CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS by Harvey Day Many Christmas customs and beliefs have pagan origins and the 'X' in Xmas is the Greek for the letters CH in the English language and does not represent the cross. The ancient Britons followed the Druid faith and among their customs was that of hanging up the mistletoe which grew on the oak, a tree regarded with the utmost veneration. A priest wearing white robes cut the mistletoe with a knife of pure gold, caught the sprigs in the folds of his robe and distributed them to onlookers. The mistletoe was a symbol of fertility and kissing under the mistletoe was a symbolic act. When Pope Gregory sent a mission under Augustine to England at the close of the 6th century the missionaries found little difference between the rites of pagan Anglo-Saxons and English Christians. Conversion did not take place peaceably, however, and it was only after the massacre of English monks at Bangor that peace was established by the Synod of Whitby in AD 664 and the English Church accepted Roman usage. The Roman Saturnalia, named after the tribal god Saturnus, was a festival which started on December 17th and continued into the New Year. That day known as Dies So/is Invicti/Vat/(Day of the birth of the Unconquered Sun) fell on December 25th, It was also the great feast day of the Mithraic religion so the Church decided to fuse these two into an official day on which to commemorate the birth of Christ. It must not be forgotten that all the Apostles and early disciples were Jews and as one of the principal Jewish festivals, the Dedication of the Temple, falls on 25 Kislev (December 20th-21st) the 25th was a convenient day for all. Most Christmas customs have little connection with Christianity and are the result of superstition. One belief still prevalent in parts of Ireland is that Judas Iscariot visits the earth on Christmas Eve and anyone who looks into a mirror that evening will see either Judas or the Devil behind his reflection. The Irish also believe that the Holy Child wanders after dark on Christmas Eve so candles are lit and placed in windows to guide him. Another belief which persisted until recently held that those born on Christmas Day possess abnormal intelligence, the power of healing by the laying-on of hands, and second sight. It so happens that Samuel (Self-Help) Smiles, Dorothy Wordsworth and Sir Isaac Newton came into the world on December 25th. Some Christmas customs are associated with the weather and, according to an old couplet, a Full Moon is unlucky: 'Light Christmas, light wheatsheaf; Dark Christmas, heavy wheatsheaf.' If Christmas is windy and Candlemas calm, the omens for the coming year's weather are good; but rain during the 12 days after Christmas means a wet year. It is said that if your fire burns brightly on Christmas Day it is a sure sign of prosperity; if it refuses to light the householder will suffer setbacks in the year to come. 'Wear something new for luck and wear no garment with a hole or tear in it, otherwise you will lose money.' Even today people try to wear new clothes on Christmas Day. Incidentally, do not burn or destroy a single leaf of holly before Twelfth Night, otherwise trouble will dog you throughout the year. In Norse 'Yule' meant feasting and revelry, so the month of December was called aerre-geola (ere yule). When Roman and Christian customs merged a cloth was spread on the table, the seats wiped clean with a towel, a jug of ale was set out, a bath prepared for Christ and his angels, and a fire lit with a huge log on top. The Yule log--regarded as a symbol of sunshine and its influence in the coming year--must be set alight with last year's torch, symbolizing perpetual fire, though this is not possible in all-gas and all-electric homes. Herrick wrote: 'With last year's Brand light the new block.' Now that Christmas is fast approaching and the year has once more come full circle, most of us will soon be busy adorning the house with brightly colored decorations, a Christmas tree and all the other paraphernalia that goes to create a festive atmosphere. Holly and mistletoe will almost certainly be included in our decorations as evergreens have been used in the winter festivities from very ancient times and definitely long before Christianity appeared on the scene. What Christians celebrate as the birthday of Christ is really something that was superimposed on to a much earlier pagan festival- -that which celebrated the Winter Solstice or the time when the Sun reaches its lowest point south and is reborn at the beginning of a new cycle of seasons. In Northern Europe and Scandinavia it was noted by the early Christian scholar, Bede, that the heathens began the year on OUR EVERGREEN December 25th which they called Mother's Night in honour of the great Earth Mother. Their celebrations were held in order to ensure fertility and abundance during the coming year, and these included much feasting, burning of lamps, lighting of great fires (the Yule fires) and exchanges of gifts. The Romans, too, held their great celebrations --Saturnalia-- from December 17th to 25th and it was the latter date which they honored as the birthday of the Uncon-quered Sun. The Saturnalia was characterized by much merry-making, sometimes going to riotous extremes, with masters and slaves temporarily exchanging roles. The use