Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas

My biggest problem with this book is that he uses no footnotes as to where he found the information; he could have just made it all up. Other than that, I thought it had some interesting ideas about where our Christmas traditions came from.

A POPULAR CHRISTIAN AUTHOR EXPLAINS THE ORIGINS OF MANY POPULAR TRADITIONS

Author Ace (Andrew) Collins wrote in the Introduction to this 2003 book, “for many Americans, a modern Christmas does not seem to hold the spirit, the charm, and the warmth of an old-fashioned holiday. Yet before we bemoan the demise of what we think Christas was like in the ‘old days,’ a time when it wasn’t the most commercialized holiday in America, we might want to reexamine what Christmas past really was… we might actually feel encouraged about the season we celebrate today when we consider what Christmas was REALLY like in the days of old… For centuries, Christmas was anything but a holy day. It was most often a sinful parade of excess, a day set aside for ignoring laws and even terrorizing citizens… the poor often stormed the houses of the elite in moblike fashion, pounding on doors and windows, demanding the finest food and drink. If the hosts did not respond, the guests broke into the homes and took what they wanted… How did the Christmas that Christians recognize today … deteriorate into such an orgy of irreverent excess? For one thing, history tells us that it took over three hundred years for the church to decide on a day on which to honor Christ’s birth. In the minds of millions who go to church now, December 25th is the actual day when Mary gave birth to Jesus. It is ironic that an ‘undeniable’ fact many Christians think they know about their faith has no factual basis at all.” (Pg. 9-11)

He notes, “In almost every English-speaking nation in the world, except the United States, Boxing Day is one of the Christmas holiday’s most honored traditions… The origin of Boxing Day probably goes back eight centuries, to the Middle Ages. In … churches throughout England, money boxes were placed near the buildings’ entrances… In memory of St. Stephen, church members were asked to place special offerings in the ‘alms’ box throughout the year to help the area’s needy families. The box was kept locked until the Feast of St. Stephen, when it was opened by the priest and the contents were distributed to the poorest of the poor.” (Pg. 37-38)

He recounts, “In early sixteenth-century Germany, Martin Luther embraced carols, thereby winning over many German Christians to the songs. Luther sang them with his children and encouraged his growing following to come together and sing them as a congregation. He found great joy in the music of the holiday season and believed the passion it brought to those who sang Christmas songs was to be embraced. Thanks in part to Luther’s acceptance of carols, the German carols of this period were better written and much more spiritual than most of those in other European countries.” (Pg. 49)

He reports, “the roots of bringing an evergreen into one’s home during the darkest days of Christmas can be traced back more than one thousand years. The evergreen tree, along with the Christ child and Santa Claus, has evolved into a central symbol of the world’s most celebrated holiday… Even a thousand years after the crucifixion of Christ, most of those living in … Scandinavia had not been reached by Christian missionaries… during the long and often brutal winter, when the sun disappeared for months and nights seemed to last forever, the deeply superstitious Vikings found hope and strength in the evergreen tree. The evergreen not only survived the harsh winter, it even seemed to thrive… In an effort to bring some of the magic of the evergreen tree into their lives, Vikings would chop down a fir and place it in their homes. Having a tree in the house was said to bring the gift of strength to live through the worst stretches of winter.” (Pg. 70-71)

He continues, “Legend has it that Martin Luther was walking home on a dark December evening when he was struck by the beauty of the starlight coming through the branches of the many fir trees in the woods… he felt moved to duplicate this effect on the tree he had placed in his home. He tied a candleholder onto one of the evergreen’s branches, put a candle in the wooden holder, and lit it… Not only was the preacher’s family impressed, so were his neighbors… and the tradition of a lighted tree was born.” (Pg. 73)

He notes, “During World War II, with men stationed halfway around the world … the post office declared that for troops to receive their Christmas presents on time, they would have to be mailed very early. ln response, stores put up holiday displays even before the beginning of December, and the monthlong Thanksgiving-to-Christmas selling season arrived.” (Pg. 101)

