The Reason for the Christmas Holiday

Though the celebration of Christmas has become a complex celebration full of fun and merry-making, with various traditions developed over the centuries and in many lands, the reason for the holiday is to honor the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ in a humble animal stable in the town of Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. His birth is considered by Christians to be one of the most important events in the history of the world.
"For Unto Us A Child is Born"

History of Christmas Carols

According to American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, between 2000 and 2010, the most-performed holiday song was "Winter Wonderland," which was written in 1934. While recordings by The Andrews Sisters and Perry Como popularized the song in the '40s, versions by Eurythmics, Jewel and Air Supply are frequently heard on radio today.

Carol of the Bells, music by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych, lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky.
Originally titled "Shchedryk", this Ukranian folk song is about a sparrow and the bountiful year that awaits a family. It was first performed in the Ukraine on the night of January 13, 1916, on the Julian calendar this is considered New Year's Eve. In the United States the song was first performed on October 5, 1921 at Carnegie Hall. Peter J. Wilhousky wrote new lyrics based on the melody of Shchedryk in 1936. He copyrighted it and the song is what we now know as "Carol of the Bells". As the title implies, this hauntingly beautiful song is about the sound of bells come Christmas time.

Do You Hear What I Hear? music and lyrics by Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne.
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" is one of the most beloved songs of the Christmas season. The story of this simple plea for peace begins, ironically, during World War II in war-torn France. Noel Regney was a young French musician who risked his life as a soldier in the French underground. The darkness and terror of those fearful years haunted him the rest of his life. After the war, he moved to the United States, where he found work composing jingles and music for TV. One day in a hotel dining room, Noel saw a beautiful woman playing the piano. Although he spoke little English and she spoke no French, he introduced himself to Gloria Shayne. Within a month they married.

In the years that followed, the tensions of the Cold War grew, and Noel’s mind was often drawn back to the terrible days he had spent in combat. He wondered if the world would ever see peace. Noel’s thoughts turned to the very first Christmas — a sacred time of peace and promise. As he reflected, the lyrics of a song came to him. When he and his wife collaborated, it was usually Noel who wrote music for Gloria’s words, but this time he handed the lyrics to his wife and asked if she would set them to music. Thus was born the beautiful Christmas carol, "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

When we hear this song, do we hear what Noel Regney wanted us to hear? The rendition of the song Noel liked best was one where the vocalist all but shouted the words “Pray for peace, people everywhere.” For him, that was the message of the song, for Noel believed that even in the darkness of fear and despair, the “child, [the] child, sleeping in the night, He will bring us goodness and light. He will bring us goodness and light.”

God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen, music and lyrics: Traditional
This traditional English carol is believed to stem from 16th century London with waits and carolers as the source. This carol had a strong cultural effect on London and on England as a whole. Charles Dickens included this carol in his 1843 story A Christmas Carol, when a young caroler tried to spread holiday cheer at the business of Scrooge and Marley. The traditional “London” tune associated with the text, is characterized as a "luck" tune. It is believed that the tune came to England from France, and is also found widely in Europe.

An old broadside copy, with three other "choice carols for the Christmas holidays," was said to have been found in the 1770 Roxburgh Collection in the British Museum. By the eighteenth century, variants of the carol could be found. Originally, the third and fourth lines were "For Jesus Christ our Savior was born upon this day" Shortly, however, a variant began to appear: "Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day." Both versions are still found today.

The song has been beset by confusion with placement of the comma. The correct usage is to place the comma after the word "merry" rather than before it. The meaning, of course, changes significantly depending on where it is placed. The original intent and meaning was to wish that those gentlemen be merry, or, "God keep you in good spirits, gentlemen." If the comma is placed before the word "merry," then the intent and tone of the carol is misread, and becomes a wish that those merry gentlemen might have some rest (however appropriate the latter might be, particularly if the gentlemen have been too merry).

The First Noel, Words and Music: Traditional English carol of the 16th or 17th century, but possibly dating from as early as the 13th Century.

This popular English carol details the event of the angels visit to the shepherds and the wanderings of the Magi, or Three Kings. In the original, Noel, the French word for Christmas, is corrupted to "Nowell."

