Do You Know The Origins of Christmas traditions ?

There are many traditions and symbols that we associate with Christmas including the Christmas tree, leaving cookies out for Santa Claus, and sending Christmas cards and Christmas presents. If you're like most, you observe all of the traditions which are sacred to your family without a thought about where they originated or why they became so popular in the first place. 

While you don't need to know why you celebrate the Christmas holiday the way you do, it makes for interesting conversation when you're sipping egg nog in front of the fireplace. So, if you're ready to wow your family and friends with your knowledge of the Christmas holiday, bring up these interesting facts about the most widely celebrated holiday. 

The modern term Christmas originates from the Old English "cristes masse," which means "Christ's mass." The name Christ finds its origins in the Greek tongue, which was the language spoken by Christ himself. The Greek form of the work was Khristos, which means "anointed one." 

The origins of the Christmas tree actually predate Christ and the history of Christianity by thousands of years. The tree finds its beginning during the time of the Druids, a society made up of sorcerers, prophets and priests. During the time of the Druid winter solstice, which fell on December 21, the Druid priests decorated outdoor trees with apples and lit candles to show their appreciation to their god Odin. The candles represented the eternal light of their sun god Balter. Christians later adopted the practice widely and decorated their fir trees with apples to represent Adam and Eve's gall from grace. 

The first Christmas tree has been credited to a warrior of the Crusades, Winfried of England, who had traveled to the Northern forests to covert the Pagans, according to legend. When Winfried came upon an unruly mob getting ready to conduct a human sacrifice before the sacred Oak of Geismar, he chopped down the detestable tree and a fir tree immediately sprang from where the Oak tree formerly stood. Winfried claimed the tree was the three of Christ which represented the love and kindness that should be in every one's home. 

Santa Claus is a lively, jolly and fat old fellow who tours the whole world on Christmas Eve delivering presents to deserving children. The modern-day Santa Claus finds his origins in Saint Nicholas. This patron saint was shown in paintings to look like the ordinary person that he was, but was given a makeover by the Coca-Cola Company in the 1930's. That's right; our beloved Santa Claus is nothing more than a clever marketing ploy. And you thought it was hard when the kids on the playground told you Santa Claus didn't exist. 

Christmas cards were introduced during the 1840s in Britain with the introduction of the postal service and the penny stamp. While a penny was a lot of money during those days, sending Christmas cards still became very common by the 1860s. 

Holly and mistletoe are also attributed to the Druids. The ancient Druids were the first society known to have worn sprigs of holly and mistletoe. The druid priests believed that holly was able to remain green and vibrant the entire year because it possessed magical properties. We may have also picked up some other significant traditions from the Druids. Do you think that it's a coincidence that the colors of holly, green and red, are the colors associated with Christmas today? Mistletoe, on the other hand, represented fertility and was looked down upon by the Christian church for its association with non-virginity. 

Gift giving came to us from the Romans. The Romans exchanged holly wreaths as gifts during their Saturnalia festival, which coincided with the Druid's winter solstice. The wreaths were a symbol of eternal life. Later, many Christians would take to adorning their homes with holly during the Saturnalia festival to avoid persecution from the Romans. Eventually adornment with holly was absorbed into Christian practices as well. 

So, now that you know a little more about why you do the things you do during the Christmas season, why don't you see what other tidbits of historical knowledge that you can uncover to share during your next holiday gathering. 

Christmas Traditions in Germany

Countries all across the world celebrate the winter solstice holiday season in their own unique ways. Some such as Christmas and Hanukah are religious celebrations, while others are non-religious celebrations of nature, people and the coming spring solstice. The reasoning behind the various holiday celebrations can sometimes differ greatly, but there are a surprising number of commonalities among the celebratory traditions. Over the thousands of years that man has celebrated the season, each group influenced others with their traditions.

Today each country and faith celebrates the holiday in their own unique ways, but more often than not you can detect common themes shared between countries. In this article we will take a closer look at how Christmas is celebrated in Germany, during which you will see that their traditions are not unlike those shared by England and America.

