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Halloween is a holiday we have all come to know as a night of candy and dressing up in costumes. Well it is actually a holiday that has been known as other names and been around for 2,000 years or more. Many cultures celebrate this holiday in many different ways. Halloween as we know it was much different than when our grandparents celebrated. My goal with this article is to try and preserve the history of this holiday and gain a better understanding of what we are celebrating. Is there a significance to Halloween we have forgotten? Lets find out….

Samain is a pagan holiday celebrated on October 31st for over 2,000 years. What is Samain exactly? In Celtic Ireland about 2,000 years ago, Samhain was the division of the year between the lighter half (summer) and the darker half (winter). At Samhain the division between this world and the otherworld was at its thinnest, allowing spirits to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. People wore costumes and masks to disguise themselves as harmful spirits and thus avoid harm. Bonfires and food played a large part in the festivities. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into a communal fire, household fires were extinguished and started again from the bonfire. Food was prepared for the living and the dead, food for the ancestors who were in no position it eat it, was ritually shared with the less well off. This explanation comes from https://www.newgrange.com/samhain.htm. The article goes on to explain the festivals of Samain. The Irish emigrated to America in great numbers during the 19th century especially around the time of famine in Ireland during the 1840's. The Irish carried their Halloween traditions to America, where today it is one of the major holidays of the year. Through time other traditions have blended into Halloween, for example the American harvest time tradition of carving pumpkins. Two hills in the Boyne Valley were associated with Samhain in Celtic Ireland, Tlachtga and Tara. Tlachtga was the location of the Great Fire Festival which begun on the eve of Samhain (Halloween). Tara was also associated with Samhain, however it was secondary to Tlachtga in this respect. The entrance passage to the Mound of the Hostages on the Hill of Tara is aligned with the rising sun around Samhain. The Mound of the Hostages is 4,500 to 5000 years old, suggesting that Samhain was celebrated long before the first Celts arrived in Ireland about 2,500 years ago.

Samhain was a crucial time of year, loaded with symbolic significance for the pre-Christian Irish. The celebrations at Tlachtga may have had their origins in a fertility rite on the hill but it gathered to itself a corpus of other beliefs which crystallized at the great Fire Festival. Samhain being the feast of the dead can now be clearly seen as incorporating the cult of Donn into its celebrations but how they did so remains uncertain. The Fires were in all likelihood lit in honour of the sungod - here manifesting as Mog Ruith, but certain other of the trappings are clearly associated with the Lord of the Dead. During this night the natural order of life was thrown into chaos and the earthly world of the living became hopelessly entangled with the world of the dead. But the world of the dead was itself a complicated place, peopled not only by the spirits of the departed, but also with a host of gods, fairies and other creatures of uncertain nature. The unwary traveller, caught away from home on this night, could expect to encounter any one or many of these creatures and it was always advisable to stay indoors. Ghosts were everywhere and may or may not have been harmful to the living. During this period all the world was in darkness and the dead were abroad. When the fire at Tlachtga was lit, it gave the signal that all was well and all other fires could now be relit. The fires at Talchtga were the public celebration of the victory of light, while the relighting of the household fire marked the domestic celebration of the feast. Now the spirits of dead ancestors could be welcomed back into the home with safety and posed no threat to the household. The early Irish manuscripts are littered with references to the magical significance of Samhain. It marked the end of the fighting and hunting season for the warrior troop known as the Fianna. This information also comes from the above mentioned article. So when did it become known as All Hallow’s Eve?

In 1000AD, Christianity declared November 1st is All Saint’s Day or as they called it “All Hallows”. According to https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/halloween-ideas/g4607/history-of-halloween/, “By 1000 A.D., All Souls' Day on November 2 served as a time for the living to pray for the souls of the dead. All Saints' Day, or All Hallows, honored the saints on November 1. That made October 31 All Hallows Eve, which later became Halloween. The name All Hallows Eve was originated by the Catholics. The article goes on to share traditions of Halloween over the centuries. In the 1700s and 1800s, unmarried women performed rituals on Halloween in hopes of finding a husband. Single ladies used to throw apple peels over their shoulders, hoping to see their future husband’s initials in the shapes they made where they fell. They also competitively bobbed for apples at parties, believing the winner would marry first. And in a ritual that sounds downright creepy, some thought standing in a dark room with a candle in front of a mirror would make their future husband's face appear in the glass. Would it surprise you to learn the bobbing for apples traces back to ancient Roman Times. According to https://www.albany.edu/~dp1252/isp523/halloween.html, By 43 AD, "Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory." For the 400 years they occupied Celtic lands, two Roman festivals: Feralia (the commemoration of the passing of the dead) and a day to honor Pomona (the Roman goddess of fruits and trees). The apple served as a symbol for Pomona and which might have been incorporated into Samhain by the practice of "bobbing for apples" (The History of Halloween). The Irish had a lot of influence over Halloween as we know it today. The holiday we celebrate as Halloween today really started taking off in the U.S. in the middle of the 19th century, when a wave of Irish immigrants left their country during the potato famine. The newcomers brought their own superstitions and customs, including the jack-o'-lantern. But back then, they carved them out of turnips, potatoes and beets instead of pumpkins. When did costumes start you may be wondering? 

In the 16th century, "Christian village children celebrated the vigil of All Saints' by doing the Danse Macabre. The Seven Brethren whose grizzly death is described in the seventh chapter of the deuterocanonical book of Second Macabees" is also said to have resulted in children dressing up in grizzly costumes to signify these deaths. (Thomas ) according to https://www.albany.edu/~dp1252/isp523/halloween.html.

