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CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS:
THE MICHIGAN DAILY AGE
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U.S. Enjoys Seasonal Legacy
By JUDY NICHOLSON
Christmas trees, Santa Claus,
mistletoe and holly - the Ameri-
can legacy of her European moth-
erland.
In' the seventeenth century an
influx of European immigrants
came to America and brought with
them all their possessions, their
hopes and fears, and even more
important, their traditions and'
customs which have since been in-
corporated into the melting-pot of
America. Among these are their;
Christmas traditions which are
still practiced and revered today.
In the New World, Christmas
was first and most widely cele-
brated in the middle colonies. The
Christmas feasts were dictated by
the supplies of the New World but
the traditional plum puddings and
'mince pies survived as did holly,
mistletoe, greens and yule logs.
Bring New Customs
With every new flow of immi-
grants came new customs -- the
{ Swedes and Finns put straw
crosses on the doors to drive away
evil spirits. The Dutch brought
with them St. Nicholas and the
Germans, the Swiss and Austrians
brought with them the Christmas
tree, ancient carols and Nativity
pageants.
The practice of attending three
masses, abstaining from work on
the feast of the Nativity, and put-
ting lights in the window was a
custom which originated in Ire-
land. At first each settlement or
group retained its own conven-
tions - later these merged into
what became the American Christ-
mas.
With the growth of Puritanism
the gaiety and festivity of Christ-
mas was forbidden. Christmas was
considered a common day as all
others. But the merriment and
gaiety could not long be halted.
The infectious spirit soon spread
again and even the Puritans were
forced to accept Christmas as a
holiday.
Traditions Fuse
Following the revival of the
Christmas spirit the customs of
all the European lands camerto-
gether and fused to become Amer-
ican Christmas customs. Besides
the religious observance of the
Nativity the two basic customs
adopted by the New World were
Santa Claus and the Christmas
tree.
The modern day American
Santa Claus Is a result of the
fusion of the customs of two
European countries - St. Nicholas
from Amsterdam and Father
Christmas from Britain. St. Nicho-
las was a fourth century bishop
noted for his charity and gen-
erosity to the young.
The belief was that the bishop
Sinter Klaas came to visit the
children on the eve of his feast
day Dec. 6. When the British took
over New Amsterdam, Sinter Klaas
became molded with their own
Father Christmas who personified
secular gaiety and feasting at
Christmas. Following this the date
of his visit was moved to Dec. 25.
Yule Trees Initiated
Christmas trees were an eight-
eenth century custom initiated in
America by the Germans of Penn-
sylvania. Later the subsequent
waves of immigrants from Ger-
many and Scandinavia helped to
spread the custom across the
frontier.
Christmas decorations were
many and varied =and came from
a wide range of European coun-
tries. Each had their own con-
tribution to make to the American
Christmas. The Germans first
decorated their trees with edibles
such as cookies, sweets, oranges
and candy. Candles which were
originally placed in wooden stands
shaped as pyramids were trans-
ferred to the tree.
The .stars which were used to
top the trees were representative
of the Star of Bethlehem. The
angel which sometimes replaced
the star atop the tree arose
through a Medieval legend which
stated that the blessed Mary had
sent angels to earth to awaken
some children. These were brought
to paradise to sing carols to the
Christ child.
Druids Begin Mistletoe
Mistletoe originated with the'
Druids in England and meant "All
Heal." Condemned by the church
as a pagan custom, it was later
revived in England where it be-
came associated with kissing. The
use of wreaths arose from the
Medieval custom of laurel wreaiths,
the victory symbol of ancient
Rome. Originally made of laurel,
they are now made of holly and
greens. .
The custom of giving Christmas
gifts has several different origins.
Dutch children received gifts from
St. Nicholas on the eve of his feast
day. On Dec. 25 the child Jesus
put gifts under the tree which the
angels were- supposed to have
trimmed. In New York the Dutch
exchanged presents on Christmas
Day, a custom going back to the
Roman celebration of Saturnalia.
In the twelveth century St.
Francis was the first to celebrate
Christmas Eve with a Christmas
scene in which he used live ani-
mals. Since that time Christmas
scenes and pageants have been
performed in all countries. No one
country can claim the right to
have started the custom in Ameri-
ca, although it is thought that the
Germans and Austrians were the
first to do so.
Thus is the American legacy-
a Christmas season filled with the
best traditions of all countries-.
a unique one. No where else in the
world is there a Christmas like
that in America.
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BAVARIAN TRADITION-Pagan
descending on a Bavarian village
child helper are followed by the
cattle. Such holiday celebrations
the Soviet regime.
and Christian customs combined are apparent in this procession
where ancient holiday traditions remain intact. St. Nicholas and a
devil-like "Gangerl" and straw-clad villagers dressed to represent
persist in Russia despite the lack of religious emphasis stressed by
c
Caroling:
A Holiday
Tradition
A door opened on a winter night
may reveal a colorful group of
carolers with snow melting on
their flushed faces, huddling for
harmony under the porchlight.
The custom of caroling at
Christmas time is ancient, for in
the early ages of the church the
bishops sang carols on Christmas
,Day among their clergy.
St. Francis of Assisi is said to be
the first to popularize mass parti-
cipation in carol singing apart
from church ritual, in the 13th
century. Augustinian friars in the
England of 580 A.D. sang the first
carols in Britain.
In the olden days, shepherds and
wandering minsters carried the
traditional verses from campfire
to medieval dining hall throughout
Europe, where they were kept alive
in towns and villages.
By the end of the fifteenth cen-
tury, caroling in the streets by
singers who went from house to
house receiving money for their
performance became popular.
When children took up the prac-
tice of singing carols in England
from house to house, it was called
going "a-gooding."
Christmas Eve caroling came to
America from England and after
the observance of the celebration
became general, the custom of wel-
coming carolers with candles in
the front window arose in Boston.
America can now claim for its
own such familiar carols as "O
Little Town of Bethlehem," "It
Came Upon A Midnight Clear,"
and "We Three Kings of Orient
Are," as well as adopting carols
from practically every nation.
In the last decade popular songs
like "White Christmas" and
"Christmas Song" have become
Christmas classics. The television
opera "Amahl and the Night Visi-
tors" by Menotti is fast becoming
part of our traditional Christmas
music.
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