The youth in many countries celebrate a beloved mystical figure such as Santa Claus and Germany is no different; the German equivalent of America's Santa and England's Father Christmas is none other than the kindly Kris Kringle. Unlike Santa, Kris Kringle is not responsible for passing out gifts to excited children - that duty is reserved by another holiday figure: Christkind.

In Germany children will write letters to Christkind (translated as the Christ Child), much like American children send letters to Santa in the North Pole. The German children place their letters into an envelope heavily adorned with glue and sugar. These envelopes are placed on windowsills where they can glitter in the gentle light of the moon.

And as if the German youth didn't already celebrate enough kindly eternal figures there is yet one more: Saint Nicholas! Traditionally children will stuff their shoes with hay, straw or carrots every Christmas Eve and leave them on their doorsteps. When Saint Nicholas rides by later that evening on his proud white stallion he stops momentarily by each door so that his stallion can feed on the treats left behind. To thank the generous children, Saint Nicholas will replace the eaten hay and/or carrots with delicious candies.

Few things capture the holiday spirits of people better than the age-old Christmas tree. While millions of people set up their Christmas tree each and every year, a good portion of them don't even realize that the tradition originated from Germany. Germans love their Christmas trees just as much as Americans and Englishmen… in fact it's not uncommon to see more than one tree in a German household!

There are conflicting myths about how the Christmas tree first came to be, but one of the most common stories tells the tale of an old woodcutter that stumbled across a young hungry child in the woods. He stopped chopping trees for a bit to befriend and feed the child. Once their meal was finished the two went on their separate ways.

Early during the next morning the child appeared in front of the woodcutter and his wife in the form of a spirit. He identified himself as Christkind and thanked the surprised woodcutter for his act of kindness on the previous day. To repay the woodcutter's good will, Christkind gave him the sprig of an evergreen tree and told him the tree from which the sprig came would bear fruit year round. In response to this miraculous incident, each year Germans started felling evergreen trees each winter and decorating them with ornaments, candies, candles and more.

Once Thanksgiving arrives in America you can be sure of one thing: virtually every mall and shopping outlet will be adorned with many festive Christmas decorations. Germans know how to kick the holiday shopping system into high gear too… in fact they have a name for this tradition: Kriskringlemart. During this time vendors and merchants will line the various town streets and offer special sales for Christmas. The festive decorations, scents and sounds of the holiday create a true feast for the senses.

What Christmas would be complete without a seemingly endless assortment of tasty foods and drinks? If you were to celebrate Christmas while in Germany you would have your fill of indulgent treats such as spiced cakes, cookies, handmade candies and cocoa. Although all the above are enough to satisfy the palate there are two specialties Germans are renowned for: gingerbread and gluwein (which is a spiced red wine). Bakers also produce a special type of dough called Christbaumgeback, which is molded into various shapes and hung on Christmas trees as adornments.

Each country has their own festive traditions that take place during the winter holiday season, but few are quite as memorable as Christmas in Germany. Those lucky enough to vacation in this wonderful country during the holiday season will leave with memories that will last them a lifetime.

Christmas traditions around special WorldMake panettone

Make your special panettone (NC) - In an Italian family, sweet bread has its place in all the Christmas dinner. His only claim to fame - somewhere between a bread and fruit cake - allows toasted panettone is served for breakfast , or the preheated oven for lunch , or a scoop of ice cream for dessert , and even a special occasion with champagne . According to Motta, the most recognizable name of panettone , the foundation is your grapes and candied fruit recipes - not now tartufone chocolate chip , chocolate frosting , or covered with white sugar - can also be improved in this way :

MOTTA ice cream cake
Cut the panettone in horizontal layers cancels the top of the outer crust . Pour some soft drinks on each layer until the sponge absorbs liquid . Spread a thick layer of uniform ice cream ( any type) in each layer. Carefully reassemble the cake and refrigerate . Keep ice cream, it is easy to use .

MOTTA coffee cake
Just make a coffee sauce : Beat 3 egg yolks with 100g sugar . Add? liters of milk , which has been previously boiled and let cool. Simmer over low heat until it begins to thicken. Add a glass of sweet liqueur and a cup of strong black coffee diluted with a little cream . Pour over sweet bread , slice and serve .