The Origin of Christmas Traditions

There are many traditions that we as Americans carry out with our holidays. Eater is known for the Easter bunny and candy and dressing up is associated with Halloween. One of the most festive holidays with many traditions to follow is Christmas.

We all know that trees are decorated; Santa visits, and stockings are hung. Although you are doing these things, do you really know why?

Red, White, and Green
We use the colors of red, white, and green at Christmas time. The legend of these three colors come from a story of a small lamb traveling to Bethlehem to see baby Jesus. The white lamb became stuck in a green holly thorn bush. His torn skin was then sprinkled with red droplets of blood. While this is one theory on the colors, others believe that the colors come from the frosty evergreens with holly berries.

Christmas Cards
The first Christmas card was sent in 1870 by a man named J.C. Horsely. Horsely made a card with a picture and a holiday greeting. He then sent them to his friends. Slowly, everyone began sending out cards to friends. As time pasted the cards became more decorated and fancier.

Christmas Tinsel
We can see trees decorated with silvers of sliver tinsel. The story behind the tinsel comes from an old lady who was too poor to buy decorations to decorate her children's Christmas tree. When the lady awoke on Christmas morning her tree was decorated by the beautiful sliver web of a spider. Everyone who saw it though that the tree was beautiful. They too wanted the sliver strands on their trees. This is how tinsel came to be.

Mistletoe
It is traditions to kiss when tow persons meet under the mistletoe. In Greek history mistletoe was though to bring good luck. In following the Greek's good luck, the English began bringing mistletoe into their homes and hanging on the door. It was thought that only good could pass through the door. Enemies who passed under the door would be forced to embrace with a kiss of friendship. The tradition then evolved.

Gingerbread
We all have heard the story of the tiny gingerbread cookie that ran out of the oven. Gingerbread is popular throughout England and in Europe. Many stores keep the cookies all year long. Some towns even host Gingerbread fairs where competitions are held. In the United States, Pennsylvania has two towns that have similar celebrations. They are called "Gingerbread Days".