Analog-Theater 2.0

In the past few posts I’ve been revealing the origins of some of our most cherished Christmas traditions and beliefs to show their true meaning. And while the holiday has its roots in at least two different pagan festivals with further twisting by modern retail businesses, there is something that people have been trying to add to the holiday off and on for the last 1600 years and that is what I want to talk about today. The spirit of Christmas.

Even though he wasn’t born in the winter, we take this day out of the year to remember the greatest gift ever, when God gave us the gift of His son, Jesus Christ. In fact, this is one of the two days a year that millions of people in the world go to church (the other day being Easter).

While we cannot match the magnificence of that gift, we give of ourselves; gifts to our friends and family, secret Santa gifts at work, and donations to poor and needy.

I think Frank Cross in the 1988 movie Scrooged said it best. “It’s Christmas Eve. It’s-it’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we-we-we smile a little easier, we-w-w-we-we-we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year we are the people that we always hoped we would be.”
This one day, this 25^th of December, has gone from being a pagan holiday, to a Christian holiday, to a day of excessive partying, to a day of excessive crime, to a day of excessive consumerism. What type of day will it be next? That is something that we will determine as we decide individually what this day means to each of us. Is it little more than the busiest shopping time of the year or a day celebration with our friends and family?

Having been living on my own and working the last few Christmas Day’s, it has lost some of it’s meaning. However, I always find some time to read the story of the birth of Jesus in Luke 2 and watch some old Christmas Classics (Miracle on 34^th Street and Peanut’s Christmas) to remind myself of what this day is about. It’s should be a day of peace and good will to men.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

For anyone who hates the trouble involved in bringing home, setting up, and decorating a Christmas tree, you can blame Saint Boniface, a missionary who lived from 672 to 754 and took Christianity to the people of the Frankish Empire. While there, legend tells that Saint Boniface came across a group of pagans worshiping an oak tree. He cut it down and a young fir sprouted from its roots. He used the fir as a symbol of the Christian faith.

It was not until 800 years later that people would start decorating these trees for the Christmas holiday. Various guilds in Eastern Europe began decorating fir trees with apples, nuts, dates, pretzels, cheeses and paper flowers outside of their guildhalls. Years later wax candles were included as decorations.

The Christmas tree was not moved indoors until the early 19^th century. Queen Victoria recorded in her diary in 1832 the following. “After dinner…we then went into the drawing-room near the dining-room…There were two large round tables on which were placed two trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments. All the presents being placed round the trees..” At that time the tradition of having a Christmas tree indoors was limited to the royal courts of Europe, but gradually it spread to the common people.

In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge began the tradition of the National Christmas Tree. A forty-eight foot tall Balsam fir was set up in the ellipse outside of the White House and was decorated with 2,500 electric bulbs in red, white and green. Since then each Christmas, the president lights up the tree on Christmas Eve. The decorations and event have grown more elaborate over the years, including the addition of a full size Nativity Scene in 1954 and occasionally live reindeer. In 1995 the lights on the National Christmas Tree were powered by solar energy.

Santa Claus can not get to everyone’s houses in one night without help so he has a team of magical reindeer to pull his sleigh, but where did these reindeer come from?

They first appeared in Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem “A visit from St. Nicholas”.

when, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny rein-deer,
with a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and call’d them by name:
“Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer, and Vixen!
“On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen!

“To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
“Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

The poem describes the sleigh and reindeer as miniature and tiny, not full sized as they currently appear now.  Thomas Nast and then Haddon Sundblom depicted Santa Claus as a larger person and thus caused the reindeer to grow in size.

The name Donder was later changed to Dunder in some works and then to Donner in other works.

Then along came Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  Robert L. May wrote the original story in 1939 for the Montgomery Ward department store to be given to children for Christmas.

Robert L. May’s story tells about a young reindeer named Rudolph who has a red nose that glows.  Rudolph is hated by the other reindeer because of he is different.  Then, during a particularly foggy Christmas Eve, Santa Claus asks Rudolph to lead his sleigh team.

