CHRISTMAS FOLKLORE – CHRISTKIND

 

Christ kind or Christ Child is an angel-like figure who often accompanied St. Nicholas on his holiday missions and Kris Kringle is believed to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children.

CHRISTMAS FOLKLORE – THE JOLLY ELF

 

In Finland Santa is a kind and jolly elf called Joulupukki and he doesn’t drive a sleigh but He rides a straw goat called Ukko.

The Scandinavians call the jolly elf Jultomten who is thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats.

CHRISTMAS FOLKLORE - BLACK PETER

 

In Holland, sinter Klaas has a faithful servant called black peter who rides on the sleigh and its Peter’s job to throw the children’s presents down the chimney.

In addition it is black peter that doles out the punishment to the naughty children by wrapping the offenders in bags and delivering them to Spain.

CHRISTMAS FOLKLORE – LA BEFANA

The three wise men stopped at La Befana’s house on route to Bethlehem.

After dining with her, she was invited to travel with them on their search for the Christ child but she declined on some flimsy presence.

After a while she regretted her action and gathering up some things from her home to give to the Christ child she set off after them.

But alas, she was unable to find either the wise men or the baby Jesus.

La Befana has been searching ever since and every January 5th the kindly witch rides her broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes to fill the stockings of lucky children with sweets and candy.

 

THE HANGING OF GREENS – IVY

 

The hanging of greens, such as holly, ivy and Mistletoe is a British winter tradition with origins far before the Christian era.

Greenery was used to lift people’s spirits during the long winter and remind them that spring was not far away.

Ivy, the accepted symbol of friendship, like Holly and Mistletoe, has since pagan times been used as a decoration at festivals.

The ancient custom was to decorate the doorway with intertwined garlands of Holly and Ivy which represented unity between the dual halves of divinity the Holly was the Goddess and female while Ivy was the eternal representation of consort to the goddess and therefore was masculine in nature.

In pagan religions Ivy had been a symbol of eternal life while the Christians believe it stands for the new promise of eternal life.

The Romans used Ivy as part of celebrations related to the god Bacchus, whose worshippers were thought to have worn Ivy crowns.

We rarely decorate our houses with ivy anymore at Christmas, but many homes have potted ivy plants in the home all year round.

THE HANGING OF GREENS - WREATHS

 

The hanging of greens, such as Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe is a British winter tradition with origins far before the Christian era.

Greenery was used to lift people’s spirits during the long winter and remind them that spring was not far away.

The holly wreath with its red berries and other decorations dates back to the 17th century.

The roundness of the Wreath and the sharpness of its pointed Holly leaves symbolized Christ's crown-of-thorns and its Red berries the drops of Christ's blood.

The wreath was intertwined with red ribbons to express the festive spirit and the evergreen leaves stood for everlasting life and promised faithfulness to the Lord.

The Wreath which is traditionally displayed on the front door of a home during the weeks of Advent and the Christmas season once was a multiple role.

Harking back to its pagan origins the wreath was believed to protect a home from evil spirits and during the Middle Ages the red Holly berries were thought to keep witches at bay.

A wreath on the door at Christmas signified a home that celebrated the birth of Christ.

THE HANGING OF GREENS - HOLLY

 

The hanging of greens, such as Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe is a British winter tradition with origins far before the Christian era.

Greenery was used to lift people’s spirits during the long winter and remind them that spring was not far away.

Although holly is the only traditional decorative green which remains of the once famous duo of Holly and Ivy both have an ancient association with the winter festivities.

The Romans used holly during their Solstice celebration, known as Saturnalia and it had a close association with the God Dionysus.

Holly boughs were given as gifts during Saturnalia as it was believed to protect against lightning strikes and ward off evil spirits.

The Druids also held holly in very high esteem as a plant of death and regeneration.

The ancient custom was to decorate the doorway with intertwined garlands of holly and ivy which represented unity between the dual halves of divinity the Holly with its red berries representing the color of life and life’s blood was the Goddess and female while Ivy was the eternal representation of consort to the goddess and therefore was masculine in nature.

The Tradition stands that the first in the household whether male or female to bring Holly into the house would rule the roost for the coming year.

When Christianity spread across Europe, holly became synonymous with the word "holy."

It invoked great symbolism, its prickly leaves represented the crown of thorns worn by Jesus and the bright red berries represent the drops of blood He shed on the cross.

Legend tells that the berries of the holly plant were once yellow in color but were stained red by the blood of Christ.

Holly as with all the evergreen’s holly symbolizes eternal life.