December 2003: Whence Christmas
Our editor, Jane Cady, likes the columns to match the holidays. Last time we did Halloween, this time it has to be Christmas. There are probably more traditions involving Christmas than any other holiday. Christmas customs are a blend of many things from many different times and places.
The name Christmas comes from Christ’s Mass and dates from the very beginnings of Christianity when it came very logically from the celebration of Christ’s birth. The first official celebration was held in Rome in 336 AD. This was also when December 25 was selected as the date. The actual date is not known. Logically, it must have been in the spring, to account for the fact the shepherds were out with the flocks, which only occurred in the spring when the lambs were born. The end of December was a big holiday in Rome. It was called the Saturnalia and celebrated the new year. It had nothing to do with religion. It was a wild and raucus holiday and the early Christians deliberately set the date of Christmas so it did not coincide with Saturnalia.
Different countries have different Christmas customs. In Sweden, where my family came from they celebrated the 12 days of Christmas, as in most European countries. It started on Christmas Eve and lasted until January 5. Actually, January 6 was also a holiday. In Sweden it was “Tretenadagen” (13th day). It was in honor of the Magi who gave gifts to the Christ child, and the day presents were given. In the poor families like mine, it usually was an orange. There was no Santa Claus but not to worry, there was a Jul Tompten. It must be understood that every house or farm had a little troll called a tompten. Trolls were often evil but the tompten was good. He watched over the house and the farm animals and kept harm from them. Nobody ever saw the tompten (an exception were the children who sometimes saw him) but everybody knew he was there. At Christmas time he would be visited by the Jul Tompten who made the rounds and would confer with the house tompten about the children’s behavior. If the report was good, the presents were given. The tompten was hundreds of years old and extremely wise. He would speak to animals and sometimes children in tompten language, described as a quiet little language that children and animals could understand.
A Swedish custom was that groups of young people would go around the neighborhood and sing carols. At the conclusion of the caroling it was expected that the carolers would get a treat. Often cookies or other pastry but sometimes they would be invited in for a full scale supper. If you’ve never seen a traditional Swedish supper you wouldn’t believe the quantities of food. Washed down with coffee and sometimes a traditional drink called glog. Among the carolers there was often one dressed up in a weird outfit with horns on his head. This was the Julbok (Christmas goat) and he was inclined to play tricks on the host and even the other carolers. This came from ancient times when there would be a parade with one figure dressed as Jesus representing good and another dressed as the devil representing evil. Over the years the devil turned into the Julbok and became a figure of mischief rather than evil. If you’d like to see a Julbok and even a tompten go to Bishop Hill for one of the many Christmas festivals. I’ve even got a picture of them.
My family did not follow many of the old Swedish customs but when I was very young they would have a Jul Aften (Christmas Eve) party at the Holmbecks, long time friends of the family. All the Swedes would gather there and have all the old Swedish food; herring, boiled and pickled, eel, and the infamous lute fisk. I would not touch any of them, but it didn’t matter because they would have quantities of other, more palatable food. I don’t think I’ve ever seen more food at a party. A smorgosbord was a sight to behold, and to eat. My father told me American’s spelled smorgosbord wrong. It should be smorgosbrod-smor (butter), gos (goose), brod (bread).
The custom of Christmas trees also came from northern Europe where evergreen trees abounded. Evergreens were considered magical because they didn’t lose their foliage in the winter. Even the Roman’s decorated their homes with evergreen boughs during Saturnalia. The first indoor trees were decorated but not lighted. Credit for the first lighted trees is given to Martin Luther who supposedly walked through the woods on a clear winter’s night and saw the stars through the branches. He went home and put candles on the Christmas tree.
Today, for better or worse, Christmas has assumed great commercial importance. A time to make money. This is a relatively recent attitude. In 1867 the New York store Macys’ remained open until midnight on Christmas Eve to encourage shopping. 1874 saw the first window display, also by Macys’. All this has evolved into the frantic Christmas rush which starts in August.
One more custom, which I find interesting. This concerns the use of holly. By tradition Christ’s crown of thorns was holly. The bright red berries symbolized Christ’s blood. An English legend has it that the robin got his red breast in its efforts to relieve Jesus’ suffering by removing thorns. The wreaths we hang on our doors at Christmas were originally made from holly and represented the crown of thorns.
We celebrate Christmas as a composit of numerous items, some from antiquity, others recent. In our time the commercialism has almost engulfed the holiday. For many today it is no longer a custom to be enjoyed but rather a custom to be endured.