of evergreens to decorate the streets and houses was also very much in evidence at this great winter festival. That we now celebrate the birth of Christ at the same time is largely due to the early Church Fathers who found it was much easier to win converts to the faith by making Christ's birthday coincide with an already long established pagan festival. In fact, it wasn't until the 4th century that Pope Julius I finally established the 25th as the official birthday of Christ; earlier Christians differed widely as to this date-- some choosing September 29th, while others held that January 6th or March 29th were the correct dates. As we have seen, the pagan element in Christmas lives on in the festival at the Winter Solstice. But these elements are also very much alive in our use of ever- greens as decorations at this time of year. Like most evergreens, the holly and mistletoe have long been held to symbolize eternal life, regeneration and rebirth. Holly, with its bright red berries and dark spiky foliage, has been revered from ancient times as a symbol of life everlasting. It was associated with strength and masculinity and was considered useful in the treatment of various ailments which were seen to lower the vital spirits. In old England, a decoction of holly leaves was considered a cure for worms; but most of all this prickly evergreen was looked upon as a luck bringer - particularly in rural areas where a bunch of holly hung in the cow shed or stable was thought to favor the animals if placed there on Christmas Eve. Many people used to take a piece of holly from the church decorations at Christmas as a charm against bad luck in the coming year. Holly was also considered a very protective tree which, if planted outside the house, was believed to avert lightning, fire and the evil spells of witches. An old holly spell describes how to know one's future spouse. At midnight on a Friday, nine holly leaves must be plucked and tied with nine knots in a three- cornered cloth. This is then placed under the Christmas pillow and, provided silence is observed from the time of plucking until dawn the next day, your future spouse will come to you in your dreams. In certain areas of Wales, it was thought extremely unlucky to bring holly into the house before December 24th and if you did so there would be family quarrels and domestic upheavals. You would also be inviting disaster if you burned green holly or squashed the red berries. Turning now to mistletoe, it seems that this is by far the most mystical of the plants associated with Christmas and has, from very ancient times, been treated as magical or sacred. It is often included in modern Christmas decorations simply for the fun of kissing beneath it and, though this seems to be a peculiarly English custom, it probably harks back to the mistletoe's association with fertility. The real reason why mistletoe is now associated with Christmas is very much a carry-over from ancient practices, when it was considered as somehow belonging to the gods. The Roman historian, Pliny, gives an early account of how the Druids would hold a very solemn ceremony at the Winter Solstice when the mistletoe had to be gathered, for the Druids looked upon this unusual plant, which has no roots in the earth, as being of divine origin or produced by lightning. Mistletoe which grew on the oak was considered especially potent in magical virtues, for it was the oak that the Druids held as sacred to the gods. At the Winter Solstice, the Druids would lead a procession into the forest and, on finding the sacred plant growing on an oak, the chief priest, dressed all in white, would climb the tree and cut the mistletoe with a knife or sickle made of gold. The mistletoe was not allowed to touch the ground and was therefore caught in a white linen cloth. On securing the sacred mistletoe, the Druids would then carry it to their temple where it would be laid beneath the altar stone for three days. Early on the fourth day, which would correspond to our Christmas Day, it was taken out, chopped into pieces and handed out among the worshippers. The berries were used by the priests to heal various diseases. Mistletoe was considered something of a universal panacea, as can be gleaned from the ancient Celtic word for it--uile, which literally translated means 'all-healer'. A widespread belief was that mistletoe could cure anything from headaches to epilepsy; and indeed modern research has shown that the drug guipsine which is used in the treatment of nervous illnesses and high blood pressure is contained in mistletoe. Until quite recently the rural folk of Sweden and Switzerland believed that the mistletoe could only be picked at certain times and in a special way if its full potency as healer and protector was to be secured. The Sun must be in Sagittarius (close to the Winter Solstice) and the Moon must be on the wane and, following ancient practices, the mistletoe must not be just picked but shot or knocked down and caught before reaching the ground. Not only was mistletoe looked upon as a healer of all ills, but if hung around the house was believed to protect the home against fire and other hazards. As the mistletoe was supposed to have been produced by lightning, it had the power to protect the home against thunder bolts by a kind of sympathetic magic. Of great importance, however, was