Where did these Traditions come from?[spacer height=”5px”]

Christmas trees have long been associated with traditional Christmas decorations but haven’t been around as long as some people think. Named after the Christian holiday, these decorated trees first appeared in Strasbourg Germany in the 17^th century, just some 300 years ago.[spacer height=”5px”]

But… what some folks don’t know is that the tradition of a tree at Christmas was started much earlier in medieval times and was used to tell the story of the bible, from creation to the birth of Christ.

Priests used “Jesse Trees” to tell a visual story of the bible as a way to help the masses of people (most who could not read or write) understand and educate them on religion. The tree was used to show the branches of people in the bible and how they related to each other, such as Jesus being a descendant of David, or a “branch” reflecting a new life of the line.

Most of these trees had 25 cards or windows that were associated with the bible and had distinct stories and lessons. Jesse Trees have turned into the more modern version of the Advent Calendar.[spacer height=”5px”]

The word Christmas comes from the “Mass of Christ”, or sometimes called Communion or Eucharist. This Mass of Christ was held at midnight and thus eventually became the shorter Christmas that we know today.[spacer height=”5px”]

There are many different theories on how Christmas started being celebrated on the 25^th of December. An early Christian belief is that Mary was told by an angel on March 25^th that she would bear the son of God, and nine months later was December 25^th! March 25^th is still celebrated with “Annunciation” services. March 25^th also has other significant meaning to religions as it is thought to be the day that Jesus died on the cross and another that it was the date that the world was created.[spacer height=”5px”]Oh, and the red and green colors that are associated with Christmas? Bishops robes were red so guess what Santa’s suit color is today? Red of course! Other traditions in history blended into modern Christmas. Holly and Ivy with red berries were brought into homes during winter to brighten up home interiors during the long cold dark nights. This was added to the traditions that red was the blood of Christ, and the holly represented the evergreen born again through the blood of Christ.[spacer height=”5px”]

There are other traditions during the holiday season, such as Hanukkah, that is also rich in traditions. Hanukkah is often represented by the color blue. This is because the color blue was special because in medieval times the color blue was a very expensive dye and often more expensive than the color gold. So, in many cases only wealthy folks could afford blue and it became very revered; Hanukkah was represented in blue as a way to show importance. Blue has since become the traditional color of Hanukkah.[spacer height=”5px”]

There are many more traditions to explore! So have fun researching the history of the holidays! There are dozens you will find fascinating as well as educational![spacer height=”5px”]

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!