Christmas traditions
Did you know the burning of the Yule Log was taken from ancient sun worship rituals? Yule Logs are supposed to be cut from red oak trees & burned all of Christmas Eve & into Christmas Day. It is unlucky to buy your own log & lucky ones usually come from your neighbor’s woodpile. It is also customary to light the new log with a scrap of last year's log. The scrap is kept under the homeowners’ bed to protect the home from fire & lightning during the next year.
ICE SKATES
Can you believe the very first ice skates were made from animal bones? The oldest pair ever discovered was found at the bottom of a lake in Switzerl& & date back to 3000 B.C. Leg bones from large animals were used as the blade & the skates were tied on with leather straps. The Dutch word for skate is ‘schenkel’ which means leg bone. The largest outdoor skating rink is the Fujikyu Highl& Promenade Rink in Japan. It was built in 1967 & covers 3.8 acres.
SLED
Can you think of what was used to move heavy items before the invention of the wheel? Sleds were used in the Neolithic Period as well as in pre-Columbian America where Eskimos used dogs to pull them. Ancient Egyptians also used sleds to haul large blocks of stone. Soon people created runners (to make the sled slide over the ground easier), two sleds together (the bobsled) & lightweight passenger sleds drawn by horses.
SNOW
You may already know that no two snowflakes are alike, but do you know how they differ? Each tiny flake is formed by symmetrical crystals, meaning all sides are the same length & size. Each flake is different from the next in size, lacy structure & surface markings. The United States gets about 28 inches of snow every winter. Fun activities associated with snow are skiing, snowboarding, sled riding, snow mobile riding, or hiking with snowshoes. Some areas of the country have winter sports centers that depend greatly on the snow to make money.
WREATH
Can you believe people used to worship evergreen holly as a sign of eternal life because it did not brown or die in the winter? Some religious groups say that the crown of thorns placed on Jesus’ head was made of holly. The berries were supposedly white but turned bright red from Jesus’ blood. Holly is also said to represent the sun’s return after a long winter. We now place wreaths on doors or hallways to create a festive atmosphere during the holiday season.
MISTLETOE
Did you realize that mistletoe is rarely used in churches because it comes from the ancient Druid ceremony celebrating winter solstice? This once pagan tradition started when a girl would st& beneath the hanging plant & a boy would walk up, pick a berry & then kiss her. When the berries were gone…no more kisses!
STOCKINGS
Do you know why we hang stockings on the fireplace? Long ago it was said that Saint Nicholas (now called Santa Claus) threw 3 coins down a chimney of the home of 3 poor sisters. Each of the coins l&ed inside separate stockings left on the hearth (fireplace) to dry. It is now a modern tradition to hang stockings there in hopes that we might have the same good fortune.
COOKIES
Do you know that the most popular cookie kids leave for Santa is the Oreo? Maybe that’s because over 9.1 billion of them are sold each year. There is no exact date recorded but the idea of leaving cookies for Santa started sometime in the 1930’s. Naughty kids use them to bribe Santa at the last minute & nice kids use them as a way of thanking him for all his hard work on Christmas Eve.
LIGHTS
The very first person to have Christmas lights on their tree was Edward Johnson who worked for Thomas Edison. It would be a while however before the general public could purchase similar lights. The first str&s to be mass-produced came from Ever Ready in the early 1900’s. By the 1920’s General Electric had improved upon the invention.
CAROLING
The custom of singing Christmas carols is said to have come from 13th century Italy where a man named St. Francis of Assisi led songs of praise. It is very bad luck to send carolers away empty h&ed. It is customary to offer food, drink or even a little money. It is also said to be unlucky if you sing Christmas carols at any other time of the year besides the festive season.
RUDOLPH
Can you believe the invention of Rudolph was an advertising gimmick? The red-nosed reindeer was born in 1939 when a 34-year old writer for Montgomery Ward named Robert L. May was asked to invent a Christmas story. The company gave copies of the story to customers during the holiday season as a promotion for their stores.