Traditions have evolved in America for Halloween. According to https://www.info-america-usa.com/halloween-in-the-usa/,  About 100 years ago, Halloween in the USA was truly dangerous: more and more pranks by young people occurred on Halloween night, some of which resulted in injuries as well as economic damage. Halloween was, therefore, also called Mischief Night. In order to prevent the situation from getting out of control, American cities began to promote organized Halloween activities in the 1920s. During the Halloween season, pumpkins are literally everywhere – on decorations, costumes, in cakes, and even in beer. The pumpkin as a Halloween symbol has its origin in the legend of Jack O'Lantern. It tells the story of the Irish blacksmith Jack Oldfield, who was so cunning that he even tricked the devil into not sending him to hell. However, being too much of a sinner to get into heaven, he was condemned to wander between the worlds with his lantern. Originally, the lantern was a hollowed-out turnip with glowing coal as its light source. But when Halloween came to the USA, American spook fans replaced the turnips with pumpkins. These are easier to carve and abundant in the United States. Also, because pumpkins are larger than turnips, much more elaborate, fearsome faces can be cut out. The American decoration frenzy doesn't stop at Halloween pumpkins. Windows, houses, fences, trees: nothing is safe on Halloween in the USA! Everything gets decorated, and sometimes quite extremely – from spider webs and bats to skeletons, ghosts, and witches, even entire cemeteries can be found in front yards. By the way, the typical Halloween colors black and orange stand for death and the fall season. Needless to say that Americans not only decorate their homes on Halloween but also passionately decorate themselves. The tradition can be traced back to the Samhain celebration, too. In those days, people disguised themselves in order to remain unnoticed by the spirits. The pranksters in the early 20th century also wore masks to be unrecognizable during their tricks. Nowadays, it’s all about getting attention: the more intimidating and elaborate a disguise is, the better!

Ever wonder about the phrase Trick or Treat? According to https://www.info-america-usa.com/halloween-in-the-usa/, 

"Trick or treat" is the ultimatum of American kids haunting house after house in a sugar rush. This tradition presumably goes back to the Celtic superstition that food and beverages in front of the front door will appease supernatural beings. Until the 1950s, it was a common practice to distribute fruit, nuts, or even coins to children in the USA. However, things changed when the candy industry recognized the potential of the spooky holiday and began offering packaged candy, especially for Halloween. And so it happened that sweet calorie bombs prevent small, costumed troublemakers from more serious mischief nowadays. Typical American Halloween sweets are Candy Corn or Candy Apples.

So with all this being said, let us not forget what Halloween truly is. Yes it is a night for great fun and getting candy and dressing up. But it is also a very sacred day to our ancestors which is wrought with joys and warnings. Is the vail truly thinnest on Halloween? Do you really want to tempt fate and find out? Let us remember this Halloween the history of the traditions we believe in and what they were born from. I was surprised to learn myself about the history of the bobbing for apples. It is truly amazing what brings about traditions and how they are with us no matter how much some may try and bury them. So this Halloween I simply ask this……

Are you going to celebrate Samain, All Hallow’s Eve, or Halloween?

How many of us when we sit down and think about Thanksgiving holiday really think about what it truly means? I know I have had many different ideas of how Thanksgiving came to be. Where did traditions come from? Was it always celebrated at the same time each year for centuries? In this article I am hoping to take us down a rabbit hole and see how far we can delve into fact vs fiction of the great holiday of Thanks. Join me will you and lets see what we can learn…..

Thanksgiving Day is known as the feast of Pilgrims and Indians for the bounty of food the settlers were able to grow and eat. Let us look into what life was like way back when and what they truly were thankful for. According to https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving, in September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers—an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the "New World”. After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth. Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from a member of the Abenaki tribe who greeted them in English. Several days later, he returned with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition. Squanto taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped the settlers forge an alliance with the Wampanoag, a local tribe, which endured for more than 50 years and remains one of the sole examples of harmony between European colonists and Native Americans.

It seems without the natives we would have no colonial America as we know it. Why is it that we do not give thanks to them in our prayers? This is one fact that is beyond dispute that we were not able to survive and thrive without help from those who knew and understood the land. This however is also a beautiful moment in history where the native tribes and colonials were living side by side in peace and collaboration. Something I dare say is missing from the world today. Perhaps I ought to get back to the story of Thanksgiving though.

What was the first meal of Thanksgiving truly like? There were no ovens to make pies, turkeys or other dishes we associate with Thanksgiving. So let us take a look at what historians think the first meal would have truly been like. In “On Plymouth Plantation,” Bradford’s famous account of the founding of Plymouth Colony, he remarked of the fall harvest that year that: “there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc.” Wild—but not domestic—turkey was indeed plentiful in the region and a common food source for both English settlers and Native Americans. But it is just as likely that the fowling party returned with other birds we know the colonists regularly consumed, such as ducks, geese and swans. Instead of bread-based stuffing, herbs, onions or nuts might have been added to the birds for extra flavor.  Winslow wrote that the Wampanoag arrived with an offering of five deer. Local vegetables that likely appeared on the table include onions, beans, lettuce, spinach, cabbage, carrots and perhaps peas. Corn, which records show was plentiful at the first harvest, might also have been served, but not in the way most people enjoy it now. In those days, the corn would have been removed from the cob and turned into cornmeal, which was then boiled and pounded into a thick corn mush or porridge that was occasionally sweetened with molasses. Fruits indigenous to the region included blueberries, plums, grapes, gooseberries, raspberries and, of course cranberries, which Native Americans ate and used as a natural dye. Culinary historians believe that much of the Thanksgiving meal consisted of seafood, which is often absent from today’s menus. Mussels in particular were abundant in New England and could be easily harvested because they clung to rocks along the shoreline. The colonists occasionally served mussels with curds, a dairy product with a similar consistency to cottage cheese. Lobster, bass, clams and oysters might also have been part of the feast. Colonist Edward Winslow describes the bounty of seafood near Plymouth. This look into the food available during the time of the Pilgrims comes from https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/first-thanksgiving-meal.

Now if we look at the time frame there was indeed much to be grateful for with new bounty and understanding of the food and land they have learned. It is also here that I will share a little side note of history that would have had great impact on Thanksgiving today. Now it seems that in this time of peace that this peace would sadly not last. 

