Tis’ the season for Christmas trees, mince pies, gifts and for some, brussel sprouts. It’s the time of year when all of the festive hits once again creep back onto our radios and for the kids, presents from the jolly fellow in red! It certainly is the most colourful and exciting time of year for many, but have you ever wondered where these classic Christmas customs come from? In a way, they’re actually very bizarre! We tell the kids a fat strange man will be flying through the skies and squeezing down our chimneys, we haul trees into our homes and some even brave the cold to knock on neighbour’s front doors and sing to them. Every Christmas tradition may not directly relate to the birth of Christ, so why do we celebrate them each year?
Many of us bend over backwards and bruise our bank accounts to ensure we give the perfect gifts to our loved ones every year. It’s a breeze for those who are well-organised, but a nightmare for the late-leavers, so why do we do put ourselves through it? Year on year we give presents to our close ones as a reminder of the gifts baby Jesus received by the Three Wise Men, Gold (still a popular one) Frankincense and Myrrh. On a modern Christmas Day though, gift giving is also about surprising our families and watching the little ones light up with excitement to see what Santa Claus has generously brought them. Speaking of which, the magical man behind the story has an interesting history which explains why Father Christmas is one of the most loved characters ever. The legend behind the jolly fellow is a Bishop named St. Nicholas, whom as a youngster was left very rich after the death of his parents. St. Nicholas had a reputation for his generosity to the poor. One particular story tells of a man that was so poor that he could not afford a wedding for his daughters, but one night St. Nicholas dropped a bag full of gold down the chimney into the house, allowing the eldest daughter to be married. The tales and traditions of St. Nicholas’ kind nature were quite unpopular in Europe during the 16th Century, but somebody had to give children presents, so he became the character of Father Christmas that we all know and love today!
Probably one of the longest standing traditions is the one that modern families now find the messiest, but December is never the same without. Each year we squeeze a fresh fir tree through our doors and drag it to its rightful spot in the living room, before we give it a sparkling makeover and let it sit pretty throughout the season. Believe it or not, the Christmas tree has been around for thousands of years as part of celebrating winter festivals and in time has become essential to the festive season. Tinsel originated in Germany from thin strips of real sliver (before somebody created the cheaper plastic version, thank goodness) and in 1895, twinkling lights were invented so to understandably avoid the risk of fire from candles on the trees. The facts are endless, but we’re not going to bore you with tree history.
Christmas Day for many starts very early in the morning by being woken up with children jumping on the bed and ends with the feeling of exhaustion/near explosion from all of the mince pies and turkey. Although, a part of us inside just doesn’t want the day to end and thankfully, we have the following day to ease us out of the Christmas excitement. But why do we continue the celebrations through Boxing Day? The tradition began 800 years ago during the Middle Ages, when collection boxes kept in churches were opened to give out the contents to the poor. Additionally in the 17th Century, servants would receive a ‘Christmas Box’ from their employers containing gifts or money to take home to their families. Nowadays, we are most thankful for Boxing Day as being another bank holiday to spend with our loved ones. We have to drop in a cool fact here that in New Zealand, Boxing Day is a statutory holiday and any employee that works is compensated!
We would literally be here until Christmas discovering the history from carols to crackers, but all we can say is that we wish you the most wonderful time. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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