It was first found in an 1823 manuscript. Ten years later, William Sandys included the carol, virtually unchanged, in "Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern", adding the music for the carol. Sandys' tune appears to be an amalgam of tune parts; in particular, because of its repetitive nature, it probably began as a descant to another melody or possibly as parts of other tunes. The words themselves were published on broadsides in the Cornwall region in southwest England, and some suspect a sixteenth century origin.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing, lyrics by Charles Wesley, music by Felix Mendelssohn
Charles Wesley, who was the brother of John Wesley founder of the Methodist church, wrote this popular carol in 1739. A sombre man, he requested slow and solemn music for his lyrics and thus "Hark the Herald Angels Sing” was sung to a different tune initially. Over a hundred years later Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) composed a cantata in 1840 to commemorate Johann Gutenberg's invention of the printing press. English musician William H. Cummings adapted Mendelssohn’s music to fit the lyrics of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” already written by Wesley.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, lyrics by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, music by John Baptiste Calkin
In spite of the mentions of bells and Christmas in the title, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is as much an antiwar song as it is a pro-Christmas song. The poetry of this renowned carol was crafted by the great American literary figure, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), in the midst of the American Civil War. On Christmas Day in 1863, Longfellow wrote the familiar lines in response to the horror of the bloody conflict and the personal tragedy of his son, Lieutenant Charles Appleton Longfellow, who was severely wounded in November 1862.

It was not until sometime after 1872 that the 1863 poem, which was originally titled "Christmas Bells," was converted into a carol. The composer of the appropriate tune, John Baptiste Calkin (1827-1905), was the most famous of a family of accomplished English musicians.

Although Calkin's melody is a beautiful, gentle, and lofty rendition of the sounds of Christmas bells and is quite well received during the holidays, at least three alternative tunes have been tried. These are the moderately popular wafting melody by Johnny Marks (1909-1985), who is most noted for "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," plus tunes by John Bishop (ca. 1665-1737) and Alfred Herbert Brewer (1865-1928). Calkin's melody, however, remains predominant over the others.


It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, lyrics by Edmund Hamilton Sears, music by Richard Storrs Willis
"It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" was written by Edmund Hamilton Sears in 1849. The carol started life as a poem written by its author who was a minister living in Massachusetts at the time. The music for "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" was composed by American musician Richard Storrs Willis in 1859 who was inspired by the words of the poem.

Joy to the World!, lyrics by Isaac Watts, music by Lowell Mason
Isaac Watts (1674-1748), author of "Joy to the World!" has been called the "father of English hymnody". A nonconformist pastor and prodigious author of theological and philosophical books (about 60) and hymns (about 700), Watts is most remembered for the extraordinary hymns, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," "Our God Our Help in Ages Past," and "Joy to the World!" First published in 1719, "Joy" was a paraphrase of the second part of Psalm 98. Originally the opening line read "Joy to the earth," but eventually the better term "world" entirely supplanted "earth."

The composition of the tune for "Joy" is attributed to Lowell Mason (1792-1872) a prominent American music educator, music editor, and hymn writer. Over a century after Watts' carol lyrics first appeared, it was printed for the first time with a splendid, dynamic tune in an 1839 collection entitled The Modern Psalmist for which Mason was the editor.

The carol synthesized by the joint talents of these two men has few peers in quality or international popularity. Both words and music, carried along by extremely esthetic conveyances of term and tone, joyfully proclaim the birth of Jesus. Of all the sacred carols, "Joy" is perhaps the most positive and uplifting declaration of the message of Christmas. The exclamation point almost universally inserted by carol editors after the initial line, "Joy to the world!," powerfully punctuates the exhilarating effect that this carol has had for the past century and a half.

O Come, All Ye Faithful, Words and music for the Latin "Adeste Fideles," by John Francis Wade. Translated into English by Frederick Oakeley.

There are usually 8 verses available for this hymn, although only verse 1-4 were written by John Francis Wade, circa 1743. The others were added around 1822. The English translations (around 1841) do not follow the usual order of verses. English Hymnals, give this order: 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 3, 4. Some hymnals only give only verses 1-4.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Words: 8th Century Latin text Veni, Veni, Emanuel, Authorship Unknown; Translated from Latin to English by John Mason Neale
Music: Arranged and harmonized by Thomas Helmore in 1854, based on a 15th Century French Processional (Some sources give a Gregorian, 8th Century origin.)