According to https://www.forbes.com/sites/maiahoskin/2022/11/24/the-real-history-behind-thanksgiving/?sh=579a138b7890the Thanksgiving feast did not happen as we were told. While in school, most children are taught that Thanksgiving represents a feast celebrating Christopher Columbus' discovery of America. More specifically, after an unidentified tribe of Native people welcomed Pilgrims to America – which was their land – they taught them how to live and care for their land, voluntarily gave up their land, and then all happily gathered for a celebration dinner. After which, they disappeared into thin air as if they never existed. The truth is that for the Wampanoag tribe —among other Native tribes —, the fourth Thursday in November is considered a day of mourning, not a day of celebration. Although the Wampanoags did help the Pilgrims survive, their support was followed by years of slow, unfolding genocide of their people and stealing their land. To be clear, interactions between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people were anything but friendly, and the Pilgrims were the aggressors. During their first encounter with the Wampanoag people, the Pilgrims stole from the tribe’s winter provisions. Although later, Ousamequin formed an alliance between the groups, the alliance was only established after the Wampanoag people were ravaged by diseases brought by European colonizers during previous years. This decision was more so a measured attempt at survival than it was to ensure intercultural harmony. Extreme discord continued after the first harvest when deadly conflicts between white colonizers and Native people erupted. After becoming allies, the Europeans went back on their promise and proceeded to seize Native land and imprison, enslave, and execute Native people.

I want to be clear, I am sharing this only in terms of educating what life was like for both sides. To truly understand what we are celebrating, we need to understand the whole history of an event and not just one side. Yes there were gifts, blessings and hardships endured on both sides. Now that we have shared the view held from both sides, I will continue to share the evolution of this holiday into what it is today.

The second Thanksgiving feast occurred in 1623 and did not become a recognized holiday as we know it until a great tragedy struck our country. What event spurred us to create a national holiday to be thankful is what I am about to share with you….

But before the event that made its mark on our national level, I feel I must take a moment of history to back up the significance of this upcoming event. The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating “Thanksgivings,” days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought. The U.S. Continental Congress proclaimed a national Thanksgiving upon the enactment of the Constitution, for example. Yet, after 1798, the new U.S. Congress left Thanksgiving declarations to the states; some objected to the national government’s involvement in a religious observance, Southerners were slow to adopt a New England custom, and others took offense over the day’s being used to hold partisan speeches and parades. A national Thanksgiving Day seemed more like a lightning rod for controversy than a unifying force. According to https://www.britannica.com/topic/Thanksgiving-Daythis points out a major factor in our history of the timeframe. States ruled themselves even though was part of the nation called America. So with this standard, it would be up to each state when they would celebrate Thanksgiving, if at all in fact. According to https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving: During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress designated one or more days of thanksgiving a year, and in 1789 George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States; in it, he called upon Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion to the country’s war of independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution. His successors John Adams and James Madison also designated days of thanks during their presidencies. In 1817, New York became the first of several states to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday; each celebrated it on a different day, however, and the American South remained largely unfamiliar with the tradition. In 1827, the noted magazine editor and prolific writer Sarah Josepha Hale—author, among countless other things, of the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb”—launched a campaign to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. For 36 years, she published numerous editorials and sent scores of letters to governors, senators, presidents and other politicians, earning her the nickname the “Mother of Thanksgiving.” Now with this knowledge in hand, we are ready to hear the event that created the holiday as we are starting to know it now.

It seems one great event in history led to the creation of a national Thanksgiving holiday. This event was in the middle of a great tragedy in our nation’s history. According to https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving, President Abraham Lincoln finally heeded her request in 1863, at the height of the Civil War, in a proclamation entreating all Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.” He scheduled Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November, and it was celebrated on that day every year until 1939 when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in an attempt to spur retail sales during the Great Depression. Roosevelt’s plan, known derisively as Franksgiving, was met with passionate opposition, and in 1941 the president reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November. So now we understand how Thanksgiving became a national holiday and celebrated on the day we know it as now. But what of the Thanksgiving traditions…..are there any?

According to https://www.britannica.com/topic/Thanksgiving-Day, as the country became more urban and family members began to live farther apart, Thanksgiving became a time to gather together. The holiday moved away from its religious roots to allow immigrants of every background to participate in a common tradition. Thanksgiving Day football games, beginning with Yale versus Princeton in 1876, enabled fans to add some rowdiness to the holiday. In the late 1800s parades of costumed revelers became common. In 1920 Gimbel’s department store in Philadelphia staged a parade of about 50 people with Santa Claus at the rear of the procession. Since 1924 the annual Macy’s parade in New York City has continued the tradition, with huge balloons since 1927. The holiday associated with Pilgrims and Native Americans has come to symbolize intercultural peace, America’s opportunity for newcomers, and the sanctity of home and family. According to https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving, Parades have also become an integral part of the holiday in cities and towns across the United States. Presented by Macy’s department store since 1924, New York City’s Thanksgiving Day parade is the largest and most famous, attracting some 2 to 3 million spectators along its 2.5-mile route and drawing an enormous television audience. It typically features marching bands, performers, elaborate floats conveying various celebrities and giant balloons shaped like cartoon characters. Beginning in the mid-20th century and perhaps even earlier, the president of the United States has “pardoned” one or two Thanksgiving turkeys each year, sparing the birds from slaughter and sending them to a farm for retirement. A number of U.S. governors also perform the annual turkey pardoning ritual. November 19, 1963: First Turkey Pardon: While claims have been made that Abraham Lincoln or Harry Truman were the first presidents to pardon a Thanksgiving turkey, the credit belongs to John F. Kennedy, who spared the life of a 55-pound gobbler in 1963. “We’ll just let this one grow,” joked JFK. “It’s our Thanksgiving present to him.” The impromptu turkey reprieve was just days before Kennedy’s fateful trip to Dallas. While Kennedy was the first to send a gift turkey back to the farm, it was President George W. Bush in 1989 who began the annual White House tradition of officially pardoning a Thanksgiving turkey.  This record comes from https://www.history.com/news/thanksgiving-timeline. 