The story became so popular that in 1948 Johnny Marks turned the story into a song.  The song hit number one on the charts the week of Christmas in 1949.

Various other reindeer have made there appearance is different movies, songs, and books.  The singer Ray Stevens even mentioned Clyde the Camel in his song “Santa Claus is Watching You” and Drew Barrymore created a CGI television special about Olive, a dog who thinks he’s a reindeer.  So, keep a close eye on the skies this year, who knows what might be pulling Santa’s Sleigh.

A Visit from St. Nicholas

By Clement Clarke Moore

’T WAS the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that ST. NICHOLAS soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ’kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle,
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”

Mistletoe is the name for five different parasitic plants in the order Santalales that grow on trees or shrubs. And thanks to the Scandinavians if you get stuck under the mistletoe with someone, you have to kiss them.

This tradition can be traced back to Norse mythology. Baldr, the god of plant’s mother Frigga, prompted by a prophetic dream, made every plant, animal and inanimate object promise not to harm Baldr. But Frigga overlooked the mistletoe plant and the mischievous god Loki took advantage of this oversight, tricking the blind god Hoor into killing Baldr with a spear fashioned from mistletoe. Baldr’s death brought winter into the world, until the gods restored him to life. Frigga declared the mistletoe sacred, ordering that from now on it should bring love rather than death into the world. Happily complying with Frigga’s wishes, any two people passing under the plant from now on would celebrate Baldr’s resurrection by kissing under the mistletoe. While we have long since forgotten why we have to kiss under the mistletoe, many of us are more than willing to continue the tradition if we find ourselves with the right person.

Why do children like Christmas? Because Santa Claus brings them presents.

Many people think that the origin of the giving of gifts goes back to the Wise Men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the baby Jesus. However, the tradition dates back even further, to the Roman holiday of Saturnalia.

Marcus Valerius Martialis, a Latin poet who lived between circa 38 AD and circa 102 AD, wrote a series of poems about Saturnalia gifts in his book 14. Some of the gifts he mentioned were writing tablets, dice, a stylus box, combs, a golden hair pin, a sword, etc.

Unfortunately I don’t have much to say about the tradition of gift giving, so to take up the space I will include a story I found about gift giving.

A Brother Like That

A friend of mine named Paul received a new car from his brother as a pre-Christmas present. On Christmas Eve, when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it.

“Is this your car, Mister?” he asked.

Paul nodded, “My brother gave it to me for Christmas.”

The boy looked astounded. “You mean your brother gave it to you, and it didn’t cost you anything? Gosh I wish…”

He hesitated, and Paul knew what he was going to wish. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels.

“I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.”

Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively added, “Would you like a ride in my new car?”

“Oh, yes, I’d love that!”,

After a short ride the urchin turned, and with his eyes aglow said, “Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?”

Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Paul was wrong again.

“Will you stop right where those steps are?” the boy asked. He ran up the steps. Then in a little while, Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little polio-crippled brother. He sat down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up right against him and pointed to the car.

“There she is, Buddy, just like l told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas, and it didn’t cost him a cent, and someday I’m gonna give you one just like it, then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I’ve been trying to tell you about.

Paul got out and lifted the little lad into the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride.

That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what Jesus meant when He said, “It is more blessed to give.”

Author Unknown

Before I start my rant, I just want to share a video I stumbled across.

