Christmas Traditions….
December 13, 2022
Christmas Tradition... where does it all come from?
Christmas Tradition… well, tradition is a funny old thing. Sometimes rooted in religion, sometimes in superstition, our traditions and rituals bond our communities and define much of our culture; our traditions identify us to others. How did Christmas come about and what do we do in France to celebrate? Is it the same as what happens in the UK and the US?
Decorating trees
Traditionally these were hung with apples and oranges but following a drought in the Vosges region in the 19thCentury, a glass-blower decided to recreate the form of an apple in glass… and baubles came into existence (at least that’s the story told).
Christmas Carols
These are big in the UK but aren’t really a thing in France. Carols play virtually no role in the season’s festivities compared to British or American traditions where they are an important Christian part of celebrations. Which leaves more time for food….
Food
Turkey – yes, we eat that too - but also there’s often lots of seafood, like Oysters to start the meal. Traditionally we also eat lots of foie gras and finish our meal with a chocolate Christmas log – la bûche de noël. We eat a big, family meal on Christmas Eve called Le Réveillon as well as more food on Christmas Day.
In certain parts of South Western France, notably in Provence, we have 13 different desserts after the main meal! This means we get to spend a lot of time at the table on the big day…
Advent Calendars.
We have these like our British counterparts and also nativity scenes, which reflects the strong Christian and Catholic traditions of France.
St Nicolas day – 6th December
Like much of Europe many of us celebrate the eve of St. Nicolas’ day on 5th December and leave shoes outside our doors for presents and sometimes with treats for his Donkey. This is similar to you leaving out milk and snacks for Santa and his reindeer on Christmas Eve.
Chocolate!
Many of us in France swap chocolates wrapped in paper containing a note, a bit like a fortune cookie.
Crackers
No – they’re not a thing in France…!
Mistletoe
If you’re feeling lucky at Christmas in France it might be because of the mistletoe – but it wouldn’t be lucky in the sense of a having kiss were you to stand underneath it. It has no such romantic connotation in France and is just a symbol of good luck in general.
Much of this is rooted in various, old celebrations of mid-winter and family with strong Christian traditions around the religious feast of Jesus Christ’s birth.
The 25th of December was originally the feast of Saturnalia for the Romans – the goddess of Agriculture – where people celebrated the renewed coming of the Summer all through the month of December. Mid-winter solstice was 3 days before, around the 21st, but the solstice couldn’t be fixed on a certain date in the Julian Calendar so the events often fused.
On December 25th Romans also celebrated the birthday of the infant God, Mithra, God of the Unconquerable Sun – and for many it was the most important date in the year. Also, he was Persian...
Early Christians, however, didn’t celebrate the birth of Jesus until the 4th Century AD / CE, focusing rather on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter, but Pope Julius I chose 25th December as the birth date of Jesus, most probably as it was a way of ensuring pagan acceptance of the “new” God as they were already celebrating the longest night and the steady march towards the warmth and prosperity of the summer.
Many modern scholars think that Jesus was more likely to have been born around about the month of April (but it wasn’t called that then!).
In Scandinavia people celebrated the mid-Winter solstice, which they called Yule, starting on the 21st of December. They would take a log and burn it, often for as long as 12 days, during which time they would feast (the 12 days of Christmas?)
In much of what is now Germany, people honoured the pagan god, Oden. He was supposed to fly through the sky watching people to decide who would become prosperous and who would not.
Meanwhile, Saint Nicholas – a Turkish Monk born in the 3rd Century AD/CE – entered popular culture with Dutch immigrants in New York who gathered at this time to honour him – Sinter Klaas in colloquial Dutch.
Clement Clark Moore wrote a poem that depicted him flying on a sleigh delivering toys to children and both Washington Irving (The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.) and Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol) both contributed elements that created our connotations of the Rich helping the Poor at Christmas that were not hitherto present.
As the above illustrates, you can see how various cultures, theologies and celebrations have fused and confused into what Christians or Christian-root cultures celebrate as Christmas. Languages are part of this and that’s why it’s important to experience languages and cultures, not just learn about them. School trips to France are a great way to take your first steps on a lifelong journey of discovery learning.
Finally, if our traditions and celebrations evolve over time, I wonder what Christmas will look like in 100 years’ time! Elf on a Shelf has gained traction over the past 20 years – what will come next?
If books influenced 19th and 20th Century traditions, perhaps Will Farrell’s hit film, Elf, will result in children eating spaghetti with sweets on Christmas Eve in 50 years’ time… and will Santa Claus will ride his sleigh with a tall, adopted Elf?
How will the encroaching commercial success of Easter affect Christmas? Will we eat Cadbury’s Crème Eggs on Christmas Eve as a festive treat (they’re already in the shops on boxing Day!)? How will you do yours?
If we can trace Norse, Germanic and Roman traditions in our current celebrations, how will Asian cultures infuse our future interpretations of Christmas?
Happy Christmas to you all - joyeuses fêtes!