This Advent hymn, written in 1851 by the Rev. John Mason Neale (1818-66), was based on one of the oldest of Christian prayers — referred to as the "O" Antiphons, the "Greater" Antiphons, and "The Seven O’s." These seven antiphons were recited as a part of the evening Vespers prayers of the Catholic Church before and after The Magnificat in the Octave before Christmas, December 17th to 23rd. Each of the seven stanzas addressed the Messiah by one of his titles, each one praising the coming of the Savior by a different name, and closing with petitions appropriate to the title. One verse was sung or chanted each evening (as opposed to being sung together as a single hymn, as we do today.)

The antiphons date back at least to the reign of Charlemagne (771-814), and the 439 lines of the English poem Christ, by Cynewulf (c. 800), are described as a loose translation and elaboration of the Antiphons. At least two — and up to five — additional verses were later added to the original seven. According to some sources, by the 12th or 13th century, but no later than the eighteenth century, five of the verses had been put together to form the verses of a single hymn, with the refrain "Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel nascetur pro te, Israel" ("Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel; Shall come to thee, O Israel") (there was no refrain in the original Latin chant).

In 1851, it was translated by and published in Rev. John Mason Neale’s Medieval Hymns. The original title was "Draw nigh, draw nigh! Immanuel." It was revised and published in 1854 in Neale and Thomas Helmore’s second edition of Hymnal Noted with the more familiar "O Come, O Come Emmanuel."

Silent Night, music by Franz Gruber, lyrics by Joseph Mohr.
Perhaps the best-known Christmas Carol is "Silent Night", which was written in 1818 by Austrian Father Joseph Mohr and Church organist Franz Gruber. The story is told of how Father Joseph Mohr learned on the day before Christmas that the organ in the Church of St. Nicholas, in Oberdorf, Austria was broken and would not be repaired in time for that night’s Midnight Mass service. Determined to have music that night, he sat down and wrote three stanzas, and convinced Franz Gruber to set the words to music. That night, the two men performed their new song, originally titled in German "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht", accompanied by Father Mohr’s guitar.

Today, "Silent Night" is sung in more than 180 languages by millions of people.

White Christmas, Words & Music by Irving Berlin
"White Christmas" was written in 1940 by a Irving Berlin for the 1942 movie "Holiday Inn" starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Berlin's assignment was to write a song about each of the major holidays of the year. But Berlin, who was Jewish, found that writing a song about Christmas was the most challenging. He drew upon his experiences of the holiday in New York and Los Angeles, but still felt that the end result was wanting. However, when Bing first heard Berlin audition "White Christmas" in 1941 he reassured Irving that he had created a winner. Bing's preliminary evaluation turned out to be a gross understatement.

Bing Crosby introduced "White Christmas" to the public on his NBC radio show, the Kraft Music Hall, December 25, 1941. The movie "Holiday Inn" was released in August, 1942. By the end of the War it had become the biggest-selling single of all time. Bing's recording hit the charts on Oct. 3, 1942, and rose to #1 on Oct. 31, where it stayed for an amazing 11 weeks. In the following years Bing's recording hit the top 30 pop charts another 16 times, even topping the charts again in 1945 and January of '47. Bing's best-selling recording of "White Christmas" sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, and is the best-selling Christmas single of all-time. The success of the song led eventually to another movie based on the song. The movie "White Christmas" became the leading box-office draw of 1954.

The most familiar version of "White Christmas" is not the one Crosby recorded in 1942, however. Bing was called back to the Decca studios on March 19, 1947, to re-record "White Christmas" as a result of damage to the 1942 master due to its frequent use. Every effort was made to reproduce the original recording session, once again including the John Scott Trotter Orchestra and the Ken Darby Singers. The resulting re-issue is the one that has become most familiar to the public.

Jingle Bells, originally titled "One Horse Open Sleigh"
Author: James Lord Pierpont (1822-1893) wrote the song in 1857. The said song was meant for a Thanksgiving program at a church in Savannah, Georgia where Pierpont was organist. The song was so well accepted that it was again sung on Christmas day and since then became one of the most popular Christmas carols.

Silver Bells, composed by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. The lyric is unusual for a Christmas song in that it describes the festival in the city and not a rural setting.

Silver Bells was first performed by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell in the motion picture The Lemon Drop Kid, filmed in July-August 1950 but released in March 1951.[1] The first recorded version was by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards, released in October 1950.[2] After the Crosby and Richards recording became popular, Hope and Maxwell were called back in late 1950 to refilm a more elaborate production of the song.