Now to set the record straight, according to https://www.history.com/news/thanksgiving-timeline, Plymouth, Massachusetts was not the first Thanksgiving celebration. They have documented celebrations of Thanksgiving much earlier and a few after. I will include them here and see what you think is the true beginning of Thanksgiving. 1541: Spanish Explorers Hold a Feast: English settlers weren’t the first to celebrate a thanksgiving feast on American soil. According to the Texas Society Daughters of the American Colonists, the very first thanksgiving was observed by Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado. Accompanied by 1,500 men in full armor, Coronado left Mexico City in 1540 and marched north in search of gold. As the company camped in Palo Duro Canyon in 1541, Padre Fray Juan de Padilla called for a feast of prayer and thanksgiving, beating out the Plymouth Thanksgiving by 79 years. 1598: A Second Early Feast Among Spanish: A second Texas town claims to have been the real site of the first Thanksgiving in America. In 1598, a wealthy Spanish dignitary named Juan de Oñate was granted lands among the Pueblo Indians in the American Southwest. He decided to blaze a new path directly across the Chihuahua Desert to reach the Rio Grande. Oñate’s party of 500 soldiers, women and children barely survived the harrowing journey, nearly dying of thirst and exhaustion when they reached the river. (Two horses reportedly drank so much water that their stomachs burst.) After 10 days of rest and recuperation near modern-day San Elizario, Texas, Oñate ordered a feast of thanksgiving, which one of his men described in his journal: "We built a great bonfire and roasted the meat and fish, and then all sat down to a repast the like of which we had never enjoyed before…We were happy that our trials were over; as happy as were the passengers in the Ark when they saw the dove returning with the olive branch in his beak, bringing tidings that the deluge had subsided." August 9, 1607: Colonists, Native Americans Feast in Maine: There are also competing claims as to what was the first feast of thanksgiving actually shared with Native Americans. In 1607, English colonists at Fort St. George assembled for a harvest feast and prayer meeting with the Abenaki Indians of Maine. But some historians claim that the Spanish founders of St. Augustine, Florida shared a festive meal with the native Timucuan people when their ships came ashore way back in 1565. Now in the timeline is when the Plymouth Thanksgiving occurs according to historical records. There have been a few celebrations left out of history books and I will share those here and see if you have ever heard of these. November 23, 1775: Boston Patriots Call for Thanksgiving: In the run-up to the Revolutionary War, a group of Boston patriots published a pointedly anti-British proclamation for a “Day of public Thanksgiving” throughout the Massachusetts Colony to be held November 23, 1775: “That such a Band of Union, founded upon the best Principles, unites the American Colonies; That our Rights and Priviledges . . . are so far preserved to us, notwithstanding all the Attempts of our barbarous Enemies to deprive us of them. And to offer up humble and fervent Prayers to Almighty GOD, for the whole British Empire; especially for the UNITED AMERICAN COLONIES." December 18, 1777: 13 Colonies Celebrate a Thanksgiving: To celebrate the victory of American Continental forces over the British in the Battle of Saratoga, commander-in-chief George Washington called for Thursday, December 18 to be set aside for “Solemn Thanksgiving and Praise.” It was the first time that all 13 colonies celebrated a day of thanksgiving in unison. November 26, 1789: George Washington Calls for Day of Thanksgiving: George Washington, now serving as the first President of the United States, took Congress’s recommendation to call for a national day of thanksgiving and prayer in gratitude for the end of the Revolutionary War. Washington observed the holiday by attending church and then donating money and food to prisoners and debtors in New York City jails.

Thank you for taking a journey with me into the history of Thanksgiving. Little did I know how this journey would go much further back and forgotten in history. To all who celebrate Thanksgiving be advised that I did not include Canada only for a matter of time and length. 

What is Christmas? This is an age old question but many of us think of it as family gathering, celebrating Christ, time of exchanging gifts, cookies, Christmas music, Christmas movies and more. Well all of that may be true but I was curious to look back and see how Christmas became the holiday we celebrate in December. Some of what I may uncover may shock you or maybe you already knew and forgotten. Join me as we delve into the mythos and mystery of Christmas.

To understand Christmas let us first take a look at what Yule is. Now Yule is celebrated near Christmas Day however are not the same holiday. I know many of us think Yule is another name for Christmas but surprisingly they are two separate celebrated holidays. With this said, let us see what Yule is all about and why some of us choose to celebrate Yule…..

According to https://stores.renstore.com/history-and-traditions/yule-history-and-origins, Yule  comes from the old Norse jól and Old English géohol which was a season of hunting after the harvest was done. This fell in what we now call December so it eventually became associated with the Christmas Holiday. The Yuletide season lasted from the end of November to the beginning weeks of January but the feast of Yule lasted three days over the Winter Solstice and marked the beginning of the new year. Yule was similar to Passover in Jerusalem before the Temple was destroyed. For Passover, the Jewish people would bring lambs, birds, and other animals for sacrifice. The blood would be offered on the altar and the meat cooked for the Passover meal. According to Norse historian and saga translator Lee M. Hollander every nine years Germanic (Norse) farmers were compelled to come to the temple hof and make sacrifices and feasts over a prescribed period of time during yuletide. Yule was celebrated in Germanic countries with animal sacrifices where the sanctified blood was then used to paint the altar, temple posts, and the supplicant himself as part of the ritual. He was literally "washed in the blood". This was followed by feasts, storytelling and drinking around a large communal fire. In Grettis Saga Yule is described as a time of "greatest mirth and joy among men."

According to https://thevikingdragon.com/blogs/news/the-origins-of-yule, In Scandinavia they don't call it Christmas (Christ-Mass), instead they still retain the old pagan name for the Yuletide celebrations which they call Jul (pronounced Yule). Yule was a pagan festival that followed the midwinter solstice (usually around 21st December) and celebrated the return of the sun as the days slowly started to get longer again. The festivities, which involved lots of drinking and consuming of slaughtered animals, lasted up to 12 days, hence the 12 days of Christmas. In Scandinavia it is still traditional to leave food out (usually porridge with butter) for the little red-capped tomte or nisse (household spirits or house elves) and thus we have the tradition of leaving food (usually cookies) out for Father Christmas, who in Sweden is called the Jul Tomte (the Yule Elf). Yule is the turning of the year when, as the days slowly start to get longer, the Nordic peoples celebrated the end of the year and the return of the sun, the completion of the another yearly cycle of life, death and rebirth. The Modern English word Yule comes down to us via the Middle English yol from the Anglo-Saxon Geol, though nowadays it is more commonly known as Christmastide or the 12 Days of Christmas. However in Scandinavia they still call it jul (pronounced yule) or jol. One of the many names of Odin recorded in the Icelandic sources is Jolnir, which means The Yule One. Though this name probably refers to his role as leader of the Wild Hunt at Yule, rather than to a jolly giver of gifts! (I can find no evidence for the claim on Wikipedia that Odin was known as Jolfaðr, the Yule Father). So how did Yule become Christmas? King Hakon of Norway, who was a Christian, passed a law that the Christian Christmas Day and the Pagan Yuletide celebrations were to be henceforth celebrated at the same time. While this only impacted the Norwegian territories it illustrates how these festivals were intentionally combined into one celebration. We do know that the celebration of Yule wasn’t always twelve days long. The Norse text 'Heimskringla: The Saga of Hakon the Good' talks about it lasting for three days, or as long as the ale continued. The night it began was known as slaughter night, where animals would be ritually slain and their blood collected in bowls to be splattered over the wooden idols of the gods and over the participants using a bunch of twigs. The animals' meat was then consumed in a feast which was known at the julblot. Now https://www.learnreligions.com/history-of-yule-2562997explains Yule as: The Pagan holiday called Yule takes place on the day of the winter solstice, around December 21 in the northern hemisphere (below the equator, the winter solstice falls around June 21). On that day, an amazing thing happens in the sky above us. The earth's axis tilts away from the sun in the Northern Hemisphere, and the sun reaches its greatest distance from the equatorial plane. 

