Christmas is a festive season full of mythical figures, traditions and stories passed down from generation to generation.
But are Christmas traditions different around the world? Where does all this myth and tradition come from? Where does Father Christmas call home? Why do we furnish our homes with Christmas trees? And why do we even celebrate the whole festival?
A winter’s tale
Christmas itself is an amalgam of the words ‘Christ’ and ‘mas’, deriving from the Old English for ‘Christ’s Mass’ – meaning a celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ.
But Jesus Christ has competition when it comes to festive figureheads and language plays a role in how one particular competitor is defined. Santa Claus is his name to Americans, or Father Christmas to those in the UK.
Historically, Father Christmas is linked to ancient pagan rituals held in the winter. However, Santa Claus as we know him today dates back to the original historical figure of Saint Nicholas; little is known about him other than that he was a bishop in what is now Turkey, famed for secret gift-giving and producing miracles.
Santa Claus as a name is actually borrowed from the name the Dutch language uses to describe him, Sinter Klaas. This in itself is a shortened nickname for his original title, Sint Nikolaas, the Dutch equivalent of Saint Nicholas. You don’t have to dig too deep to see how interconnected our culture is with language!
Fast-forward to the 1880s and the works of cartoonist Thomas Nast, who is credited with some of the first depictions of the Santa Claus we now know, and we meet a more recognisable Santa Claus, dressed in a distinctive red suit and hat, both trimmed with white fur.
Throw in a century or more of commercialisation, and Santa Claus in all his finery has come to be associated with the act of mass gift-giving during one of the most important periods in the retail calendar.
The roots of Christmas
Christmas trees are another aspect of the festive season we can’t imagine living without, and they too have international origins.
These pieces of Christmas greenery are a relic of a tradition passed down possibly through pagan origins. Germany is one of the places commonly cited as the birthplace of the tradition of decorating Christmas trees, and what happened next is history.
Prince Albert, a German prince and the husband of Queen Victoria, is credited for having helped popularise the tradition of dressing Christmas trees in the Royal household, something which he most likely brought to Britain as a tradition from his home of Saxe-Coburg Saafeld, a Duchy of the German Confederation.
His tradition of decorating Royal Christmas trees reportedly went viral back in the day, especially becoming all the rage in Britain and beyond, after the printing of a sketch of the Royal family adorning a tree of their own in an 1846 edition of the Illustrated London News.
What can we learn from the origins of our Christmas traditions?
Christmas has ancient roots but owes its existence as a modern festival to traditions that transcend time and borders.
Just like our modern languages, Christmas has come a long way since it first sprang into the world. But ultimately, it is a success story of globalisation; a blending of traditions, history and celebrations from around the world.
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Curious about other traditions? We’ve explored the beginnings of various festive traditions this year, including delving into the origins of Easter eggs in our guide to the diversity of global Easter traditions. Or check out Christmas gone wrong with these festive translation fails.
