Nine Christmas traditions explained – from crackers to figgy pudding, holly and mistletoe
Christmas is widely celebrated, but as a festival it predates the Christian era by thousands of years. We look at Christmas myths and their sometimes ancient origins, and the modern traditions that have sprung up around it
It’s impossible to ignore the imminence of Christmas. From October – or September, officially, in the Philippines – the organised among us begin to send cards, the smug enclose letters detailing their offsprings’ glowing successes, and shopping malls everywhere are decked with tinsel and belting out We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
All around us, the colourful spectacle that is Christmas begins to unfurl: lights are strung, trees are decorated, and young children belatedly begin to behave.
So what’s it all about? Even those who understand that Christmas means more than gift-giving and parties might be surprised at the origins of one of the world’s most celebrated dates. It is a Christian holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but midwinter festivals, some with similar traditions, were observed thousands of years before that religion even existed. The pagans, Romans, Crusaders, and even King Henry VIII played a part in the Christmas extravaganza we indulge in today.
The history of Christmas
Ancient midwinter festivities celebrated the lengthening of the day , a turning point between the old and the new year.
Although Christmas draws its name from Christianity, Yuletide (or Yule) was celebrated in pagan Northern Europe , and the tradition had a significant influence on Christmas as we now know it, such as the 12 days of Christmas, the Yule log and the giving of gifts.