The European Origins of Yule reveal some interesting things. In the Northern hemisphere, the winter solstice has been celebrated for millennia. The Norse peoples, who called it Jul, viewed it as a time for much feasting and merrymaking. In addition, if the Icelandic sagas are to be believed, this was a time of sacrifice as well. Traditional customs such as the Yule log, the decorated tree, and wassailing can all be traced back to Norse origins. The Celts of the British Isles celebrated midwinter as well. Although little is known today about the specifics of what they did, many traditions persist. According to the writings of Pliny the Elder, this is the time of year in which Druid priests sacrificed a white bull and gathered mistletoe in celebration.

The Roman Saturnalia is actually dating back further than Yule or Christmas. I am sure many of you are not familiar with this festival, and if you are…..I am impressed. Few cultures knew how to party like the Romans. Saturnalia, which fell on December 17, was a festival of general merrymaking and debauchery held around the time of the winter solstice. This week-long party was held in honor of the god Saturn and involved sacrifices, gift-giving, special privileges for slaves, and a lot of feasting. Although this holiday was partly about giving presents, more importantly, it was to honor an agricultural god. A typical Saturnalia gift might be something like a writing tablet or tool, cups and spoons, clothing items, or food. Citizens decked their halls with boughs of greenery, and even hung small tin ornaments on bushes and trees. Bands of naked revelers often roamed the streets, singing and carousing — a sort of naughty precursor to today's Christmas caroling tradition.

Now that we understand that the winter solstice has connections to this season, we can find some celebrations around the time of the Roman holiday. Other celebrations around the world at this time were based on Welcoming the Sun Through the Ages. Four thousand years ago, the Ancient Egyptians took the time to celebrate the daily rebirth of Ra, the god of the Sun. As their culture flourished and spread throughout Mesopotamia, other civilizations decided to get in on the sun-welcoming action. They found that things went really well... until the weather got cooler, and crops began to die. Each year, this cycle of birth, death, and rebirth took place, and they began to realize that every year after a period of cold and darkness, the Sun did indeed return. Winter festivals were also common in Greece and Rome, as well as in the British Isles. When a new religion called Christianity popped up, the new hierarchy had trouble converting the Pagans, and as such, folks didn't want to give up their old holidays. Christian churches were built on old Pagan worship sites, and Pagan symbols were incorporated into the symbolism of Christianity. Within a few centuries, the Christians had everyone worshiping a new holiday celebrated on December 25, although scholars believe it is more likely that Jesus was born around April rather than in the winter. In some traditions of Wicca and Paganism, the Yule celebration comes from the Celtic legend of the battle between the young Oak King and the Holly King. The Oak King, representing the light of the new year, tries each year to usurp the old Holly King, who is the symbol of darkness. Re-enactment of the battle is popular in some Wiccan rituals. 

In recorded history we start to note when things of historical note occurred according to the authors of course. According to https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yule-festival, One of the earliest known references to Yule is from English monk and historian Bede, who wrote in the early 8th century about “giuli,” a period in the old pagan calendar used by Germanic groups such as the Norse and the Anglo-Saxons. Giuli was a two-month span that marked the time when sunlight began to increase again at the winter solstice. It was not a festival per se but a marking of the passage of time. “Yule” became a name for Christmas about the 9th century, and in many languages yule and its cognates are still used to describe that holiday—jul in Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish; joulud in Estonian; joulu in Finnish; and jol in Icelandic. The Christmas holiday is still referred to as Yule in the Scots language. According to the saga of King Haakon Haraldsson (also known as Haakon I Adalsteinsfostre or Haakon the Good) of Norway, who ruled in the 10th century, the Norse Yule celebration and Christian Christmas celebration were merged during his reign. Haakon became Christian after a visit to England, and after his return to Norway he put into law that Yule should be celebrated at the same time as Christmas. Everyone was required to have ale from a measure of grain and keep the holiday while the ale lasted or else be subject to a fine.

Now that we have an understanding of what Yule represents, let us take a look at some of the traditions of Yule. Perhaps you may find some familiar traditions whom take there origins from this holiday. Let us see shall we. From this point Christmas continued to overtake Yule, although some vestiges of the original celebration remain. One of these is the Yule log, still popular today although usually in altered form. It is thought that the original Yule log was a large log that burned throughout the entire multiday festival, for as many as 12 days. A popular modern take on the Yule log is a roulade-style cake decorated to look like a log. Another remaining tradition is that of the Yule goat. In towns and cities throughout Sweden during the Christmas season, large goats are constructed out of straw. It is thought that the tradition originated in ancient times, perhaps as a tribute to the god Thor, who was said to ride in a chariot pulled by goats. In Sweden the goat came to be associated with the Christmas celebration, and the Yule goat is now considered by many to be a companion or counterpart to Santa Claus. This information comes from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yule-festival.

The Yule Ham: Just as the goat was associated with Thor, the boar was associated with Freyr. Pigs and wild boar were sacrificed to Freyr to grant a bountiful harvest or to bless marriages and children. After the sacrifices were made during a Norse Yule, the meat was boiled and eaten at the feast. In the middle ages, the boar's head was considered the best part and it was served to the head table with an apple in its mouth. Today the vestiges of this tradition are found in the Christmas Ham and the Boar's Head Carol.

