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According to Marguerite Ickis’ article in the Encyclopedia Americana, Christmas is a Christian festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. All Christian churches, except the Armenian Church, celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th. Armenians follow the old Eastern custom of observing Jesus’ birth on January 6th. January 6th, for Christians in the West, commemorates the visit of the Magi. Christmas is both a holy day and a holiday, because Jesus’ birth brought a new spirit of joy and hope to the people of the world. Through the years, customs from all around the world have been added to Christmas celebrations.
The custom of burning the yule Log probably was adapted to English custom from the ancient Scandanavian practice of burning huge bonfires during the winter solstice. They believed that by burning the yule log, their home would be safe from fire and lightning. Lighting the new yule log was a grave undertaking, for the new log had to catch fire with the first attempt at lighting it; if not, this was a sign of misfortune coming to the family. Once it was lit, it had to burn for 12 hours. While it was being tended to, no one could eat at the table. A much more popular yule log is made of sponge cake and rolled and frosted in chocolate and, in France, is served as part of the Christmas Eve meal.
Mistletoe was used by Druid priests 200 years before the birth of Christ in their winter celebrations. They revered the plant since it had no roots, yet remained green during the cold months of winter. The ancient Celtics believed mistletoe had magical healing powers and used it as an antidote for poison, infertility, and even to ward off evil spirits. The plant was also seen as a symbol of peace, and it is said that among Romans, enemies who met under mistletoe would lay down their weapons and embrace. Scandanavians associated this plant with Frigga, their goddess of love, and so the custom of kissing under the mistletoe may have originated from the Scandanavians. Those who kissed under the mistletoe had the promise of happiness and good luck in the following year.
Holly was worshipped as a promise of the sun’s return and boughs of holly were often placed over the doors of homes to drive evil away. Some say Christ’s crown of thorns was made of holly. Legend says that at one time holly berries were white, but when the crown of “thorns” was pressed into Christ’s head, His blood turned the berries red. The Christmas wreath may have also originated from this legend.
Long before modern Christmas celebrations, Celtic and Teutonic tribes used evergreens as symbols of eternal life, probably because the green color of the noble evergreen tree remains green all year round, and later the evergreen tree became a symbol of the everlasting hope of mankind. Many believe that Martin Luther began the Christmas tree custom in Germany. It is said that seeing an evergreen tree on Christmas Eve, with shining stars above, he was so impressed by this beautiful sight that he put a tree in his home and decorated it with lighted candles. “The Christmas tree is an ancient custom that exalts the value of life, because the evergreen tree remains unchanged through the harshness of winter. When gifts are arranged under the tree, it becomes a symbol of the tree of life, a figure of Christ, God’s greatest gift to all men,” said Pope John Paul II during his angelus audience Dec. 19, 2004.
Europeans began using Christmas trees that had special decorations. Food items, such as candies, cookies and apples, were used, and straight white candy sticks were one of the confections used as a decoration. Legend has it that later, during the 17th century, the white sticks of candy were made in the shape of shepherds' crooks at the suggestion of the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany. According to the National Confectioner's Association, in 1847, German immigrant August Imgard, used the candy cane to decorate a Christmas tree in Wooster, Ohio. More than 50 years later, Bob McCormack of Albany, Georgia supposedly made candy canes as treats for family, friends and local shopkeepers. McCormack's brother-in-law, Catholic priest Gregory Keller, invented a machine in the 1950s that automated the production of candy canes, making it much easier to produce the red and white treats. The candy cane’s flavor of peppermint is similar to hyssop, the Middle Eastern mint mentioned in the Bible. Some say that the candy cane's colors symbolize Christ's purity and the blood He shed. While factual evidence for these notions does not exist, they have become common beliefs. Still today, the candy cane remains a favorite holiday treat and decoration.
13th Century Italy is considered the birthplace of the Christmas carol. St. Francis of Assisi led songs of praise to the baby Jesus, and perhaps this was the beginning of the custom of singing Christmas carols. St. Francis is also credited with introducing the Nativity scene.
The image of Santa Claus comes from St. Nicholas, a 4th century Christian bishop of Asia Minor, now known as modern day Turkey. St. Nicholas was noted for his good works of Christian charity. According to legend, a kindly nobleman grew despondent over the death of his beloved wife and foolishly squandered his fortune. This left his three young daughters without dowries and thus facing a life of spinsterhood. The generous St. Nicholas, hearing of the girls' plight, came to their aid. Wishing to remain anonymous, he rode his white horse by the nobleman's house and flung three small pouches of gold coins down the chimney, and amazingly, they landed in the stockings the young women had hung by the fireplace to dry. This is perhaps why we hang stockings at Christmastime.
 
After the Reformation, European followers of St. Nicholas dwindled, but the legend was kept alive in Holland where the Dutch spelling of his name Sint Nikolaas was eventually transformed to Sinterklaas. Dutch children would leave their wooden shoes by the fireplace, and Sinterklaas would reward good children by placing treats in their shoes. Dutch colonists brought this tradition with them to America in the 17th century and in America, the Anglican name of Santa Claus emerged.
