Christmas is a special time of year – that goes without saying. However, have you ever wondered where some of our major Christmas traditions came from? Have you ever wondered why we decorate trees, buy and open gifts, sing carols or even refer to the holiday as “Christmas?” And, have you ever wondered about the origins of Santa Claus?Here are some of my observations on the basic, Biblical and Christian roots for our most common Christmas traditions:
Presents
Ah, yes, the most commercialized tradition of all – right next to Santa Claus. Since when do presents come from Christian tradition? The answer to this question is two-fold.
Primarily, the notion of giving gifts during the Christmas season ultimately comes from God giving humanity the ultimate gift: Jesus Christ.
Secondarily, in Matthew 5:11, we read of the gifts of the wise men to Christ, consisting of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
God gave to us, the wise men gave to God and so we give to each other in remembrance and celebration of that holy night.
Christmas Carols
Defined as “a song of praise or joy, especially for Christmas,” you can see the ties of carols to Scripture. Luke 2:14 recorded the song of the angels after the birth of Christ. The angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace good will toward men.”
This is considered by many Christians to be the very first Christmas carol, and it was certainly not the last.
The Christmas tree
There is strong evidence that the customary decoration of Christmas trees began in 15th century Germany, but the actual tradition of bringing trees into a home is commonly attributed to Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.
According to whychristmas.com, legend has it that Luther, before Christmas, had been walking through a forest when he looked up to see the stars shine through shine through the branches. The beauty of that scene reminded Luther of Christ, “who left the stars of heaven to come to earth at Christmas.” Luther told his children about the scene, and the rest is history.
Santa Claus
Santa Claus has many names, including Kris Kringle, Father Christmas and Christkind – but perhaps the most important is his original name: St. Nicholas, or Nick. He was a beloved Christian Bishop who lived in the 4th century A.D. According to stnicholascenter.org, Nicholas was an avid defender of the Christian faith. He was also a wealthy man, but was well known for his charitable nature – helping the poor and constantly giving secret gifts to others in need.
The most famous story of Nicholas occurred when he discovered a poor man with three daughters. The daughters could not be married because they had no dowry, due to their father’s lack of wealth. According to whychristmas.com, jolly St. Nick decided to help the daughters by giving them bags of gold for their dowry — anonymously. Nicholas would drop a bag of gold down the chimney and put them in the daughters’ stockings, which were hung by the fire to dry. Sound familiar?Additionally, Nicholas often wore red, priestly garments – one of the common colors for bishops at the time.
Christmas
This one is easy to guess. Yes, Christmas comes from traditional Christian worship of Christ’s birth. Whychristmas.com tells us that the services were known as “Christ-Mass,” in which Mass (i.e. communion, Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper) was celebrated along with Christ’s birth. The word was shortened to “Christmas” later on.
While tradition is useful and fun, we should not forget the reason for high spirits and joy: Christ. Even if you have different beliefs, at least find joy in the message that Christ presents to us through his birth.
Love, peace and joy wrought for all humanity. Merry Christmas to all.
Andrew Jenson can be reached at [email protected]