Those Amazing Christmas Traditions
While it is unclear how the tradition of writing Santa letters started
, getting letters from Santa is a relatively new concept that has caught on. Children get very excited when they receive a Santa letter. A child who gets a personalized letter from Santa will carry that Christmas spirit right through the holidays. Here are more Christmas traditions.The name Santa Clause is derived from the Dutch Sinter Klaas. When Dutch immigrants first started to arrive at Liberty Island in New York, Americans mispronounced it Santa Clause because of our mixed up accents and the name spread with the legend and stuck. Originally known as Saint Nicholas, he was well known for his love of and generosity towards children. He is actually the patron saint of children and sailors.
The Christmas stocking that good old Saint Nick fills with candy and toys every year came from the days when poor children with only one or possible two pairs of socks to their name would have to rinse them in water and hang them or lay them by the fire to dry at night. Back in those days, almost everyone had a fireplace or pit because that was the only means of cooking and staying warm. Early Santa started by dropping three coins down the chimney with one coin landing in each of the children's stockings that hung there to dry. This eventually evolved to Santa stopping by the fireplace, window, or other designated Christmas stocking area and filling it to bursting with fruit, candy, and small toys.
The sugar cookie was the most popular cookie of choice when leaving Santa a snack. The chocolate chip cookie replaced it many years ago. They have since been replaced by the Oreo. In America, the cookies that kids leave out for Santa usually coincide with whatever dad's favorite cookie happens to be. What a coincidence. The first cookies were left by naughty children in an attempt to bribe Santa. Good children left them in order to thank Santa Clause for stopping by and leaving them presents, which would make them good children indeed!
Candy canes have been around since 1670 but the idea to put red stripes on them is only around a hundred years old. A choirmaster invented these because they took a long time to eat and would keep the younger singers occupied during the long recitals. Peppermint flavored candy canes, which is now the standard flavor was not added until the strips came along. Before this, they were all sugar.
The sending of Christmas cards did not become popular until around 1840 with the industrialization of the printing industry. The first designer of Christmas cards came much earlier, however as Sir Henry Cole made the first cards known. You could send one for a penny with an envelope and for half a cent without.
The first Christmas trees were not pine or fir but oak trees. This wonderful tradition was begun in Germany and was then introduced to the United States with German immigrants. They became pine trees because boughs of pine were attached to new homes (on the outside) for luck. The immigrants began bring them into the house and decorating them with homemade ornaments and candles. This eventually evolved into the beautiful Christmas trees that grace most homes today. The evolution of the Christmas holiday is an amazing one.
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