He points out, “Luke 2:7 states that when Jesus was born, Mary laid him in a manger. The family had been forced to stay in what was probably a barn because all the inns in the town of Bethlehem were full due to the influx of people reporting for the census ordered by …. Caesar Augustus… In Luke 2:16, it is clear that the shepherds traveled to the manger to see Jesus. Yet the Magi did not arrive in time to visit Jesus in his birthplace, nor, evidently, did they meet the shepherds. In Matthew 2:11… the wise men from the East were invited into the house where Mary and Joseph were staying… the biblical scribes do not identify the location of this house or describe it at all. To the Gospel authors, none of these details were important.” (Pg. 138-139)

He recounts, “Santa Claus’s roots can be traced back to St. Nicholas of Bari. The son of wealthy parents, Nicholas was born in the fourth century… Legend records that when his parents died, the young man took all the family’s money and distributed it to the needy in his hometown. He then … [became] a monk when he was only seventeen and. shortly thereafter, a priest… he was chosen to fill the position of archbishop of Myra while he was still in his early twenties… In the role of archbishop, Nicholas seemed to take on almost mythical heroic qualities… Because of his great wisdom and sensitivity, many groups throughout history have claimed Nicholas as their patron saint… The date of Nicholas’s death, December 6th… was one of great sadness for the people… But he was not forgotten. On every anniversary of his passing, his life was commemorated with an annual feast. On St. Nicholas’s Eve, youngsters would set out food for Nicholas and straw for his donkey. The next morning obedient children awoke to find their gifts replaced with sweets and toys…” (Pg. 159-162)

He clarifies, “Most people today believe that the twelve days of Christmas start on December 12th or 13th and run through Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. But in fact, the first day of Christmas is December 25th, and the final day is January 5th. Thus, for hundreds of years the Christmas holidays didn’t begin until Christmas Eve and didn’t end until Epiphany.” (Pg. 179)

He explains, “Christians have lamented the commercialization of Christmas. Many have pointed to magazines, newspapers... that seem to pull Jesus out of the holidays by substituting an ‘X’ in place of the name Christ in the word Christmas. While it is usually true that those who use ‘Xmas’ these days are doing so to save space and shorten the word, Xmas is hardly a new concept---or an irreverent one. Its use actually dates back to the earliest days of the Christian church. Many of the Gentiles who became the initial followers of Christ were Greek. The Greek for Christ’s name is ‘Xristos’… a fish was often used as a symbol to denote … Christian gathering places … the letter ‘X’ (pronounced ‘chi’)… marked the places where they worshiped. Therefore, the use of the letter ‘X’ for Christ is one of the oldest traditions of the Christian faith.” (Pg. 184)

He concludes, “Born of a pagan misunderstanding of the meanings of winter and summer, the yule log was transformed into one of the first Christian family customs… the bright light that filled the fireplaces where yule logs burned always served as a vivid reminder of the light that came to earth when Christ was born. In the few places where the yule log still glows each year, the connection with the reason for celebrating the season somehow seems stronger too.” (Pg. 195)

This book will be of keen interest for Christians wanting to know more about Christmas traditions.

I really enjoyed reading about the history/traditions of Christmas. I now have a new perspective on several aspects of this amazing holiday. Lots of reviews on this book were bad because the author doesn't list his sources. I agree to a degree. However, much of what he writes about are legends with many different versions/sources. I would definitely like to add this book to my personal library to use as a reference.

Found this on the "holiday books" display at the library. It was interesting to read about how many of our Christmas traditions came to be. I did feel like he was reaching at times to find a Christian connection to every one. (The book is published by Zondervan.) Even traditions he acknowledged to be wholly secular still "help us feel happy and isn't that the point of Christmas?" (Or something like that.) A bit much at times but still interesting.

I love all books Christmas! While it might seem a tad early I start thinking about the holidays this time of year. This little book would make a fun gift. I enjoyed reading about advent, boxing day, and even mistletoe. While I wish there was documentation on where the information came from, it is still fun to see how traditions start. This book could create some great conversation with families, especially when kids starting asking why we do certain things during the holidays.


Four stars.



"I received this book from BookLook Bloggers for free. All opinions are my own."

Interesting. Lots of facts (?) I didn't know. The only problem I had, the author didn't put any footnotes or bibliography on where he found the information. Otherwise it would have been 5 stars and a great Christmas gift to give.

Interesting history of Christmas traditions. No sources cited.

Offered in alphabetical order, the author shares the background of several popular Christmas traditions.
The writing is flowing, and the vignettes are informative. I suspect a few of the facts as spurious, thus it would be good to have another source to verify.