and other bizarre christmas rites.......
Google whacking the net will pull down all kinds of info on the origins of Christmas rites and traditions.
For example, you know where the silly hat comes from? During the festival of Saturnalia, a week long Roman New Years party that got incorporated into the church's Christmas parties about, oh, say a little after 221 A.D., there was a Feast of Misrule, in which the masters of the house were the servants, and vice-versa. During that time, it was common for all involved to wear a conical wool hat that was the sign of a freed slave. Also stemming from this time is the ho ho ho bit. (Io, Saturnalia!!!! (and away!!!! heh heh heh.......))Plus the little bit about gift giving got started then too.
Christmas trees depend on who you ask. There were Thule (read this as Yule) festivals held well before christian times by the people in those colder bits of Europe that eventually ended up settling in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region. By sacrificing a bunch of male critters on New Years in a grove of sacred trees, you made the sun come up again. Commonly a boar was served afterwards (christmas ham anyone?) and a long log was slowly roasted over an open fire. (okay, that part mostly came later.........)
Early christians took the druidic obsession with tree hugging, and tried to steal the evergreen/life renewal concept wholeheartedly into the concept of Christianity, with a dash of trianglar tree shape equals the Trinity for good measure. It developed from there, notably in Denmark in the 1500s, but ole Martin Luther really kicked it off again, especially with decorations that were supposed to represent the stars in the heavens over Bethlehem. Blame him for the fire that started from the candles in the late 18th century that eventually became modern Christmas lights.
Carroling comes from the long held medieval tradition of getting really smashed around Yuletime and singing songs. In fact, the Church spoke out against it often as being lewd and distracting from Christianity. That's okay, before you get on your high horse about the Catholics, remember it was the Roundhead Protestants that banned Christmas for twenty years or so in England as smelling overly of heathen Papery.
St. Nick we won't even get into.
And these are the traditions that I absolutely love. But why, why do we have to watch an eight year child run around every year, beating the shit out of Joe Pesci in an improbable (it's not laughable, 'cause I can tell you, after the eighteenth time or so, all those movies do is piss me off) series of boobie traps that Rube Goldberg could have outdone with a severe case of rectal cancer and one hand tied behind his back? Somehow this is a tradition with both my family, and my in-laws. Sigh..................
Wasn't there a Family Guy episode in which after watching two paint cans swinging on the stairs, Joe Pesci just pulls out a gun and shoots Macaulay Culkin in best GoodFella tradition? Cause if there isn't, there should be. Die Hard 2 was set at Christmas time, and it's not a family tradition. So was Funny Farm, Gremlins, Eyes Wide Shut, part of L.A. Confidential, Lethal Weapon, Curse of the Cat People, and maybe Brazil. (remember when they gun down Santa?) Meh.
Looks like we're watching the second one tonight, so I'm gonna go grab my knitting needles and prepare to heavily spike the eggnog.
Wishing y'all peace on earth and a bird of paradise up the collective noses of all the last minute shoppers clogging up traffic,
NBS