Christmas is here
Traditional Christmas trees
Putting up Christmas trees is a common tradition all around the world today and are one of the most recognisable features of the festive Christmas season. They originate from early 16th century Germany where evergreen trees were decorated and put into houses for the first time. This tradition was later adopted by Britain when a photo of Queen Victoria and her husband prince Albert with a Christmas tree was put in a newspaper.
The milk and cookies
Leaving delicious milk and cookies for Santa has been a worldwide tradition which originated from America during the great depression in the early 1930s. This originated when parents would put out milk and cookies to teach children to show gratitude for the things that they have. This tradition is also based off the Dutch practice of leaving food for Saint Nicolas on his feast day and a Norse mythology where special offerings were left for the God Odin’s horses.
Stockings:
Now Christmas stockings are often just seen as a decoration that many put above their fireplace, however, it has not always been like this. The use of stockings comes from the story of St. Nicolas; the tale goes that St. Nicolas dropped three golden coins down the chimney of the home of three poor sisters and put them in stockings that hung above their fireplace. From this tale children began to put out their own stockings in the hope that St. Nicolas would bring them their own surprises and presents. Since then, putting out stockings on Christmas has become a tradition with children being given gifts in the morning inside their stockings on Christmas.
The Origins of Father Christmas:
Today, Father Christmas is a kind, plump, jolly old man who brings children presents on the night of Christmas Eve, however, his character is based on the real Saint Nicolas who lives in 270 AD. Saint Nicolas was a Greek bishop who became well known for his generosity to children the poor, specifically in gift giving. One Dutch tradition of ‘Sinterklass’ started as a day of feast and celebratory gift giving between families; it is celebrated on December 6th, which is Saint Nicolas’ feast day.
The Elves:
The cheeky elves we all know and love today were incredibly different in the original mythology. The elves came from a long time ago in ancient Germanic and Norse mythology. The elves were supernatural and mischievous creatures in the original myths, but the modern well-loved elves were developed in the 19th century through popular literature. The stories that helped shape the modern-day elves were Clement C Moore’s poem a visit from St. Nicolas (1823) which presented the elves as joy like helpers of Santa and an 1873 edition of the Godey’s Lady’s book with illustrations that depict elves in Santa’s workshop making toys.