Let us solve a few mysteries today. First, why is Christmas so strongly associated with snow, when Jesus was born in a hot country? Second, why do people all over the world sing a totally incomprehensible song in a Scottish dialect on New Year's Day? And third, which Christmas carol mentions women with large breasts? The answers can be found in a bizarre tale in which a whole country banned Christmas. You think the tale of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas was just a children's story? It really happened, in the UK, many years ago.
To understand what occurred, we need a little historical background.
White Christmas: The Christmas holiday is associated with cold weather because there is something deep in the human psyche which says, 'I need cheering up in the middle of winter'. Most readers will know that in China we have Tung Chih, which is a 12-day winter solstice starting from December 22. In Europe, they had yuletide, which was when the Norse people called for the return of the warm sun.
Christmas Day: In the fourth century, some European Christians sat down to work out Jesus' birthday. Tradition said his mother Mary got pregnant on March 25, a day associated by pagans with spring and new life. So they added nine months, and got December 25.
Santa Claus: In the fourth century, Archbishop Nicholas of Turkey brought back to life three murdered children and thus became the patron saint of kiddies. Santa means saint, and Claus is short for Nicholas.
Christmas Stockings: Archbishop Nicholas allegedly threw some gold bags into the house of a poor man who was about to sell his daughters to a pimp because they would all otherwise starve. One of the bags landed in a stocking which had been hung up to dry.
