With all the commercialization at Christmas time, forgetting the real reason for the season can be easy.
Many traditions have grown over the years that not only celebrate the birth of Jesus, but involve other activities, like gift-giving, visits from Saint Nicholas, tree-decorating and reading fictional stories like “The Night before Christmas” and “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer”.
Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer
The Montgomery Ward in Chicago was known for selling coloring books at Christmas time in 1939. To save money, the boss of the chain asked an employee to create a sellable book.
The book Robert May created was “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.” Nearly two and a half million copies were distributed, and seven years later, more than six million copies had been sold. Rudolph became a commercial icon in 1947, and in 1948 the cartoon was created.
May’s brother-in-law wrote the song, which sold more than two million copies in 1947. It became one of the best-selling songs of all time.
The real reason for the season
Since 400 A.D., Christians have celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, or the “Messiah”, on Dec. 25. The Christmas season is considered to be a time of giving, as the three wisemen brought gold, frankincense and myrrh as gifts to Jesus.
We have continued this tradition, though our gift giving is much more elaborate nowadays, leading to businesses working very hard at marketing their products during the shopping season.
Saint Nicholas
“Father Christmas,” or Santa Claus, was born in Turkey in the fourth century and was based on the Christian leader from Myra (modern day Turkey). The saint designation comes from the Dutch word “Sinterklaas.” The Dutch kept the legend of St. Nicholas alive; in 16th-century Holland, the Dutch placed wooden shoes out in hopes St. Nick would fill them with treats, like stockings are used now.
Santa’s long white beard, red coat, bag of toys and sleigh pulled by reindeer all came about after Clement C. Moore’s 1822 poem “The Night Before Christmas.”
The red and white cane of candy
Candy canes have become a hot commodity during the holiday season. The red- and white-striped sugar canes were first made in 1900. Although the story of their creation is fictional, a fable is often told with their distribution, telling us a candy maker created the treats to remind us of Jesus.
The white is supposed to remind us how pure Jesus was. The three small stripes are supposed to symbolize the pain Jesus suffered while on the cross, and the bold stripe represents Jesus’ blood shed during the crucifiction.
The cane looks like a shepherd’s staff, which reminds us that Jesus is the “shepherd of men.” If the candy cane is flipped over, it represents the letter J, the first letter of Jesus’ name.
Mistletoe and Holly
Two hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Druids, a Celtic group, used mistletoe to celebrate the coming of winter. The plant is commonly used to decorate homes and was once believed to have a healing power.
The Scandinavians thought mistletoe was a plant of peace and harmony, associated with the goddess of love, Frigga. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe was derived from this belief. Some early churches banned the use of mistletoe because of its pagan origins.
In Europe, holly was believed to have magical powers because it stays green, even in the winter. It was often placed above doors of homes to keep evil away.
The Christmas tree
The Christmas tree has become very popular in the decorations for Christmas. Commonly adorned with ornaments, tinsel and lights, a tree’s purpose is to exhibit how beautiful the season is.
In 1510, Martin Luther was walking in Latvia, a country on the Baltic Sea.
He was walking through a moonlit forest with fir trees, and because it was a wonderful sight, he cut one down to bring to his family for display.
This custom was brought to America in 1820.
Poinsettias
These common plants adorn homes and businesses around the country. Native to Mexico, these plants gained fame in the 18th century as a symbol of the star of Bethlehem.
Often people confuse the large, red leaves as the flower, which actually only consists of the small, yellow center.
Campus traditions
–“Right after Thanksgiving, (my family and I) go out to a Christmas tree farm, and we go through a long process to find the perfect Christmas tree,” senior Evan Wright said.
–“We go to Florida, and we have Christmas at my family home in Florida,” sophomore Beth Crandall said. “We have a Christmas palm tree.”
–“We eat chili every Christmas eve and hang out with everybody in the family,” freshman Zack Rockey said.
–“We always watch “(National Lampoon’s) Christmas Vacation” at some point over vacation,” senior Paul Foltz said. “On Christmas eve, we always read ‘The Night Before Christmas.'”
— “Santa still visits (my family), and we still get our stockings filled,” freshman Brent Bechard said.