i 0 CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS: THE MICHIGAN DAILY AGE . :I 7v5° :~r 'Y >Y5Irk.. ~~r . + 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. + FOR LUXURY * FOR CONVENIENCE 9 FOR PLEASUR for a perfect vacation RENT A NEW CAR SPECIAL DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY and WEEK-END RATES AP vRENT-a"- CAR 514 East Washington Phone NO 3-4156 E 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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