A Bit on Christmas

Can we thank the Catholics for Christmas?  Well maybe since it is based on the Christ Mass held on 25th of December.  But, we do add in other traditions as we go along.


We acquired a great book titled "A pioneer Christmas : celebrating in the backwoods in 1841" by Barbara Greenwood from the library.  It uses a fictional family of mainly Scottish background to show how it was that Christmas was celebrated by pioneers back in the mid 1800's.  You get some tidbits about the Germans, and how things started to blend. An over all informative book.

It's the Germans that give us the Tree tradition, the garlands and such from most of the northern Europeans.  You also get the traditions of St Nicholas and all his secret gift giving from some Greeks, but that tradition also ended up in the north of Europe.  The mayor in the "Hans Brinker" story dresses as st nick to deliver some goodies (mostly fruit and candy) to the children.  And the dutch have the shoes by the door tradition which interestingly carried over into various parts of Brazil.  My wife mentions they left out shoes hoping for a treat or two on Christmas back when she lived in the interior of Ceará.  The idea of stocking seems to be a bit more North American.  Though the claymation "Santa Claus is coming to town" would tell you the use of stockings was to get a around some rules created by the burgermeister.

What the book shows and tells so well is that various cultures brought with them to the Americas various traditions for the Christmas/holiday season.  Over time the best or most practical were merged and retained.  This fomented into what we in the United States of America now consider Christmas.  And now that concept of our Christmas is heading all over the world; influencing other cultures; due to our popular movies like Home Alone, It's a wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Santa Claus is coming to town, The Grinch Stole Christmas and the like.

Now many are complaining that the holiday has become too commercialized.  You feel like you have to give presents to everyone, cards to a ton of people and the real reason for the season is being lost.  Yes, it should be a time of reflection, celebration of the birth of the Christ child, a time to spread the "Good News" of the gospel.  A time to get together with friends and family.  A time to check on the widows, the lonely, the down trodden and give a helping hand to those in need.

Interestingly my daughter performed a few interesting songs for the winter concert this year at school.  One is "Do you need a reason"  a song that mentioned almost nothing religious but, rather a reason to celebrate the season - LOVE.  Not bad but it leaves out the religious aspects of Christmas.  They did get to learn the draddle song the Jewish people use.  Nothing for Kwanzaa though.  A simple blend of somewhat religious and secular.  A little something for everyone.

I did like the O Tannenbaum she learned in German.  She got the accent down but, that could be associated to the German blood floating around with a ton of other stuff in her body.

I'm including the lyric for the part she learned here as reference
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!
Du grünst nicht nur
  zur Sommerzeit,
Nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!

O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
How loyal are your leaves/needles!
You're green not only
  in the summertime,
No, also in winter when it snows.
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
How loyal are your leaves/needles


So as we try and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas we should take some time out to slow down and try and enjoy ourselves.  And try coming up with a new Tradition that is a little less commercial and more holding to the real meaning of the season.


Buaidh - NO - Bas