I totally understand why we say happy holidays .... there are so many things being celebrated in the month of December. I can't expect everyone to celebrate the same as me. I can respect that, but I too want the freedom to be able to say Merry Christmas. I have to say though, I'm curious about other cultures. I researched a bit about Hanukkah because I admit that most of what I knew about it came from that one episode of Friends where Ross explains it to Ben. "I understand why superman is here, but why is there a porcupine at the Easter bunnies funeral?" and for you Nan, "But I didn't get to shake my belly like a bowl full of jelly." Anyways, Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of the oil burning in the temple for 8 days instead of 1 when the Temple was attacked.
Now Christmas ... It's pretty simple since the word is right in it .... I love this line from 7th Heaven, "It's, Christmas. I was thinking about ... well, Christ." Seems simple. I think we all know the story of Christ's birth in a manger. I suppose if we're going to celebrate this holiday we should know what it's about. Here is the part that got me thinking ... what about all the traditions we do in celebration of this holiday? Do I even know why we do certain things?
A few years ago I got to thinking about Santa Claus. JJ was at that age and we had to decide, Santa: the way Satan spells his name when he wants to trick us or harmless, jolly guy in a suit? Well, we researched. St. Nicholas dates back to the 4th century. He was a Christian who was known for giving gifts to the poor. In the 16-17th century the gift bringer was changed to Christ Child (called Kris Kringle in English). I know things have been altered over time, but what a wonderful opportunity to teach our children about giving. Part of the spirit of Christmas and being a Christian is looking outside ourselves and giving to others. However, we decided we would never lie to our kids if they ask straight out if Santa goes down the chimney. I believe we are raising smart enough kids that as they get older they will understand the difference between the magic of Christmas and the spirit of Christmas. Most kids figure it out on their own before the age of 8.
What else do we do? A Christmas tree is very important to me. Warm fuzzy feelings from my childhood. In the 15th century the tree was brought out the last night before the holidays for men to dance around with maidens and women. Not exactly what I would call a warm fuzzy tradition. Later that century, nuts and fruit were put on it for the children to collect on Christmas day. Getting a little closer to what we use it for today. By the 18th and 19th Century it had become a Protestant tradition and in 1781 it was brought to Canada by Brunswick soldiers and was used in a more popular way as it is used today. Today, that star on top represents the star of Bethlehem and the Angel represents the host of angels in the nativity. Not sure how I feel about the early origins, but I will still probably put up a tree and focus on the family time spent together and the nativity part.
I also love putting up the Christmas stockings. There is no historical proof of where this origin came from. It's said that St. Nicholas wanted to secretly help some young ladies so he put a bag of gold in their stockings that were hanging to dry. There is no proof of that, but it became a tradition with the children. Of course they put their regular socks out. Some say that Christians adopted it from Odin who would leave candy and gifts for Children who left carrots and sugar in their boots for his flying horse Sleipnir. I don't know. I wasn't there.
I have learned a few things. Everything comes from somewhere and you have to decide why you do something and what your motives are. Personally, my favorite way to celebrate Christmas will always be the carols, the lights and the time spent with family and friends. Wow, I'm sounding old. That's something my Dad would have said. In all truthfulness, I think it's wonderful to celebrate the holidays and enjoy your traditions because none of it would mean anything if your heart wasn't filled with hope. Those things are fun because we have hope and joy. Otherwise, these things are meaningless.
Enjoy preparing for the season.
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