Traditions of Christmas - Pt 1

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:8-14 ESV). Have you ever wondered about the origin of the candy cane? Tradition holds that long ago a candy maker decided to make a special gift for his daughter. So he shaped his candy into the form of a “J” for Jesus, and painted red coloring on it to represent the blood of Jesus, and white for the virgin birth. Santa Claus is probably the most well known Christmas holiday tradition. As far back as the Viking days, we find tales of the Norse god Odin, who along with his elves fought the winters of the frozen forests. We see him appearing later in England as Father Christmas, in France as Pere Noel, in Holland as Sinter Claussa and in Germany as Christkidle, or Christ Child (better known to us as Kris Kringle). Perhaps the most famous story of Santa Claus comes from the Netherlands. There a young bishop named Nicholas loved to give gifts to children and to the poor. On Christmas Eve the children would set their shoes by the fireplace and Nicolas would put candy in their shoes if they had been good that year. In Europe he put switches in the shoes of the bad children. He also was said to have dropped coins down the chimney of the home of three maidens. The coins were caught in the stockings that the maidens had hung by the fireplace to dry. Later, during the Victorian era, the writer Clement Moore wrote a poem for his daughter on Christmas Eve. The poem, entitled ‘Twas the night before Christmas, was read to her Sunday School class and later published in the newspaper. The poem still enjoys widespread fame today. So in the years ahead, as we decorate our homes for Christmas, we ought to be mindful of the deeper meaning those decorations symbolize: the tree represents the Tree of Life, the candy cane represents Christ, the star represents the Star of Bethlehem and the lights represent the light of God’s Word that dispels the darkness of evil. We will remember that the manger scene began with a humble monk, and even St. Nicolas himself was originally a young bishop who loved Jesus. We must not be satisfied, however, simply to understand the symbolism of the traditions and decorations we use in our homes to celebrate Christmas. We must examine our hearts as well. Jesus wants our loving obedience, and He desires to reign as Lord of our hearts and our homes.