Silver Bells started out as the questionable "Tinkle Bells." Said Evans, "We never thought that tinkle had a double meaning until Jay went home and his [first] wife said, 'Are you out of your mind? Do you know what the word tinkle is?'" The word is child's slang for urination.

The song was inspired by the imagery of Salvation Army bellringers standing outside department stores during the Christmas season.

Away in a Manger was first published in 1885 in Philadelphia and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain it is one of the most popular carols, a 1996 Gallup Poll ranking it joint second. The song was first published with two verses in an Evangelical Lutheran Sunday School collection, Little Children's Book for Schools and Families (1885), edited by James R. Murray (1841-1905), where it simply bore the title "Away in a Manger" and was set to a tune called "St. Kilda," credited to J.E. Clark.

For many years the text was credited to the German reformer Martin Luther. Research has shown, however, that this is nothing more than a fable. In the book Dainty Songs for Little Lads and Lasses (1887) it bears the title "Luther's Cradle Hymn" and the note, "Composed by Martin Luther for his children, and still sung by German mothers to their little ones." A possible reason for the spurious attribution to Luther is that the 400th anniversary of his birth was in 1883. The words were either based on a poem written for this anniversary or were credited to Luther as a clever marketing gimmick. This song has never been found in Luther's works. The first half of the melody is identical to the beginning of the second theme of Waltz #4, transposed down a fourth, in G'schichten aus dem Wienerwald, Op. 325 by Johann Strauss Jr., composed 19 years earlier.

The third stanza, "Be near me, Lord Jesus" was first printed in Gabriel's Vineyard Songs (1892), where it appeared with a tune by Charles H. Gabriel (simply marked "C"), thus these words are probably by Gabriel. Gabriel credited the entire text to Luther and gave it the title "Cradle Song." This verse is sometimes attributed to Dr. John McFarland, but since the popular story dates his contribution to 1904 (postdating the 1892 printing by 12 years), his contribution is highly questionable.[7]

Murray's tune, which is the tune most commonly printed in the U.S., is typically given the name "Mueller."

The tune "Cradle Song" was written by William J. Kirkpatrick for the musical Around the World with Christmas (1895). Kirkpatrick, like others before him, attributed the words to Luther.

It is also sung to an adaptation of the melody originally composed in 1837 by Jonathan E. Spilman to Flow gently, sweet Afton.

The first 2 verses are the original "Away In A Manger," while the 3rd verse was originally just simply called the "Cradle Song." Somehow the "Cradle Song" ended up being the 3rd verse of "Away In A Manger" and the 1st 2 verses of "Away In A Manger" was added to the "Cradle Song." Then the "Cradle Song," with its own melody (Flow Gently, Sweet Afton), was eventually also called "Away In A Manger", with its "alternate melody."

Thus we ended up with 2 different melodies for "Away In A Manger!"

The Twelve Days of Christmas is an English Christmas carol that enumerates a series of increasingly grand gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas. Although first published in England in 1780, textual evidence may indicate the song is French in origin.

The earliest well-known performance of the song was by English scholar James O. Halliwell in 1842, and he published a version in 4th edition The Nursery Rhymes of England (1846), collected principally from 'oral tradition'.[3] The song had become traditional as early as the 16th century.

In the early 20th century, English composer Frederic Austin wrote an arrangement in which he added his melody from "Five gold rings" onwards,[4] which has since become standard. The copyright to this arrangement was registered in 1909 and is still active by its owners, Novello & Co. Limited.

The twelve days in the song are the twelve days starting Christmas day, or in some traditions, the day after Christmas (December 26) (Boxing Day or St. Stephen's Day, as being the feast day of St. Stephen Protomartyr) to the day before Epiphany, or the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6, or the Twelfth Day). Twelfth Night is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the last day of the Christmas festivities and observed as a time of merrymaking."

Although the specific origins of the chant are not known, it possibly began as a Twelfth Night "memories-and-forfeits" game, in which a leader recited a verse, each of the players repeated the verse, the leader added another verse, and so on until one of the players made a mistake, with the player who erred having to pay a penalty, such as offering up a kiss or a sweet.[1] This is how the game is offered up in its earliest known printed version, in the children's book Mirth without Mischief (c. 1780) published in England, which 100 years later Lady Gomme, a collector of folktales and rhymes, described playing every Twelfth Day night before eating mince pies and twelfth cake.

