Feelings Of Christmas

When you see some of the holiday cards that show old fashioned Christmases
past, you may automatically think of the setting being somewhere in England.
It’s perfectly understandable, as this has been one of the most popular
holidays in England since the arrival of St. Augustine and the Christian monks
who came with him in 596 A.D.  Once the monks had spread Christianity to the
people of England, Christmas became an annual celebration complete with the
singing of carols, decorating the Christmas tree, and the hanging of
evergreen, holly, and ivy.

Decorating the Christmas tree is a holiday custom that originated in Germany
but made its way into England. Very old Druid rites brought about the custom
of “kissing under the mistletoe.” England also enjoys this custom each year
during Christmas. The tradition of singing Christmas carols began with the
serenading groups who used to go from house to house helping to spread the
cheer and joy of Christmas. Caroling is still practiced today at Christmas.

Children write letters to Father Christmas each year before the holidays to
tell him what presents they would like to receive. However, they don’t mail
them. In England, the completed letters are thrown into the fireplace to burn.
Stockings are hung by the children as a place for Father Christmas to leave
some of their gifts. Cakes along with other pastries are left out for him to
enjoy as well. On Christmas morning, everyone wakes up to see what Father
Christmas left. Then they set about exchanging gifts with everyone.

A traditional Christmas dinner is usually served on Christmas Day in the
middle of the day. It is called “daylight” dinner and is a huge feast
consisting, normally, of a roasted turkey,vegetables and sauces. While this
part of the dinner is most definitely delicious, the desserts are what people
wait for eagerly. The traditional Christmas dessert is a fruity Christmas
pudding served with a brandy sauce. While this is the customary dessert, other
popular ones are crumble pies and pastry containing mixed fruit that has been
dried and chopped.

The day following Christmas in England is known as Boxing Day. This is the day
that young boys in England travel around with clay boxes going door to door to
collect money. Once the boxes are full of money, they are taken to the
churches and broken. All of the money in those boxes are given to people who
are poor and needy. This holiday ritual started in England during the middle
of the 19th century. It is still considered to be exclusive as well as unique
when celebrating Christmas in England. The money gathered on Boxing Day is
meant to give the less fortunate a chance to celebrate the holidays as well.

Should you decide that you would like to spend Christmas in England, it will
be well worth the effort. With the combination of both tradition and beautiful
surroundings, it is a holiday that you will remember for many years to come.
Your travel agent will be more than happy to answer all of your questions and
make sure that your holiday is the best you could ever hope for.

It is early morning, the eldest daughter leaps out of bed in excitement. It’s
December  13th, the Feast of Saint Lucia. She dresses in the white robe, tying
the red sash around her waist. Going down to the kitchen, she prepares hot
coffee and mulled wine, setting the Lucia buns, redolent with saffron, onto a
plate.

As she prepares the breakfast, her siblings are examining the Advent calender.
These calenders count down the days to Christmas. The more elaborate ones have
small niches that house a small treat or a Christmas symbol.

The eldest daughter smiles as one of the younger children discovers a tiny toy
angel behind today’s number. Lighting the candles in the candle wreath, she
places it upon her head, crowning herself Saint Lucia. She wakes her parents
and serves them with the plate of traditional treats she has prepared.

Young women all over Sweden are Saint Lucia, donning the candle wreath,
serving their families and friends, for today marks the festive beginning of
the Christmas season. Saint Lucia was a young woman who was martyred for her
faith.

There is excitement in the air as the family prepares to go to church for a
special event.  Young women everywhere hope this year they will be chosen to
be the Saint Lucia for the church.

Families bundled against the cold leave their homes. The flames of the Advent
candles shine in the windows. Advent is the season of preparation for the
coming of the Christ Child. Each candle marks the four weeks before Christmas
Day.

Families arrive at the church, excited as they greet each other. One lucky
girl is chosen to wear the candle wreath. In moments she is leading a
procession of children as Saint Lucia.

Younger children dressed in white follow her, each carrying a lit candle.
Everyone in church begins to sing the song of Saint Lucia as the procession
moves through the church.

Soon Christmas Eve has arrived. Families put up their Christmas trees. The air
is filled with the scent of food cooking, the sounds of music and chatter. It
is a time for friends and relatives to gather together and celebrate.

