"WHY?"
I answered many times, "Because."
"Because WHY?"
"Because that's how we did it when I was growing up."
"But WHY?"
We've all been there, right?
When my son was small, I wanted to make Christmas as magical as it was (and still is!) for me. My parents went to enormous lengths with very little means to create Christmas magic for my two sisters, brother and me and I wanted to carry on that tradition.
But my son had lots of questions!
Why do we have a tree in the HOUSE?
Why do we give gifts?
What's with the candy canes, poinsettias and holly?
What in the world is the 12 Days of Christmas about?
AND SANTA??? How does he deliver packages to the whole world in one night?
We turned to every child's book we could find on any of these subjects and we have a huge pile that we still read today. But the one book that answers many of the questions (for me at least) is "Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas" by Ace Collins.
In 195 pages, the author shares the answers to questions children have been asking for years. It really puts in perspective the beautiful roots of the celebration...and solves some of the mystery.
Here are a few highlights:
Question: Is Santa Claus Real?
I answered many times, "Because."
"Because WHY?"
"Because that's how we did it when I was growing up."
"But WHY?"
We've all been there, right?
When my son was small, I wanted to make Christmas as magical as it was (and still is!) for me. My parents went to enormous lengths with very little means to create Christmas magic for my two sisters, brother and me and I wanted to carry on that tradition.
But my son had lots of questions!
Why do we have a tree in the HOUSE?
Why do we give gifts?
What's with the candy canes, poinsettias and holly?
What in the world is the 12 Days of Christmas about?
AND SANTA??? How does he deliver packages to the whole world in one night?
We turned to every child's book we could find on any of these subjects and we have a huge pile that we still read today. But the one book that answers many of the questions (for me at least) is "Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas" by Ace Collins.
In 195 pages, the author shares the answers to questions children have been asking for years. It really puts in perspective the beautiful roots of the celebration...and solves some of the mystery.
Here are a few highlights:
Question: Is Santa Claus Real?
Answer: When you think about it, a fat man in a red suit sneaking into people's homes is kind of far fetched, but it started out as fact!
St. Nicholas, another name for the big man in the red suit, was a real person who lived in the 4th century in what is now Turkey. He came from a very wealthy family. His parents died when he was very young and he took all of their wealth and distributed it to the needy. He became known for his generosity and kindness. People noted that miracles happened whenever Nicholas was in town and everyone wanted to be a part of the magic.
Another great book about Santa Claus: "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore Illustrated by Jan Brett
Question: Why is the Candy Cane a Symbol for Christmas?
Answer: Hundreds of years ago, mothers used white sugar sticks to pacify their children. In 1670 a choirmaster in Cologne Germany came up with a plan to keep the kids quiet during the very long Nativity service. He knew that the kids would love the candy sticks because candy was so expensive and it would be a rare treat. The hard candy would last a long time to keep the kids quiet but he was afraid that parents would object to candy in church. So, he asked a local candy maker to bend the white sticks into the shape of a shepherd's staff and turn it into a lesson for the kids.
The choirmaster explained that the white color represented the sinless life of Christ and that the shape represented the staff of the shepherds who came to visit the baby Jesus. Having turned it into a teaching tool, the parents and clergy approved and the kids were quiet the whole service. Soon it became a staple on trees across Germany but kids had to wait until Epiphany (Jan 6) when the tree was taken down to eat them.
Another great book about Candy Canes: "The legend of the Candy Cane" by Lori Walburg
Question: Why Do We Have a Christmas Tree?
Answer: For more than a thousand years, those living in the darkest Scandinavian countries have brought fir trees into their homes over the winter as a symbol of hope because of its hardiness to survive the dark, cold winter. Legend has it that on one of St. Boniface's mission trips across Europe, he came across a group of men preparing to sacrifice a small boy to the god Thor beneath a huge oak tree. He commanded them to stop and when they refused, he hit the trunk of the tree with his fist and the tree fell down, revealing a tiny fir tree behind it. He told the men that it was the Tree of Life because it could withstand the winter and represented the eternal life Christ could give them.
Later, Martin Luther was taking a walk on a very dark December night and saw the stars glistening through the branches of a fir tree and was struck by the beauty. He went home and put candles on his tree and said that the tree represented how God's love wouldn't fade like the tree's color doesn't fade and that the light represents the hope symbolized by Christ's birth and resurrection.
The tree was brought to America by Hessian soldiers during the American Revolution but didn't become really popular until the 1840's, when Prince Albert married Queen Victoria and they put a tree in Windsor Castle and an engraving of the couple with their tree appeared in American newspapers (Ahhh, the influence of celebrities even back then.)
Another great book about Christmas Trees: "The Cobweb Christmas" by Shirley Climo and Illustrated by Joe Lasker
Question: Why is the Poinsettia the Christmas Flower?
Answer: As with many of our traditions, this one, too, begins in another country. The Poinsettia was revered for its majesty and beauty and like the fir, its abilty to withstand harsh winters. Used for medicinal purposes and dyes, it was only handled by religious leaders. After Aztec rule ended due to Spanish exploration, missionaries came to the area and the flower was forgotten.
But then Franciscan friars came to the area, and decided to set up a manger scene to teach the Christmas Story. Legend says that a poor girl named Pepita came to see the manger scene but started to cry because she didn't have a gift for Jesus. Someone knelt beside her and told her that Jesus would appreciate anything as long as it is given in love. She ran to pick some green weeds and placed them beside the manger. The weeds miraculously changed before everyone's eyes into the beautiful Poinsettia. In fact, weeds all around the countryside had been transformed into the red star flower and quickly became known as the symbol of Christmas or "la Flor de Nochebuena"-the flower of the Holy Night.
Since the flower begins to bloom in October, it became a symbol of the coming of Christmas. Later it was brought to the U.S. by William Poinsett, Ambassador to Mexico.
Another great book about Pointsettias: "The Legend of the Poinsettia" retold and illustrated by Tomie dePaola
Additional stories include the traditions behind holly, and the colors of Christmas, decorations and more.