The song apparently is older than the printed version, though it is not known how much older. Textual evidence indicates that the song was not English in origin, but French, though it is considered an English carol. Three French versions of the song are known. If the "partridge in a pear tree" of the English version is to be taken literally, then it seems as if the chant comes from France, since the red-legged (or French) partridge, which perches in trees more frequently than the native common (or grey) partridge, was not successfully introduced into England until about 1770.

See also the post on this blog "The Twelve Days of Christmas" dated 11/19/08.

Deck the Halls (original English title: "Deck the Hall") is a traditional Yuletide and New Years' carol. The "fa-la-la" refrains were probably originally played on the harp. The tune is Welsh dating back to the sixteenth century, and belongs to a winter carol, Nos Galan. In the eighteenth century Mozart used the tune to "Deck the Halls" for a violin and piano duet. The repeated "fa la la" is from medieval ballads and used in Nos Galan, the remaining lyrics are American in origin dating from the nineteenth century.

The tune is that of an old Welsh air, first found in a musical manuscript by Welsh harpist John Parry Ddall (c. 1710–1782), but undoubtedly much older than that. The composition is still popular as a dance tune in Wales, and was published in the 1784 and 1794 editions of the harpist Edward Jones's Musical and Poetical Relics of the Welsh Bards. Poet John Ceiriog Hughes wrote the first published lyrics for the piece in Welsh, titling it "Nos Galan" ("New Year's Eve"). A middle verse was later added by folk singers. In the eighteenth century the tune spread widely, with Mozart using it in a piano and violin concerto and, later, Haydn in the song "New Year's Night."

Originally, carols were dances and not songs. The accompanying tune would have been used as a setting for any verses of appropriate metre. Singers would compete with each other, verse for verse — known as canu penillion dull y De ("singing verses in the southern style"). The church actively opposed these folk dances. Consequently, tunes originally used to accompany carols became separated from the original dances, but were still referred to as "carols". The popular English lyrics for this carol are not a translation from the Welsh. The connection with dancing is made explicit in the English lyrics by the phrase "follow me in merry measure" as "measure" is a synonym for dance. A collection of such sixteenth and seventeenth century dances danced at the Inns of Court in London are called the Old Measures. Dancing itself having been previously suppressed by the church was revived during the renaissance beginning in fifteenth century Italy .

During the Victorian re-invention of Christmas it was turned into a traditional English Christmas song. The first English version appeared in The Franklin Square Song Collection, edited by J.P.McCaskey in 1881.

O Little Town of Bethlehem was written by Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), an Episcopal priest, Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia. Brooks was inspired when he was visiting the little town of Bethlehem in 1865. Three years later, he wrote the poem for his church and his organist, Lewis Redner, added the music. Redner's tune, simply titled "St. Louis", is the tune used most often for this carol in the United States. Meanwhile, the English tune "Forest Green", adapted by Ralph Vaughan Williams, is the tune most often used for this carol in the United Kingdom and sometimes in the U.S. as well, especially in the Episcopal Church.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas is a song introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics, which has become more common than the original. The song was credited to Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane, although during a December 21, 2006 NPR interview, Martin said that Blane had encouraged him to write the song but had not had anything more to do with writing it. In 2007, ASCAP ranked "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" the third most performed Christmas song written by ASCAP members of the past five years.

The song was written while Martin was vacationing in a house in Birmingham, Alabama, that his father Hugh Martin designed for his mother as a honeymoon cottage. The house was located in the Southside section of the city, across the street from Hugh's mother and right beside her aunt. The song first appeared in a scene in Meet Me in St. Louis, in which a family is distraught by the father's plans to move to New York City for a job promotion, leaving behind their beloved home in St. Louis, Missouri just before the long-anticipated Louisiana Purchase Exposition begins. In a scene set on Christmas Eve, Judy Garland's character, Esther, sings the song to cheer up her despondent five-year-old sister, Tootie, played by Margaret O'Brien.

The sentimental setting of the tune in the finished scene owes much to the understated orchestration by Conrad Salinger and musical direction of Georgie Stoll.

However, when presented with the original draft, Garland, her co-star Tom Drake and director Vincente Minnelli criticized the song as depressing:

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, it may be your last,
Next year we may all be living in the past
Have yourself a merry little Christmas, pop that champagne cork,
Next year we will all be living in New York.

