The holiday season is a time for tradition, celebration, and gathering with loved ones. We all know the basics: hanging stockings, lighting candles, and ringing in the New Year. But behind the familiar rituals lie some truly bizarre and fascinating histories.
1. Spider Webs Are Christmas Decorations In Ukraine
If you spot a spider web on a Christmas tree in the United States, your first instinct might be to dust it off. But in Ukraine, finding a spider web on your tree is considered a sign of good luck.
This tradition stems from the "Legend of the Christmas Spider." According to folklore, a poor widow and her children couldn't afford decorations for their tree. On Christmas morning, they woke up to find that a spider had spun webs all over the branches. In the sunlight the webs, they turned into gold and silver. This legend is also believed to be the origin of using tinsel on trees.
2. The Statue Of Liberty Was A Christmas Gift
While not typically associated with the winter holidays, the Statue of Liberty has a festive connection. The iconic monument was gifted to the United States by France in 1886.
However, the connection goes deeper than just the year. The statue is often cited as perhaps the largest Christmas gift ever given, symbolizing the friendship between the two nations. While the dedication ceremony happened in October, the sentiment of giving on a grand scale fits right in with the holiday spirit.
3. Candy Canes Started As Church Pacifiers
The candy cane is a staple of holiday treats, but its origins are strictly practical. Legend has it that in 1670, a choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany needed a way to keep children quiet during the long Living Crèche ceremony on Christmas Eve.
He asked a candy maker for some sweet sticks for them. To justify giving candy to children during a solemn service, he asked the candy maker to bend the top of each stick into a hook, representing the shepherds' crooks who visited the infant Jesus. The red stripes were added much later, likely in the early 20th century.
4. Mistletoe Was An Ancient Symbol Of Virility
Kissing under the mistletoe is a sweet romantic tradition today, but its roots are in ancient Druid mythology. The Druids viewed mistletoe as a sacred plant because it remained green and bore fruit even in the dead of winter when other plants died.
Because of this resilience, it became a symbol of vivacity and fertility. The custom of kissing under it likely evolved from English servants' traditions, where a man was allowed to kiss any woman while standing underneath the mistletoe, and if she refused, it was bad luck.
5. Santa Has His Own Zip Code
Writing a letter to Santa is a childhood rite of passage. But where do those letters actually go? The Canadian Post Office decided to answer that question.
To handle the millions of letters addressed to "Santa Claus, North Pole," Canada Post created a special zip code: H0H 0H0. If you mail a letter to Santa at this address, volunteers (often current or retired postal workers) ensure that the sender gets a reply.
6. Roast Swan Was The Original Christmas Dinner
Before turkey or ham took center stage, the wealthy in England feasted on something different: roast swan. In medieval times, swans were considered a delicacy and a status symbol.
King Henry VIII was known to enjoy a roast swan for his Christmas feast. Other popular, albeit unusual, choices for the medieval holiday table included peacock (served with its feathers reattached for display) and boar's head. Turkey didn't become the popular choice until the Victorian era, largely thanks to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
7. 'Xmas' Isn't A Modern Slang Term
Many people believe that writing "Xmas" instead of "Christmas" is a modern, secular attempt to remove the religious aspect from the holiday. However, the abbreviation has deep Christian roots.
In the Greek alphabet, the letter Chi (which looks like our 'X') is the first letter of the word Christos, or Christ. Using 'X' as an abbreviation for Christ dates back to the early Christian church. So, "Xmas" is historically just as religious as the full spelling.
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