Mistletoe may surprise you to learn is a Yule tradition. Mistletoe was greatly revered by the Ancient Druids and the Norse people believed it was magical. It stayed green all year round even though the host tree would drop its leaves and look dead. It drew in nutrients without any roots in the earth. It was always found high up in oak and apple trees. If found in a sacred oak tree, it was cut down with a gold sickle during a special ceremony and caught in a white cloak before it hit the ground. Then the magical mistletoe was divided and a piece was given to every home in the village to ward off evil for the next year. Thus hanging mistletoe over the door became a New Year's tradition. According to About.com kissing under the mistletoe is related to Frigga also known as Freyr. The Norse goddess of love was Frigga. Frigga had two sons, one of which was blind. The evil figure of Loki made an arrow out of mistletoe wood and shot Frigga's blind son with the mistletoe arrow. The blind son died, and the goddess' tears became the mistletoe's white berries. When Frigga's blind son came back to life later, the Nordic goddess decided to turn mistletoes in Scandinavia into a symbol of love and fertility, requiring a kiss between humans meeting beneath the mistletoe.

Wassail translates as "Good Health" as in "I drink to your good health", but it was also the alcohol punch made with spices and fruit juice that was used to make the toast. The word toast comes from the toasted bread served with the brew. If it also contained eggs, milk or cream it was called nog. To go a-wassailing was like trick-or-treat for grown-ups. They would go from house to house and beg for wassail and other treats, like figgy pudding. The tradition originated before Christianity as an orchard blessing ritual. The people believed that the fruit trees went into hibernation when the nights grew longer. So they would gather in the orchards after Mid-winter and make as much noise as they could to wake up the trees. All of these Yule traditions mentioned above can be found at https://stores.renstore.com/history-and-traditions/yule-history-and-origins

https://thevikingdragon.com/blogs/news/the-origins-of-yulestates the twelve days of Yule are as follows:

~The first night of Yule - Mother Night (Módraniht)

Sacred to Frigg, Freya, and the Disir

Industriousness

Yulmonath

~Second night of Yule - The Wild Hunt

Sacred to Odin and Ancestors

Perseverance

Horning

~Third night of Yule

Sacred to Mani and Darkness

Courage

Lenting

~Fourth night of Yule

Sacred to Aegir, Njord, and Freyr

Love

Ostara

~Fifth night of Yule

Sacred to Community

Hospitality

Merrymoon

~Sixth night of Yule

Sacred to Eir and Healing

Discipline

Midyear

~Seventh night of Yule

Sacred to Thor and Children

Fidelity

Haymoon

~Eighth night of Yule

Sacred to Skadi and Ullr

Truth

Harvest

~Ninth night of Yule

Sacred to Odin and Fathers

Honor

Shedding

~Tenth night of Yule

Sacred to Sunna and Light

Justice

Hunting

~Eleventh night of Yule

Sacred to the Valkyries and Warriors

Self Reliance

Fogmoon

~Twelfth night of Yule - Wassail

Sacred to all Divine Friends and Oath Night

Wisdom

Snowmoon

I think we now have a pretty good idea of Yule. But what does this have to do with Christmas. Is there a connection to Christmas? Why is Christmas in December? Let us take a look now and see what we can learn….

According to https://parade.com/living/history-of-christmas, The 16th-century Christmas carol "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" says, "God rest ye merry, gentlemen / Let nothing you dismay / Remember, Christ, our Saviour / Was born on Christmas Day." It’s a beautiful carol, recognizable in most households today. Except the holiday season does not always feel restful, Christ was likely not born on December 25 and not all Christians around the world celebrate his birth on that particular day. Christmas was even banned in Boston for a time! There’s some explaining to do there. And while it’s true we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas (note the word combination of "Christ" and "Mass"), this specific celebration did not begin until the fourth century, according to History.com. Before that, Easter was the main celebration for Christians. As Inside the Vatican reported, one belief is that St. Hippolytus claimed December 25 for Christianity first. He did this with his commentary on the book of Daniel (written circa 205 AD), stating that the birthdate of Jesus was December 25 (scholars do not agree this particular date was the factual birthdate). According to History.com, Pope Julius I chose December 25 "in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival." Technically, the original Christmas festival was actually observed on January 7. This is partly because the Julian calendar (also known as the "Old Calendar") was once used since Julius Caesar's time up until Pope Gregory XIII's reform, when the Gregorian calendar was adopted. With the change, over a week of days in the year were lost. 

So, using the Julian calendar, as Orthodox Christians still do, just means December 25 is on a different day. The first recorded Christmas celebration was December 25, 336 AD. The date was chosen because it is nine months after the Annunciation, which celebrates Christ’s conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary, on March 25 (also the date of the spring equinox). Because there was/is significance to the amount of time between the spring equinox and Christmas Day, it didn't make sense for them to celebrate earlier just because many others adopted the new Dec. 25 as the Christmas celebration. echnically, these Orthodox believers observe the Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds on January 6, and Adoration of the Magi plus Christmas Day on January 7. These Feast days are all about going to church and gathering with loved ones for lavish meals.

We now can start to understand why there are so many traditions and many celebrations around the world. But when did these traditions start and when did we recognize Christmas as the holiday we know it as today….

https://parade.com/living/history-of-christmasgoes on to explain some of the history of the holiday. When Puritan settlers arrived in 1620, they believed Christmas to be too extravagant and they did not celebrate the holiday, per History.com. They believed "there was no scriptural basis for commemorating Christmas." In fact, celebrating Christmas was actually banned in Boston from 1659-1681, according to History! Christmas became recognized as a federal holiday around two centuries later in 1870. 