No good times like the olden days, happy golden days of yore,
Faithful friends who were dear to us, will be near to us no more.

But at least we all will be together, if the Fates allow,
From now on we'll have to muddle through somehow.
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

Though he initially resisted, songwriter Hugh Martin made several changes to make the song more upbeat. For example, the lines "It may be your last / Next year we may all be living in the past" became "Let your heart be light / Next year all our troubles will be out of sight". Garland's version of the song, which was also released as a single by Decca Records, became popular among United States troops serving in World War II; her performance at the Hollywood Canteen brought many soldiers to tears.

In 1957, Frank Sinatra asked Martin to revise the line "Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow". He told Martin, "The name of my album is A Jolly Christmas. Do you think you could jolly up that line for me?" Martin's new line, "Hang a shining star upon the highest bough," has since become more widely recognized and sung than the original phrase. Martin made several other alterations, changing the song's focus to a celebration of present happiness, rather than anticipation of a better future.

Although the 1957 rewrite is the most familiar to listeners today, the Judy Garland lyrics have been recorded by a number of artists, for example Ella Fitzgerald (in Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas), and James Taylor. Quiet Company recorded the song most recently for the 2007 release of Peace on Earth: A Holiday Album. The album was made available for download directly from the web. All proceeds from sales went to Toys for Tots charity. Greg London's success as a pop music artist began during the 2008 holiday season, when his rendition of the song debuted as the #2 most added track on FMQB’s AC40 Chart and Radio & Records Adult Contemporary chart during the same week.

What Child Is This? is a popular Christmas carol written in 1865. At the age of twenty-nine, English writer William Chatterton Dix was struck with a sudden near-fatal illness and confined to bedrest for several months, during which he went into a deep depression. Yet out of his near-death experience, Dix wrote many hymns, including "What Child is This?", later set to the traditional English tune "Greensleeves".

Good King Wenceslas is a popular Christmas carol about a king who goes out to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (the second day of Christmas, December 26). During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by the heat miraculously emanating from the king's footprints in the snow. The legend is based on the life of the historical Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (907–935), known in the Czech language as Svatý Václav.

The tune is based on a 13th century spring carol "Tempus adest floridum" ("It is time for flowering") first published in the 1582 Finnish song collection Piae Cantiones. The "Wenceslas" lyrics were written much later in 1853 by the English hymnwriter John Mason Neale (1818–1866) and substituted for the original Latin (to which they bear no relation) in collaboration with his music editor Thomas Helmore.

Wenceslas was considered a martyr and a saint immediately after his death, when a cult of Wenceslas grew up in Bohemia and in England. Within a few decades of Wenceslas's death four biographies of him were in circulation. These hagiographies had a powerful influence on the High Middle Ages conceptualization of the rex justus, or "righteous king"—that is, a monarch whose power stems mainly from his great piety, as well as from his princely vigor.

Referring approvingly to these hagiographies, the chronicler Cosmas of Prague, writing in about the year 1119, states:

But his deeds I think you know better than I could tell you; for, as is read in his Passion, no one doubts that, rising every night from his noble bed, with bare feet and only one chamberlain, he went around to God’s churches and gave alms generously to widows, orphans, those in prison and afflicted by every difficulty, so much so that he was considered, not a prince, but the father of all the wretched.
Several centuries later the legend was claimed as fact by Pope Pius II, who himself also walked ten miles barefoot in the ice and snow as an act of pious thanksgiving.

Although Wenceslas was, during his lifetime, only a duke, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I posthumously "conferred on [Wenceslas] the regal dignity and title" and that is why, in the legend and song, he is referred to as a "king". The usual English spelling of Duke Wenceslas's name, Wenceslaus, is occasionally encountered in later textual variants of the carol, although it was not used by Neale in his version. Wenceslas is not to be confused with King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, who lived over three centuries later.

Sleigh Ride is a popular light orchestral piece composed by Leroy Anderson. The composer had the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946; he finished the work in February 1948. Lyrics, about a person who would like to ride in a sleigh on a winter's day with another person, were written by Mitchell Parish in 1950. The orchestral version was first recorded in 1949 by Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops Orchestra. The song was a hit record on RCA Victor Red Seal 49-0515 (45 rpm) / 10-1484 (78 rpm), and has become the equivalent of a signature song for the orchestra. The 45 rpm version was originally issued on red vinyl. This original mono version has never been available on CD, although the later 1959 re-recording is available in stereo. The orchestra has also recorded the song with John Williams, their conductor from 1979 to 1995, and Keith Lockhart, their current conductor.

