clement Moore included it in his book.) In 1866 Thomas Nast gave him the appearance we know now in a Harper's Weekly.