Now let us look into the traditions a little deeper to help us maybe find the answer to what Christmas truly is. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/christmas/the-history-of-christmas/has all the traditions handed down through time by period of time or rule such as Tudor era. Feel free to look there for more information. I would break it down but feel we are getting a little over informed about this holiday and we are just getting started on it. Who knew there was so much history behind these two holidays which are similar to one another but yet vastly different.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/christmas-tree-historyshares with us the history of the greatest Christmas season tradition and symbol……the Christmas Tree itself. Indeed, the surprising history of Christmas trees originates with pagan winter solstice celebrations, a fact that once made the now-popular symbol a point of contempt in Christian cultures. Multiple countries have laid claim to starting the tradition, but historians have been able to trace it, at the very least, to Northern Europe, where the forests were flush with evergreen trees. Evergreens likely held a special significance in pagan cultures because they retained their color in the winter months. Whereas other trees shed their leaves and appeared like dead, gnarled things springing from the ground, evergreens were a symbol of life. Many pagan cultures adorned their homes with evergreen boughs to keep evil spirits at bay, a common element among winter solstice rituals. In fact, according to the Society of Ethnobiology, the period now known as the 12 Days of Christmas was considered by pagan cultures to be the darkest and most dangerous time of the year. Fearful believers would cover their homes in aromatic plants like pine and fir, smudging the walls with resin as a protective measure. Although many countries have declared themselves the home of the Christmas tree, historians have said it’s likely that the real first tree was erected in 16th-century Alsace, in modern-day France. At the time, however, Alsace was a part of German territory, and so the tradition technically belongs to the Germans. Historical records show that a Christmas tree was indeed put up in the Strasbourg Cathedral in 1539, and the tradition quickly became popular throughout the region. In fact, Christmas trees became such a rage that laws had to be put in place banning the cutting of pine branches and limiting each house to one tree, according to TIME. The Protestant reformer Martin Luther is also commonly credited with being the first person to put lights on a Christmas tree. He is said to have decorated his family’s tree with candles one night after a long walk through a forest in which he became entranced by the stars above him. It was around this time, in the mid-18th century, that George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte, supposedly brought the first Christmas tree into the royal palace. However, it wasn’t until 1848 that the common image of a decorated Christmas tree with presents beneath it took hold. That year, the Illustrated London News published an engraving of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert gathered around a tree with their children admiring the toys beneath its branches. It was an evident success, and in the late 19th century, the advent of Thomas Edison’s long-lasting carbon filament lamps brought about Christmas lights, replacing Luther’s 16th-century fire hazard. This brought about Christmas Trees taking hold in the United States. Electricity lobbyists led the push for a “National Christmas Tree” at the White House to show off the wonders of electricity. In 1923, a 48-foot-tall balsam fir tree with 2,500 light bulbs was erected in the nation’s capital, per the National Park Service. Not long after, a 20-foot-tall Christmas tree was displayed at the Rockefeller Center, which was still under construction. Soon enough, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country. Today, more than 25 million live Christmas trees are sold each year in the United States — and that’s not to account for the 84 percent of families who put an artificial tree on display in their homes. What began as a pagan tradition has exploded into a key part of Christmas celebrations across the globe.

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/holidays-celebrations/a41615038/history-of-christmas/states: It's a Christian holiday, so it has religious significance. Artists have been painting the nativity scene for centuries, and innumerable movies have been made to explore the holiday's joyful themes. But what's the deal with the jolly man in the big red suit? Why do we keep decorated trees in our homes? And why are those ornaments traditionally round? If you really think about it, there is a lot to be learned. Initially named the Feast of the Nativity, the holiday spread to Egypt by 432 and England and Germany by the sixth century. Believers went to church, then had a raucous celebration with wine and a carnival-like atmosphere. The Christmas traditions were much like the pagan ones from the solstice and Juvenalia, which were now absorbed into the single day. Wait, but who invented Santa Claus? Okay, Santa was kind of a real person. A real monk named St. Nicholas was born in Turkey around 280 A.D. The legend goes that he traveled the country giving away his wealth, and became known as the protector of children. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. In parts of northern Europe, the day is celebrated with special cookies and gifts. Children will leave letters for St. Nicholas and carrots for his donkey then wake to find presents under their pillows or in their shoes and stockings. Sound familiar? Good ol' Saint Nick entered American culture thanks to Dutch immigrants who celebrated Sinterklaas (a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas or Dutch for Saint Nicholas), but he wasn't popularized until the 1822 poem "Twas The Night Before Christmas." Then, in 1881, political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on the poem to create the jolly red image of Old Saint Nick we know today. This image of Santa that we know and love was only further defined by the beloved Coca-Cola Company Christmas advertisements first created in 1931 by illustrator Haddon Sundblum, featuring a bright red suit, matching cap, and boots.

Have you ever wondered what and why we sing about Figgy Pudding? https://parade.com/recipes/what-is-christmas-puddingexplains it as: Christmas pudding is a traditional dessert that is a combination of dried fruits, nuts, eggs or molasses, spices, flour and butter. Steaming the Christmas pudding is generally the cooking method used and then it's served with some kind of topping like a decadent hard sauce. It is an old-fashioned favorite for Christmas dessert, also known as plum pudding or figgy pudding. Originally, people started to enjoy this dessert in the United Kingdom. Recipes for Christmas Pudding were made from ingredients that were more affordable, and accessible and were stored in the pantry for special occasions. Root vegetables were a popular ingredient, as were flour and spices, which may have been used sparingly. Lard and suet were frequently used in this dessert and are replaced by butter nowadays. Christmas pudding is delicious on its own, but it can be made even more indulgent with a caramel or bourbon sauce. Ice cream or freshly made whipped cream are delicious toppings as well. Coconut and chopped nuts give the pudding extra flair.

Ever wonder why we hang stockings? https://christmasphere.com/what-is-the-origin-of-christmas/explains it as this: In the 1900s the biggest change to Christmas was the commercialisation of the holiday, with companies finding ways to market the holiday more towards children and buying toys as presents. In 1902 the plush teddy bear was invented specifically for Christmas. Every year since companies have been trying to put out the ‘toy of the year’ for Christmas. Prior to this, the Victorian tradition of putting out stockings was popular even as toys became the gift of choice. Children would hang a stocking at the end of their bed and on Christmas morning they would small toys and an orange.