Once the tree is up everyone helps decorate. The decorations are made of straw 
symbolizing the straw that the baby Jesus slept on in the manger. The Julbock
or Christmas Goat represents the goats that pull the sleigh for Jultomten, the
Swedish version of Father Christmas. Stars, snowflakes and sunbursts made from
straw decorate the three and a straw goat is placed underneath. 

Swedes decorate their homes with gingerbread biscuits in baskets, poinsettias,
red tulips, red or white Amaryllis and straw centerpieces on the tables.

The feast known as Julbord is served on Christmas Eve and usually served as
three courses. The table is laden with many family favorites and local
specialties. The first course is fish and includes such dishes as pickled
herring, which is eaten with boiled potatoes and hard boiled eggs. Gravlox and
smoked eel is often served. The second course is the cold meat course, the
centerpiece being the Julskinka or the Christmas ham. The third course offers
hot favorites like warm potato salad and roasted pork ribs. After dinner, the
evening is not yet over as Jultomten comes to visit, passing out gifts and
telling funny stories to all the children.

Then there is more singing and dancing around the Christmas tree.

On January 5th, Epiphany Eve, young boys dressed as the Wise Men,carrying
lighted candles on poles topped with stars, go from house to house singing
carols.

As the Christmas season winds to a close, loved ones gather on January 13 for
a final celebration. At the end of the party, everyone gathers to dance around
the Christmas tree one last time. Then it is tossed out the window, marking
the end of the Christmas season. Everyone goes home with some treat.

Christmas is celebrated many ways. The things that always remain the same are
a sense of wonder and reverence, good food, good friends and family gathered
to share in the joy of the season.

Christianity spread itself across much of the western world, and to many
different areas with their own languages, cultures and traditions.  It is
unsurprising that although the core of the religion’s central holiday is
uniform across the world, the celebration and activities surrounding Christmas
vary widely from place to place.  The Netherlands, a nation with a storied
history in the age of exploration, has its own way to commemorate the holiday,
one that has noticeable ties to its own history.

In the United States, Christmas is anticipated eagerly for some time, but the
holiday itself is essentially a one or two day occasion, with the true
‘celebrating’ occurring between early Christmas Eve and late Christmas Day. 
In Holland, the celebration of Christmas is spread out over much of December,
from early in the month until after Christmas Day itself.  This long holiday
reflects the traditions of Yule, the Germanic-Norse holiday from which much of
traditional Christmas celebration was derived.  Yule was a time to celebrate
passing through the winter together in preparation for the new year.

The arrival of Saint Nicholas, commonly called Sinterklaas in the Netherlands,
is a hugely popular and festive event, occurs in the final days of November in
Amsterdam.  He arrives on a ship, a reflection of the maritime element that
has always been strongly ingrained in Dutch culture.  As Holland is a
seafaring nation at heart whose shipping lanes once crisscrossed the globe and
spread trade around the world, it is natural that the heroic figure of this
holiday should travel by sea.  Sinterklaas is outfitted in a red bishop’s
mitre and robes, accompanied by a servant named Black Peter wearing
traditional Spanish garb.  Sinterklaas’s arrival is a major public event that
involves the mayor of Amsterdam giving his or her personal greeting to the
saint.  Crowds come from all around to see.  It is said that Saint Nicholas
resides in Spain and it is from there that he arrives every year, which may
originate in the days of the Habsburg empire when much of Holland was ruled by
the royal family of Spain.

The arrival of Saint Nicholas is the start of the month-long Christmas festive
season.  A few days thereafter is the first true holiday, Saint Nicholas Day,
the 6th of December.  The time for exchanging gifts is the eve of Saint
Nicholas Day, the night of December 5th.  On Saint Nicholas Eve, families give
presents to one another that are deliberately wrapped to fool and deceive the
opener into not being able to guess their nature.  Tiny gifts may be packed in
huge boxes, or a present might come in a box of an entirely different shape. 

Families will get a Christmas tree for the celebration of Christmas Day
itself, which involves the family spending time together around the tree
telling stories, singing, and enjoying one another’s company.  December 26th
is called Second Christmas Day and is a time of public events, concerts and
other performances, for all people to celebrate together.