Where did the First Christmas Carols Originate?

Christmas Carolers

The first Carols were sung in early Europe, but they weren't specifically for Christmas. There were carols for all four seasons, but only the ones for Christmas are still popular today. The word carol means a dance or song to praise or joy, and original carols were pagan songs, sung at Winter Solstice celebrations. Christians took these Pagan songs and changed the words to what the Christians believed in. All over Europe, composers wrote these carols, but most were sung in Latin, a language the average person didn't understand. In 1223 St. Francis of Assisi created Nativity plays in Italy, and "canticles," or songs that narrated the plays, were performed. These canticles were sung in more common languages, and these new carols quickly spread. When the Puritans came to America, carols were hardly sung, only quietly in secret. In Victorian times, William Sandys and Davis Gilbert collected old Christmas carols from English villages. There were official carolers called "waits" who only sang on Christmas Eve. New Christmas carols were written and this tradition became popular, as it is today. What is your favorite Christmas Carol?

How did Santa come to be?

Santa Claus

The story of Santa Claus starts with the Legend of St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas was believed to be born on 280 AD near modern-day Myra, Turkey. He is known for giving his inherited wealth to children and others in need. Once, he threw money into a peasant girl's house to use as dowry for her wedding, to save her from becoming a slave or prostitute. The money was said to have landed in a stocking hanging to dry by the fire, and soon people everywhere were hanging stockings by the fire hoping that they would get gifts too. St. Nicholas died on December 6th and this became his saint's day. St. Nicholas's day was celebrated with gift giving in the Christian world. This celebration combined with Christmas, and St. Nicholas would have different names and looks. In Holland, his name was Sinter Klaas, and when immigrants from Holland moved to America, the tradition came with them, renames Santa Claus. At first, images of Santa Claus had his signature beard and he held presents, but in A Night Before Christmas Santa was described as plump and jolly, and the modern image of Santa was born. Now we see the image of Santa everywhere, giving children presents by going down the chimney. Do you think the modern day Santa is too far away from the original Saint Nicholas?



Watch this video to learn more about how Santa came to be:

Why do we Have Christmas Trees?

Christmas Tree

    The fir tree is considered "Gods Tree." When St. Boniface, a 7th century monk, went to Germany to teach the Word of God, he used the fir tree as a teaching tool. He is said to have used the triangular shape of the tree to describe the Holy Trinity, and soon it was considered God's tree. By the 12th century, it was hung upside-down in homes around Christmas time as a christian symbol. The first decorated tree was in Latvia, where Martin Luther put candles in the tree to show the children how the stars shine throughout the night. Christmas Markets were set up in German towns, and sold everything needed for Christmas, like food and presents. At these fairs ornaments were sold that people would bring home and hang on their trees. When tinsel was first created, they used real silver pulled into wafer-thin pieces.

    The Christmas tree came to England with Gregorian kings from Germany. England didn't want to copy Germany's traditions, so only a few people had trees, probably influenced more by their German neighbors instead of the Royal Court. The custom was to have several small trees, one for each member of the family. When an image came out of Queen Victoria came out with a Christmas tree, it quickly became fashionable in England and the colonial Americas. People would make their own ornaments until the 1850's, when fancy glass beads and other items were sold to decorate the trees. With the trees becoming more trendy, people wanted to chop bigger trees, and weren't growing new ones, so laws were pass to prohibit anyone from having more then one tree. When trees got to America, at first only certain parts accepted this tradition. But soon many othger had trees, and the more glass ornaments on the tree, the higher status you had! People put the Nation's flag on the top of the tree, and trees became very patriotic. In 1882, the first patent in America for electric Christmas lights was created. People started wanting to put more and more on their tree, so the size of the trees in peoples homes grew, and the size of your tree influenced your status. Some trees were decorated with a theme, like an Egyptian themed tree or an Oriental themed tree. The way trees were styled continued to change throughout time. Still today trees are decorated with color schemes or designs in mind. How do you decorate your tree?

So, What is Christmas?

The Nativity (The Birth of Jesus)

   I'm sure everyone knows what Christmas is, but not everyone knows where it originated. The holiday has religious background, it celebrates the day Jesus Christ was born. But did you know that Jesus wasn't actually born on December 25th?  In the early days of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday. In the 4th century the church decided to celebrate the day Jesus was born, but there was no date mentioned in the bible. The Christian church decided to celebrate his birth at the end of December, to ensure the population would want to celebrate it. During this part of December, many feasts were celebrated in Europe to celebrate the winter solstice, like Yule in Scandinavia and Saturnalia in Rome. It was originally named Feast of the Nativity, and by the eigth century the celebration had spread around the world. During this time, believers went to church then to a carnival-like festival similar to Mardi Gras. The poor would go to the houses of the wealthy and demand the best food they had in the house. Under the Puritans and Pilgrims, Christmas was cancelled; in Boston it was even outlawed, and anyone celebrating had to pay five shillings.

   When America was formed, they ignored many of the English traditions, including Christmas. On December 25th, 1789, Congress stayed in session. Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until the summer of 1870. In the 19th century, Americans reinvented Christmas to the peaceful, family-oriented holiday we think of it today. There was turmoil in America during the early 1800's, many were unemployed and gang rioted occured often during the Christmas season. In 1819, Washington Irving wrote The Sketchbook of Geoffery Crayon, gent. This book described Christmas in an English Manor house, where peasants would come into the home and the two classes would celebrate together effortlessly. Irving displayed christmas as a peaceful, warm-hearted holiday which brought people together. In the story, they celebrated "ancient customs" that people believe Irving created himself. Also during this time, Charles Dickens published his classic story A Christmas Carol. This also held the theme of kindness and charity toward humankind that showed the benifits of celebrating Christmas. During this time period, parents became more focused on their children's emontional needs, and Christmas created a day where they could give their kids presents without looking like they were spoiling them. Quickly all these ideas created new traditions for the newly reformed Christmas, that we still celebrate today.