12 facts about Christmas

Christmas is almost here!  When we walk around the shops at this time of year we are bombarded with images of jolly Santas, reindeers, mistletoe, wise men and words such as Yule tide and Noel.  teflhub thought it would be interesting to look at the etymology of some Christmas phrases and the origins of certain traditions.

Father Christmas:  the jolly Christmas figure hasn’t always looked as he does today.  He evolved from a St Nicolas who wore austere traditional bishop’s attire to a kind gift-giving figure wearing green or blue.  An advertising campaign by Coca-Cola brought us the plump jolly figure in red that we associate with today’s Santa Claus.

Xmas:  some people mistakenly consider that using ‘Xmas’ instead of ‘Christmas’ is being disrespectful or irreligious. In fact ‘Christianity’ was originally spelled ‘Xianity’ when it was first recorded in Greek (both X or Chi can be used in Greek for the first letter of ‘Christ’). The first official Christmas Day was celebrated on the 25th of December 336 AD in Rome. 

Noel:  is believed to derive from the Latin verb nasci which means ‘to be born’.  A variation of this word appeared in Old French, nael or nowel, which means the ‘the Christmas season’.

Yule tide:  or ‘Yule time’ originated from a Nordic celebration of the winter Solstice where a Yule Log would be burnt (one theory believes the term is derived from a Nordic name for Odin, i.e. Yule Father).  This term was then absorbed into Christianity which brought us the term Christmastide. 

St Nicolas:  was the bishop of Myra in the early 4th century (located in modern-day Turkey).  The Dutch created the idea of him as a gift-giver and Dutch settlers transported the tradition all over the world (as well as the protector of children, St Nicolas is also the patron saint of unmarried women, pawnbrokers, prisoners, and thieves).

Santa Claus:  the Dutch name for St Nicolas is Sinterklaas.  There were numerous Dutch colonies in North America (New York used to be known as New Amsterdam) and so many of their traditions became Americanised - the first published use of ‘Santa Claus’ appeared in 1773.

Rudolph:  the most famous of Father Christmas’s reindeers was almost called Reginald; and at one point he wasn’t going to have a red nose because it was associated with alcoholism. The reindeer was invented as a marketing gimmick in 1939 by copywriter Robert May.

Boxing Day:  it is thought that the holiday Boxing Day (celebrated in the UK on the 26th of December) derived its name from an old tradition whereby the rich would box up leftovers from their Christmas Day and give the boxes to their servants on the 26th.  Another theory suggests that the alms box which held charitable donations in churches would be opened and distributed to the poor on the day after Christmas. (It has nothing to do with frazzled family relations!)

Nog:  (egg) nog is derived from the word grog which was a staple part of a sailor’s rations in days of old and was made from rum.

Magi :  otherwise known as the Three Wise Men, they were thought to have come from the East and so many think they would have been from the Zoroastrian religion.  There is a dispute over whether there were actually three of them – there were three gifts, and so the assumption is that there were three wise men.  However, in Eastern Christianity there are up to twelve wise men.

Stockings filled with presents:  the tradition of filling stockings with gifts is derived from the tale that St Nicolas dropped a bag of gold down a chimney so that the eldest son in the house could get married – it fell into a stocking which was being dried in the fireplace.

Mistletoe:  the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe it thought to come from Norse mythology.  The goddess Frigga’s son, Balder, was killed by an evil spirit using an arrow made of mistletoe.  Distraught, Frigga wept tears of white berries over her son which brought Balder back to life.  The goddess was so filled with relief and joy that she blessed the plant, promising a kiss for all those who pass beneath it.

Wherever you are reading this, the team at teflhub would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!