Other countries feature different gift-bearers for the Christmas or Advent season: La Befana in Italy; The Three Kings in Spain, Puerto Rico, and Mexico; Christkindl or the Christ Child, in Switzerland and Austria; Father Christmas in England; Pere Noël, Father Christmas or the Christ Child, in France. The figure of Santa Claus as a jolly, benevolent, plump man in a red suit described in Clement Moore's poem, “The Night Before Christmas”, remains with us today and is recognized by children and adults alike around the world.
A form of Christmas card began in England when young boys practiced their writing skills by penning Christmas greetings for their parents, but it is Sir Henry Cole who gets the credit for creating the first real Christmas card. In 1843, as the first director of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, Sir Henry found himself too busy to compose individual Christmas greetings for his friends. So, he commissioned artist John Calcott Horsley to do the illustrations for a card that had three panels: the two side panels depicted a good deed-clothing the naked and feeding the hungry. The center panel featured a party of adults and children, with plentiful food and drink. The card was inscribed with the message "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You." Printed cards became very popular in England, then in Germany. But it would be thirty more years before Americans took to the idea. In 1875, Boston lithographer Louis Prang, a native of Germany, began publishing cards.
Poinsettias, a native Mexican plant, were named after Joel R. Poinsett, U.S. ambassador to Mexico who brought the plant to America in 1828. Poinsettias were likely used by Mexican Franciscans in their 17th century Christmas celebrations. One legend has it that a young Mexican boy, on his way to visit the village Nativity scene, realized he had no gift for the Christ child. He gathered pretty green branches from alongside the road and brought them to the church. The other children made fun of him for his pitiful “gift”, but when the leaves were laid at the manger, a beautiful star-shaped flower miraculously appeared on each branch. The bright red petals, often mistaken for flowers, are actually the upper leaves of the plant.
Las Posadas (Spanish for "the inns") is a nine-day celebration with origins in Spain. It symbolizes the trials which Mary and Joseph went through before finding a place to stay where Jesus could be born. Typically, each family in a neighborhood schedules a night for the Posada to be held at their home, starting on the 16th of December and finishing on the 24th. Every home has a nativity scene and the hosts of the Posada are the innkeepers. The neighborhood children and adults are the pilgrims, who have to request lodging by going house to house, singing a traditional song about the pilgrims. All the pilgrims carry small lit candles in their hands, and four people carry small statues of Joseph leading a donkey, on which Mary is riding. The head of the procession will have a candle inside a paper lamp shade. At each house, the resident responds by refusing lodging (also in song), until the weary travelers reach the designated site for the party, where Mary and Joseph are finally recognized and allowed to enter. Once the "innkeepers" let them in, the group of guests come into the home and kneel around the Nativity scene to pray, usually, the Rosary. Latin American countries have continued to celebrate this holiday, with very few changes to the tradition. In some places, the final location may be a church instead of a home. Individuals may actually play the roles of Mary and Joseph with the expectant mother riding a real donkey, and with others, such as angels and shepherds being acquired along the way. Or, the pilgrims might carry images of the holy people. At the end of the long journey, there will be Christmas carols. Children will break open piñatas to obtain candy hidden inside, and there will be a feast. Marie Hall Ets wrote a wonderful story about this Hispanic Christmas celebration. Check your local library for a copy.
For several years, department store operators of the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward company had been purchasing and distributing children's coloring books as Christmas gifts for their customers. In 1939, to save money, Montgomery Ward asked one of their own employees to create a book for them to distribute. 34-year old copywriter Robert L. May, wrote the story of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer in 1939. May drew in part on the story "The Ugly Duckling" and in part from his own experiences as an often taunted, small, frail youth to create the story of the misfit reindeer. Though Rollo and Reginald were considered, May settled on Rudolph as his reindeer's name. Writing a series of rhyming couplets, May tested his story on his 4-year old daughter Barbara, who loved it! 2.4 million copies were handed out that year. Despite the wartime paper shortage, over 6 million copies had been distributed by 1946. Sadly, Robert Mays wife died around the time he was creating Rudolph, leaving Mays deeply in debt due to medical bills. However, he was able to persuade Sewell Avery, Montgomery Ward's corporate president, to turn the copyright over to him in January 1947, thus ensuring May's financial security. May's story "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was printed commercially in 1947 and in 1948 a nine-minute cartoon of the story was shown in theaters. When May's brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, wrote the lyrics and melody for the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", the Rudolph phenomenon was born. Turned down by many musical artists afraid to contend with the legend of Santa Claus, the song was finally recorded by Gene Autry in 1949 at the urging of Autry's wife. The song sold two million copies that year, going on to become one of the best-selling songs of all time, second only to Bing Crosby's "White Christmas". The 1964 television special about Rudolph, narrated by Burl Ives, remains a holiday favorite and Rudolph himself has become a much-loved Christmas icon.
The following sources were consulted for this article:
Encyclopedia Americana
All things Christmas.com
Wikipedia
Snopes.com
Ideafinder.com
Factmonster.com
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