Leroy Anderson recorded his own version of "Sleigh Ride" in 1950 on Decca 9-16000 (45 rpm) / 16000 (78 rpm). This monaural version is available on CD as well as his 1959 stereo re-recording. This recording hit the Cashbox magazine best sellers chart when re-released in 1952.

Although "Sleigh Ride" is often associated with Christmas, and often appears on Christmas compilation albums, the song's lyrics never specifically mention any holiday or religion (apart from certain recordings, such as those by the Carpenters, Walter Schumann and Air Supply, that substitute "Christmas party" for "birthday party" in the song's bridge). In fact, the mention of "pumpkin pie" in the last verse might suggest an association with Thanksgiving rather than Christmas.

According to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers [ASCAP] review of Christmas music, "Sleigh Ride" consistently ranks in the top 10 list of most performed songs written by ASCAP members during the Christmas season worldwide.

According to author Steve Metcalf in the book Leroy Anderson: A Bio-Bibliography [Praeger 2004], "Sleigh Ride" ... has been performed and recorded by a wider array of musical artists than any other piece in the history of Western music."

Oh Holy Night - In 1847 Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure wrote the lyrics to "O Holy Night" as he imagined witnessing the birth of the Savior. The hymn was immediately popular, but deemed unfit for church services after it was discovered he left his parish and his friend who composed the music was Jewish. However, the French continued to sing it in their homes. After its English translation, the hymn became widely accepted in the U.S. and was the first song ever broadcast over radio. It soon took its place among the most beloved of Christmas hymns.

More to come...

International Christmas Greetings

Have you ever wondered how to say “Merry Christmas” in other languages? Here’s a list of international Christmas greetings:

Language Greeting
Afrikaans: Een Plesierige Kersfees
Albanian: Gezur Krislinjden
Arabic: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Armenian: Shenoraavor Nor Dari
Basque: Zorionak
Bengali: Shuvo Naba Barsha
Bikom (Cameroon): I Sanglii Krismas
Breton: Nedeleg Laouen
Bulgarian: Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo
Cantonese (China): Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
Catalan (Spain): Bon Nadal
Cornish (England): Nadelik Looan
Cree (Native American): Mitho Makosi Kesikansi
Croatian: Sretan Bozic
Czech: Veselé Vánoce
Danish: Glaedige Jul
Dutch: Hartelijke Kerstdagen
English (England): Happy Christmas
Esperanto: Gajan Kristnaskon
Estonian: Ruumsaid Juulup|hi
Farsi (Iran): Cristmas-e-Shoma
Finnish: Hyvaa Joulua
Flemish (Belgium): Zalig Kerstfeest
French: Joyeux Noel
Frisian: Noflike Krystdagen
Galician: Bo Nada
German: Frohliche Wiehnachten
Greek: Kala Khristougenna
Hausa: Barka da Kirsimatikuma
Haitian Creole: Jwaye Nowèl
Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew: Mo'adim Lesimkha.
Hindi (India): Bara Din Mubarak Ho
Hungarian: Boldag Karacsonyi Unnepeket
Icelandic: Gledileg Jol
Indonesian: Selamat Hari Natal
Irish Gaelic: Nodlaig Mhaith Chugnat
Italian: Buon Natale
Japanese: Meri Kurisumasu
Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Latin: Lorem Nativitatis
Latvian: Priecigus Ziemas Svetkus
Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu
Lingala (Phillipines): Mbote Mingi
Mandarin (China): Kung His Hsin Nien
Manx (Ilse of Man): Nollick Ghennal
Marathi (India): Shub Naya Varsh
Maori: Meri Kirihimete
Navajo: Merry Keshmish
Norwegian: Gledelig Jul
Pilipino: Maligayang Pasko
Polish: Wesotych Swiat
Portuguese: Feliz Natal
Rapa-Nui (Easter Is.): Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi
Romanian: Crăciun fericit
Romansche: Legreivlas Fiastas da Nadal
Russian: Hristos Razdajetja
Sami (Lappland): Buorit Juovllat
Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi
Scots Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil huibh
Serbian: Hristos Se Rodi
Singhalese (Sri Lanka): Subha Nath Thalak Vewa
Slovak: Vesele Vianoce
Slovene: Vesel Bozic
Spanish: Feliz Navidad
Spanish (Argentina): Felices Pasquas
Swedish: God Jul
Swiss German: Schone Wiehnachte
Tagalog (Phillipines): Maligayamg Pasko
Tamil (Sri Lanka): Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal
Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish: Mutlu Noeller
Ukrainian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym
Urdu (Pakistan): Naya Saal Mubarak Ho
Vietnamese: Chuc Mieng Giang Sinh
Welsh: Nadolig Llawen
Yugoslavian: Cestitamo Bozic