the power of mistletoe to protect against witchcraft and sorcery. This is evident in an old superstition which holds that a sprig of mistletoe placed beneath the pillow will avert nightmares (once considered to be the product of evil demons). In the north of England, it used to be the practice of farmers to give mistletoe to the first cow that calved after New Year's Day. This was believed to ensure health to the stock and a good milk yield throughout the year. Underlying this old belief is the fear of witches or mischievous fairy folk who could play havoc with dairy produce, so here mistletoe was used as a counter magic against such evil influences. In Sweden, too, a bunch of this magical plant hung from the living room ceiling or in the stable or cow-shed was thought to render trolls powerless to work mischief. With such a tremendous array of myth, magic and folklore associated with it, reaching far back into the pagan past, it is understandable that even today this favorite Christmas plant is forbidden in many churches. Yet even the holly and the ivy, much celebrated in a popular carol of that title, were once revered as sacred and magical by our pre-Christian ancestors. In view of what has been said, one could speculate that even if Christianity had never emerged it is more than likely that we would still be getting ready for the late-December festivities, putting up decorations, including holly and mistletoe, in order to celebrate the rebirth of the Sun, the great giver and sustainer of all earthly life. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SANTA by Tane Jackson Christmas has two distinct themes running through it, as study of any collection of Christmas cards shows. One is the religious aspect, involving Wise Men, angels, the Star and shepherds, and refers to the Gospel story of the birth of Christ. The other theme seems totally unrelated and depicts reindeer, stockings, a sleigh and, of course, Santa Claus. The two main Christmas person-amities are Jesus and Santa, as most people will agree. Everyone brought up in a Christian country knows the significance of Jesus at this time but just who is Father Christmas and why should he become part of a religious festival? We must first look back at history and see why December became such an important month in the religious calendar in the first place. The reason is, of course, the Winter Solstice, December 21st, when the Sun appears to stop in the sky prior to beginning its journey back across the heavens. After the Solstice the days gradually get longer and the peoples of old considered this to be almost the birthday of the Sun. The peoples of the northern hemisphere were fond of having a festival in mid-winter, perhaps because they needed something to take their minds off the long, cold, dark days. In ancient Rome the feast of Saturnalia was held between December 17th and 23rd and gifts were exchanged. The Romans also held the feast of Brumalia on the Solstice day itself and considered this to be the birthday of Mithra the uncon- quered Sun god. The Norsemen celebrated Yule at this time, to herald the return of the Sun. It is interesting to note that Christ is often known as the Light of the World, a title that continues this theme of darkness in retreat in the face of good. The Solstice has long been associated with the idea of people giving each other presents. Apart from giving gifts at Saturnalia the Romans also exchanged presents on the feast of the Kalends, which we call New Year's Day. These customs prevailed all over the Roman Empire when Christianity was still a new religion. When Christianity spread to the northern lands they found the Norsemen worshipping Odin-- who rode his chariot through the night sky at the time of the Winter Solstice, handing out gifts. Because the exchange of gifts was so linked in the pagan mind with these old festivals devout Christians were not supposed to exchange gifts at this time. However, gift-exchange never died out on the European scene and finally the Church fathers had to do something about it. They did not want to let people keep on believing that Odin or any other pagan deity had anything to do with gift-bringing so they looked around for an acceptable Christian figure to bring them instead. The person they chose was St. Nicholas, the former Bishop of Myra in the 4th century AD. Not much is actually known about St. Nicholas, though many legends grew up around his kindly figure. One thing that qualified him for the role of gift- bringer was his feast day being December 6th, a date sufficiently close to the Solstice for the two to be connected in the mass mind. St. Nicholas was a useful saint and could even be described as all-purpose. His responsibilities included the welfare of pawnbrokers, boatmen, parish clerks, dockers and barrel-makers among others. He was the patron saint of both Russia and Aberdeen. The best-known story about him tells of his leaving three bags of gold on a poor man's windowsill as dowries for his three daughters. One version of this tale states that the gold was thrown through the window and landed in a stocking that had been hung up to dry, which perhaps explains our custom of the Christmas stocking. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST by Eric Maple Every December 25th the normally phlegmatic British let down their hair and plunge into an orgy of fun which one would normally associate with the people of more exuberant nations. Complete strangers wish one another a Happy Christmas as a parting greeting and the public houses are filled with revelers strenuously keeping up the spirit of the season of goodwill. Few of these light-hearted souls will be aware that the celebration of Christmas had its origins in the pagan worship of the Sun or, for that matter, that the funny hats, the evergreens and the festive board have nothing whatsoever to do with Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, but rather with the older gods worshipped by our ancestors in the twilight world of pre-Christmas Europe. It is strange to consider that the presence of pork on the Christmas table and the custom of carrying in the boar's head was once associated with the sacrifice of a sacred Boar to the Sun god. At the festival of Frey, the dispenser of rain and sunshine in the mythology of Northern Europe, a boar was a good luck offering for the New Year and its head, with an apple in its mouth, was borne into the banqueting-hall amid singing and the sound of welcoming trumpets. Later in history, the boar's head gave way to the goose and the turkey. But where this custom survives, it should be seen as one of the many curious ghosts of Christmas past. Evergreens and mistletoe Consider the evergreens and their modern counterparts: the paper-chains which festoon the house at Christmastide. The evergreen was once the symbol of immortality, declared sacred to the Teutonic nations, and given pride of place in celebrations associated with the Winter Solstice from which our modern Christmas is descended. As a symbol, the evergreen means constancy and eternity, and even in the Orient we find that it expresses a similar idea, for the Japanese believe the ever- green needle brings longevity and prosperity. The holly, especially, brings happiness and friendship, but if kept in the house after New Year's Day misfortune is ordained. Generally speaking, however, all evergreens must be taken down by Twelfth Night-- then all will be well. When we look around the room that has been decked with the regalia of the Christ-mas party our eyes inevitably settle on one of the focal points, the mistletoe. In pagan times, it was customary to celebrate the death of the old year and the birth of the new by kissing under the mistletoe's berries. Old enemies were then expected to forget their quarrels and take a ceremonial kiss, promising to live in amity from that time forth. It is not generally known that the mistletoe became a powerful life symbol because it grew berries in winter when other plant life seemed dead. Once known as All Heal, it was employed as an ingredient in many folk medicines. It was the golden bough of the ancient Druids and, because of its association with sacrificial ceremonies, was outlawed by the Church as an emblem of paganism. Oddly enough, the sole exception was York Minster where a sprig of mistletoe was placed on the altar each Christmas. A general pardon for crimes remained in force throughout that city for as long as it remained there. The central symbol of the Christmas scene, the evergreen Christmas tree, had its origins in Germany where St. Boniface cut down a sacred oak which was worship- ped by the pagans and, to placate them, offered a fir tree in its place. However, later research indicates that traces of a similar custom existed in other lands, notably Greece and Rome, where trees were decorated at the time of year later dedicated to Christmas. There is also reason for believing that the same or a similar custom was known in ancient Egypt. The mystical heritage of Christmas is very strongly represented in one of the principal characters in the celebrations, Santa Claus, the embodiment of the spirit of goodwill. The name Santa Claus is in fact a corruption of the fifth- century St. Nicholas, the Bishop of My~a, who was honored with special ceremonies by the Greeks and Romans on December 6th, later changed to December 25th. This distinctly un-ghostlike genus of happiness was a 'reincarnation' of Odin, God of the Scandinavians who, on the conversion of Northern Europe to Christianity, was transformed first into St. Nicholas and later into the modern Father Christmas. Important religious feast: Christmas has no equal as a religious feast; it is the most important as well as the most enjoyable festival of the entire year. Yet even the good things spread out on the table have their religious aspects, particularly the mince-pies which were originally fashioned in the shape of small cribs in honour of the Christ Child. Among the superstitions associated with mince-pies is one which demands that the Christmas reveler makes a pilgrimage among his neighbors and friends demanding the gift of a mince-pie wherever he calls. For each one eaten, so goes the tradition, the visitor may expect a month's good health for the ensuing year. Originally, mince-pies contained a far more potent filling than mere mincemeat. They were stuffed with flesh of game hashed together with pickled mushrooms. One should always make a wish when taking the first bite of the first mince-pie of the season. The Christmas pudding qualifies as a magical ritual in its own right, for it is surrounded by the most curious ceremonies. Prior to the 18th century the pudding was known