Let us end this look into Christmas and Yule with some fun facts about Christmas. These facts and more can be found at https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas. In the Middle Ages, Christmas celebrations were rowdy and raucous—a lot like today’s Mardi Gras parties. The first eggnog made in the United States was consumed in Captain John Smith’s 1607 Jamestown settlement. Poinsettia plants are named after Joel R. Poinsett, an American minister to Mexico, who brought the red-and-green plant from Mexico to America in 1828. Rudolph, “the most famous reindeer of all,” was the product of Robert L. May’s imagination in 1939. The copywriter wrote a poem about the reindeer to help lure customers into the Montgomery Ward department store.

https://www.crosswalk.com/special-coverage/christmas-and-advent/what-is-christmas-understanding-the-history-and-origin.htmlexplains a very interesting twist to this holiday. The Origin of Christmas Eve

For centuries, Christmas was celebrated not as a single day, but as a whole season in parts of the world, beginning with this day, December 24, Christmas Eve. Perhaps the practice of celebrating the evening before the big day is an echo from ancient Jewish reckoning. Among earlier Jews, a day began at six in the evening and ran until six the following evening. Had not Moses written: "An evening and a morning were the first day"? Christmas means "Christ-mass." Although the date is a guess, the tradition of observing it goes back to at least the fourth century. Under the influence of the church, Christian traditions replaced pagan solstice festivals throughout Europe. Often the more innocent pagan practices (such as bringing in a Yule log, decorating with holly and the like) were carried over into the Christmas observance, transfigured with new meaning. This site also goes on to explain a few other interesting Christmas nuances. The Christian Meaning Behind Ancient Traditions: Evergreen Trees were the symbol of eternal life. Martin Luther introduced them to the Reformation Church as a picture of our endless life in Christ, by bringing in a tree to his family on Christmas Eve lit with candles (Isaiah 60:13). Candlesare a picture that Christ is the Light of the world (John 8). Holly speaks of the thorns in His crown (Matthew 27:29). Red is a color of Christmas that speaks of Christ's blood and death. Bells are associated with ringing out news. Christ is the good news, the best news of all. In 1822, Clement Moore wrote a poem for children that has never been forgotten. It was entitled, "Twas the Night before Christmas..."! Santa Claus is a Dutch word that is actually Sinter Claus, Saint Nicholas, in English. Saint Nicholas was the supposed early Bishop of a church in Asia Minor [the modern country of Turkey]. He became aware of some desperate needs in his congregation, and a family having to sell their children into slavery, so one night he came and left money on their doorstep. It was gold in a stocking. Gifts are a reminder of the gifts of the Magi to baby Jesus. Each of them speak to a component of His incarnation: Majesty in life, Bitterest Agony in Death and He as God's Perfect gift to us (Matthew 2). Christmas Cards started in 1844. An English artist named William Dobson, drew up some pictures in England for use at this season. They found local use there and soon spread to America. In 1846 Cole and Horsley saw the commercial potential of this growing tradition and started the production of what is now over a $1,000,000,000.00 industry, that sees 4 billion cards sent each year in America alone. 3 Christmas Carols that Tell the True Christmas Story: "The First Noel", "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and "Joy to the World". The site above mentioned has great write ups explaining why these three Christmas Carols were picked.

Oh, did you think Christmas was all fun and merry? According to https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/krampus-could-come-you-holiday-season-180957438/, there is a dark side to Christmas. A mangled, deranged face with bloodshot eyes tops a furry black body. Giant horns curl up from his head, displaying his half-goat, half-demon lineage. Behind this terror, a dozen more stomp through the snow of the streets of Lienz, Austria, among a din of cowbell jangles. The creatures dash through the streets, chasing giggling children and adults alike, poking them with sticks and scaring some with the realization that they were naughty this year. Krampus himself historically comes around the night of December 5, tagging along with St. Nicholas. He visits houses all night with his saintly pal. While St. Nick is on hand to put candy in the shoes of good kids and birch twigs in the shoes of the bad, Krampus' particular specialty is punishing naughty children. Legend has it that throughout the Christmas season, misbehaved kids are beaten with birch branches or can disappear, stuffed into Krampus' sack and hauled off to his lair to be tortured or eaten. "The Krampus is the yin to St. Nick's yang," Seghers tells Smithsonian.com. "You have the saint, you have the devil. It taps into a subconscious macabre desire that a lot of people have that is the opposite of the saccharine Christmas a lot of us grew up with." In fact, Krampus' roots have nothing to do with Christmas. Instead, they date back to pre-Germanic paganism in the region. His name originates with the German krampen, which means "claw," and tradition has it that he is the son of the Norse god of the underworld, Hel. During the 12th century, the Catholic Church attempted to banish Krampus celebrations because of his resemblance to the devil. More eradication attempts followed in 1934 at the hands of Austria's conservative Christian Social Party. But none of it held, and Krampus emerged as a much-feared and beloved holiday force.

Ever wonder what the deal with coal is? https://www.christmascentral.com/resources/christmas-traditions/what-does-it-mean-to-get-a-lump-of-coal-in-your-stocking/took a look to see about just that. Christmas is a holiday filled with tradition. Some traditions, however, can be a bit puzzling. For instance, most people are familiar with the threat that misbehaving children might find nothing but a lump of coal in their stocking on Christmas morning. How did the odd story of coal as a Christmas gift begin? The concept of naughty children receiving unwelcome Christmas presents is not strictly an American invention. Other cultures have similar traditions. Italian children know La Befana, the “Christmas witch,” leaves toys and candy for good children, while bad children get lumps of coal. Misbehaving Dutch and German children are warned of the Krampus, a scary sort of “anti Santa” who leaves coal for Christmas instead of presents. Traditionally, naughty American children sometimes received stones, sticks or even cold potatoes in their Christmas stockings. The infamous lump of coal became a more well-known disciplinary gift in the early 1900s. By that time, many households, especially in the city, used coal for heating. It’s easy to imagine Santa snatching a piece of coal from the scuttle and popping it into a child’s stocking on his way up the chimney. Today, while the fear of Christmas coal has faded, fake coal is sometimes given as a humorous gag gift. Nonetheless, exploring how this humble household item transformed over time and across cultures adds a delightful layer to the Christmas tale. 

Well it is easy to see why Christmas is such a mythical holiday filled with many different ways to celebrate. It can be easy to understand why people have such belief in this holiday. It has been said that this holiday represents Peace on Earth. I do find it a time of peace within myself and around me. I also though find it at times does get lost in the commercialism. Let us all take time to remember the traditions we grew up with and mix them with new traditions we make as families blend and grow. Remember that for all the fun and merriment of the season you better behave and be good this year because you never know if Krampus is waiting around the corner.

Remember everyone to fill your hearts with joy and love this Christmas season or Yuletide Season. May your holidays be blessed and filled with family and friends. May the blessings of this holiday renew you and fill you for the upcoming year. Blessings to you all.