Crafts, decorating tips and recipes punctuate this 191 page alphabetical summary of customs and
traditions associated with
Christmas.
Advent (from the Latin word
adventus which means ‘arrival’) refers to the four Sundays before Christmas. An advent wreath is a circle of fir decorated with four candles, each of which is lit on one of the Sundays before Christmas. Although not exclusively symbolic of Christmas,
bells have always been closely associated with religious services. Religious ceremonies and holidays of all types include
candles, but they are especially popular at Christmas. There is no evidence of the exact
date of the
Nativity and different scholars have suggested almost every month.
Epiphany (also known as Twelfth Night, Little Christmas or Old Christmas) is celebrated by Roman Catholic, Anglican and other Christian churches on January 6, believed to be the baptism date of Jesus Christ. The winter
feast was a practical tradition that emerged from the economic necessity of slaughtering livestock during the barren season when fodder was in short supply.The modern custom of Christmas
gifts was not widely practiced until the mid-nineteenth century when a large number of retailers began marketing the concept. Various legends claim that evergreen plants like the
holly and the
ivy have magical powers such as protection against evil, healing ability and the power to induce prophecy.
Immanuel (meaning ‘God with us’) is the name given
Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:23. In Greek, the first letter of the name Christ is ‘
X’. Among the many names for Christ in the scriptures are
King of Kings, Lord of Lords (I Timothy 6:15), the
Messiah and the
Only Begotten Son of God (John 3:16). The word
nativity refers to the circumstances or process of being born and a nativity scene represents the birthday story of Jesus Christ. The wise men (sometimes called the magi or the three kings) followed the
Star of Bethlehem in order to worship the Christ child according to Matthew 2:1-2.Various forms of evergreens have been used to decorate homes during the winter for centuries. However, the practice of decorating the tree did not become popular in England until the mid nineteenth century following Princess Victoria’s marriage to German born Prince Albert.
Tannenbaum is the German word for Christmas tree. Circles of fresh evergreens (a.k.a.
wreaths) have been used to decorate homes since Victorian times. The
Yule log was an ancient Norse ritual, which Christian’s adapted to celebrate the birth of Christ.Ancient Egyptians sent New Year’s greetings to family and friends. Medieval artists were sometimes commissioned to engrave nativity scenes combined with biblical phrases on wood blocks, which were sent as greetings at the first of the year to bring good luck. By the middle of the eighteenth century it was an English custom to hand deliver New Year’s messages. The American custom of Christmas Cards became popular after Louis Prang, a Boston merchant with a small lithography business, began experimenting with colored pictures and flower designs. Around 1910, the Hall brothers bought Prang’s business and founded the company that became Hallmark.