One of the most popular traditional christmas decorations is Mistletoe. It was used as a powerful healing agent by the Druids and was considered so powerful that all enemies who met under it would lay down their arms, embrace each other, and vow not to fight. Now wouldn’t that be great! It was only until the next day, but it was a start. The Christians adopted the Mistletoe as a token of good will and friendship. We could all do with that couldn’t we. Mistletoe was hung around the home as a symbol of hope peace and harmony.
Father Christmas, or Santa Claus to give him his original name, has several stories about him. The most likely may have come with the Vikings and the other Norse and Scandinavian tribes, who invaded our shores and formed part of our English Culture. Or it may have come over later with our Germanic and Celtic links from part of their mythology. Thor, from where we get Thursday, was a large jovial old man with a long white beard, who was always associated with the element Fire, so he would have been red.
Other Germanic stories depict him as green. He drove his chariot across the clouds, drawn by two white goats, the noise of his chariot causing the noise of thunder. He was said to live in the frozen North Lands and his fire element led to the fireplace being sacred.
The Christmas Tree today is far removed in Europe and North America from the representation and symbol of Christ the Redeemer and the overcoming of original sin. The tree should be adorned with apples as in the Garden of Eden. The star at the top was a representation of the star followed by the three wise men and the shepherds to the place of Christ s Birth in the stable in Bethlehem. The star was also to remind us that Christ was the light of the world.
The Christmas Tree was the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden and the and was the symbol of forbidden fruit for Adam and Eve .It bore the fruit or seed of knowledge for both good and evil. God gave permission for Adam and Eve to eat any of the fruits of the garden except the apples. Satan however, represented by the serpent, first tempted Eve then followed by Adam to eat the apples. This condemned both them and the human race to a life of endless seeking eternal harmony and atonement.
The giving of gifts comes from various sources; one of the best known was the celebration of motherhood. Held by the Romans on the first day of the New Year for women called Matronalia or Matronales Feriae, from which comes the words Mater and Mother. It was also a commemoration of Peace between the Romans and the Sabines. The women wore their hair loose, where Roman Decorum was for the wearing of the hair up, they took part in rituals in the temples, they were not allowed to wear belts or knot their clothing in any place.
At home they would receive gifts from their husbands and daughters. Their husbands offered prayers for their wives. The wives were however expected to prepare a meal for the household slaves, who were given the day off. I think the custom of the office party might have come from here!
On a much more somber note in the giving of gifts; during World War 1 a Christmas Truce took place on Christmas Eve December 24th 1914. German troops began decorating their trenches, placing candles on trees and singing Christmas Candles like Silent Night, the British Troops responded by singing British Carols, and both sides shouted Christmas Messages to each other, soon after there were visits from both trenches and small gifts were exchanged. This truce occurred in spite of opposition at all levels of higher command on both sides. I hope we can learn from that, and I return to a comment made by Harry Patch, the Last Tommie, before his spirit passed on to the next life. If two leaders have a quarrel with each other, they should each be given a pistol and let them settle it. I do not altogether agree that anybody should kill anybody or any living creature with malice, but he had a point. They might think twice if it was them who had to face the consequences!
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