as Plum Porridge and was a concoction of plums, spices, wines, meat broth and breadcrumbs. It was eaten in a semi-liquid state and only later in its history were the plums replaced by raisins. To preserve good luck, the pudding should be stirred deosil or clockwise: a ceremony known to most psychic cooks. Lucky charms and silver coins have to be incorporated in the mix to bring good fortune to the eater usually a silver coin, a silver thimble and a ring, with the following meanings: the silver coin brings good luck; the ring promises a happy marriage to the girl who finds it; while the thimble hints that she is likely to remain a spinster. The most interesting feature of Christmas pudding lore is the custom of setting fire to the brandy, so that the pudding can be brought to the table all aflame. This is a curious reminder that in ancient times special fires were lit at the midwinter feast to honour the Sun god. One ghost which has been finally exorcised from the Christmas scene is the Dumb Cake which in times past was prepared by single girls for con-sumption on Christmas Eve. Its ingredients were salt, wheatmeal and barley, and it had to be baked in complete silence. It was carefully placed in the oven and the front door opened precisely at midnight. The specter of the girl's future husband was expected to enter the house at that time and march into the kitchen to turn the cake. In some areas the cook would prick her initials on the cake and in due course her future husband would materialize to add his initials to hers. Alas, this custom seems to have vanished for ever. The modern Christmas cake is still with us. It is supposed to have originated with a cake presented by the people of ancient Rome to their senators. A custom among Scots demanded that the cook should rise in the early hours of Christmas Day and bake sowen (oatmeal) cakes. These were distributed to the family at Hogmanay. If a cake happened to break, bad luck followed, but if it remained unbroken the eater could look forward to a Happy New Year. Although there is no clear-cut tradition that Christmas Day was ever associated with the giving of presents prior to modern times, it is known that a similar custom was observed by the Romans on New Year's Day. The Roman gift would have been a goodwill symbol only, consisting of branches of evergreen, but in time the presents became more lavish. Many of the enjoyable rituals which involve our lives at Christmas time are but the shadow survivals or 'ghosts' of very ancient customs performed around the close of the old year and the birth of the new, and the feast of fire celebrated at the time of the Winter Solstice to honour the Sun god. Season of fire and light: But the season of fire and light, as it is sometimes called, would be nothing without the Yule-log, for Christmas is also known as Yule, which was the Scandinavian feast of the Winter Solstice. In the days of old, an oak log was cut down on Yule Eve, and borne with much ceremony into the house and rolled onto the huge fire that was to burn during the days of the Nativity, especially Christmas Day. Little did the pious Christians of the medieval world realize that originally it had been burned in honour of the god Thor and represented the sacred element: fire. No doubt it was due to this association with the old gods that the hearth fire at Christmas assumed the important role which it retained until the advent of artificial forms of heating. The hearth was the center for the telling of Christmas ghost stories and for those curious superstitions relating to the mysteries of fire. Throughout Northern Europe there were traditions that the family ghosts returned at Christmas time to share the festival with their living relatives. In Brittany there was the custom of leaving food for the ghosts while the family attended church. In Scandinavia, stories were told of trolls (who were ogres not ghosts) returning at this season to rattle the window-panes. In the British Isles there were contradictory beliefs, some people thought, erroneously, that no ghost had power to haunt during the Christmas season. It is when the light is extinguished save for the glowing embers that the ghost- story teller comes into his own and, surrounded by the family, describes some ancient haunting which is calculated to chill the blood of his listeners. Traditional hauntings include the posthumous adventures of Anne Boleyn who haunts her old homes during the Christmas season. Her ghost has been reported at Rochford Hall in Essex and Hever Castle in Kent, wandering headless during the 12 days of the festival. There are a number of cheerless proverbs which surface at the season of goodwill, as when someone observes, A green Christmas brings a full churchyard, possibly to counteract any excessive exuberance among the party. However, the children turn to less ghostly rituals, including divination to discover the future. Each of them cuts an apple and counts the pips. The one whose apple has the most pips can look forward to the most happiness in the 12 months ahead. Lost origins: And so young and old join in quiet communion with Christmases past, present and future, united in quaint ceremonies whose origins are lost in history - a celebration presided over by ancestral spirits who have been lured into the home from outer darkness by the glow of the pagan fire.