I am sure that many of you have heard at least once the beginning of the second chapter of Luke in the New Testament. Just in case, it goes:
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
You might notice that there are no Christmas trees, Santa Claus, or snow mentioned in that scripture. While this was the birth of Christ and the reason some of us celebrate this holiday season, this was not the first Christmas. In fact, many of the traditions come from even before Jesus was born.
Saturnalia was a Roman holiday that was introduced around 217 BC as a way to increase the morale of the citizens after a major military defeat. The holiday was the celebration of the dedication of the Temple of Saturn. The celebration lasted for a week, from December 17th to December 23rd. As part of this celebration, slaves and their masters switched roles.
Catullus, a Roman poet from the 1st century BC, described Saturnalia as a time of celebration, visits to friends, and gift giving.
During the 3rd century AD, many of the traditions of Saturnalia were adopted by Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, the birthday of the unconquered Sun, another Roman holiday which was celebrated on December 25th.
Sometime in the 3rd or 4th century AD, Christians assigned the celebration of the birth of Jesus to December 25th because the pagans already observed this day as a holiday. They adopted many of the Roman traditions into the celebration of Christmas. The old tradition of children and adults reversing roles on Childermas is perhaps a Christianized version of the Saturnalia tradition where slaves and their masters reversed roles.
Several early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun and the birth of Jesus. St. Cyprian, a 3rd century AD bishop, wrote “O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that sun was born…Christ should be born. And John Chrysostom, a 4th century bishop, said “they call it the ‘Birthday of the Unconquered’. Who indeed is so unconquered as Our Lord?”
Christmas can also trace its roots back to Yule, a Germanic winter festival. The Germanic people celebrated by cutting down the largest tree they could find for firewood during the cold winter. This log would burn for a long time while the people would sit inside there warm homes being merry. They would also slaughter pigs or goats to eat during the festival.
The Norse stayed in doors at night during Yule, because they believed Odin rode through the sky at night hunting and it was bad luck to be seen by him.
The actual Christmas celebration was established in the fourth century AD. It was promoted in different areas at different times, however many early Christians celebrated the birth of Christ as part of the Epiphany (January 6th). The importance of Christmas Day gradually increased after Charlemagne was crowed Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire on Christmas Day in 800 AD. Then in the 12th century the tradition of the Twelve Days of Christmas began.
The modern Christmas that we celebrate did not come along until much later. In fact, the Christmas our descendants celebrate hundreds of years from now will be different from what we celebrate now.

Bill O’reilly is upset because people are saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”.  However, I think he is forgetting that there is more than just Christmas.  Aside from Hanukkah, Saturnalia, Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, and the winter solace there are several Christian holy days.  The Twelve Days of Christmas or Christmastide was a collection of those holy days and at one point Christmas was not the most important of them.

Modern American marketing and media tend to have the erroneous belief that the Twelve Days of Christmas start on December 14^th and end on Christmas Day. However, throughout the Middle Ages, through the Colonial Americas, and in certain Christian communities still practice the original tradition of the Christmastide which begins on Christmas Day and continues to January 5^th (The Theophany).

During the Middle Ages, this period was on of continual feasting and celebrating, which reached a climax on the Twelfth Night, the traditional end of the Christmas season. William Shakespeare used this day as the setting of his play “Twelfth Night”. Usually a Lord of Misrule was appointed by lot to preside over the festivities, until it was abolished in 1431.

When the colonists arrived in New World, they brought their version of the Twelve Days with them from England and adapted them to their new country. For example, they began the tradition of making Christmas wreaths using the local greenery and fruits and hung them on the front door of their homes on Christmas night.

At the end of the Christmastide, all the decorations would be taken down and the last of the Christmas food would be eaten.

The Holy Innocents’ Day or Childermas is one of the feast days during Christmastide, though the date varies between different churches. It is celebrated on the 27^th, 28^th, or 29^th of December. This day is to remember the deaths of the countless children who were massacred by Herod when he tried to kill the baby Jesus. Various Catholic countries had a tradition (which is no longer widely practiced) of the reversal of roles between children and adults, including alter boys taking over as the bishops.

January 1^st is the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus, a celebration of the when an eight day old Jesus was circumcised, shedding blood for the first time beginning the process that would be the salvation of mankind, and also showing the world that he was mortal. The feast was never a major feast day and was replaced in 1960 by the Octave of the Nativity.

The Theophany, the last day of the Christmastide, is a day of fasting in preparation for the Epiphany.  It also includes a commemoration of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.  While originally a day of fasting in the early Christian church, it evolved into the Twelfth Night, a day of feasting and partying.