Classic Christmas Literature

The publication and popularity of several nineteenth century pieces of literature helped to bring Christmas out of obscurity, and have become important to the traditions and legends of the Christmas holiday. They include:
1. The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by German author E.T.A.Hoffmann in 1816, which became the basis for Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker,
2. The Keeping of Christmas at Bracebridge Hall by Washington Irving in 1820,
3. A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement C. Moore in 1822,
4. The Book of Christmas by T.H. Hervey in 1837,
5. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens in 1848,
6. The Fir Tree, and The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen between 1835 and 1872, and
7. Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus, editorial response in the New York Sun by Francis P. Church on September 21, 1897.

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

Letter and Editorial in the New York Sun, September 21, 1897


I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
- Virginia O'Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there.

Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
– Francis P. Church

T'was the Night Before Christmas, or "A Visit from St. Nicholas"by Clement C. Moore

T’was the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

'Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!'

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.



As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;


His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

Twas the Night Before Christmas - Read by Perry Como

Early Christmas Morning by Mary B. Peck

Four little feet pattering on the floor,
Two tangled curly heads peeping at the door,
Hear the merry laughter, happy childish roar,
Early Christmas morning.

Two little stockings full of sweets and toys,
Everything charming for little girls and boys.
How could they help, then, making such a noise?
Early Christmas morning.

Down beside the stockings many gifts were spread
Dollies, drums, a cradle and a brand new sled.
“Haven’t we too many?” little Nellie said,
Early Christmas morning.

Four little bare feet on the sidewalk cold,
Two little faces with want and hunger old
Peeping through the window where those gifts unrolled,
Early Christmas morning.

“Yes,” says John to Nellie, as he spied the two,
“We’ve so many presents, tell you what we’ll do
I’ll give half of mine away. Now, dear Nell, will you?”
Early Christmas morning.

Two little famished ones in the house were called,
Favors heaped upon them till they stood enthralled.
Was not this the angel’s song, “Peace, good-will to all?”
Early Christmas morning.

Christmas in the Coop by Stan Young

Script adaptation by Ken Young
Illustrations by Teresa Millet

This story was written by my brother Stan in the early 1970's. The family has made it a tradition, since his death in 1980, to read and act it out on Christmas Eve. It's a great story which involves the animals that we had at the time and includes our family at the end.

On the night of December 20th, four days before Christmas Eve, the snow was swirling gracefully as each flake fell upon and around the chicken coop behind the stone house, where the humans were sitting close to their fire.

But out in the chicken coop, things were quite different! A meeting was being held on what the chickens thought should be done this Christmas. “Silence!” shouted Henrietta Peckley, the Grand Madame of the Hen and Rooster Society.

“We have gathered here tonight to discuss what we are going to do this Christmas! In the past, we have sung the Christmas carols Deck the Coop with Boughs of Barley, Hark the Herald Roosters Sing and so forth. I think this year there is room for some change!”
“But Henrietta!” cackled Harriet, “What else is there to do?”

“Plenty!” she returned. “I have been watching the Humans every Christmas and have observed their traditions. For one thing, they take a fir tree…”

“A fir tree!?! How ridiculous!” interrupted Helen.

Henrietta glared at Helen as hard and as menacingly as she could manage. Helen, very disgusted and insulted, sat down, and stuck her beak in the air.

“As I was saying,” continued the Grand Madame, “The Humans take a fir tree and decorate it with many beautiful and assorted decorations – beautiful shimmering balls and lights, and on the top, a beautiful star!”

“May I ask,” said Henry, the rooster, “just where you’re going to get all these…uh… decorations?”

Henry was in charge of keeping things in order and protecting the hens from any harm, but when it came to making rules, the Grand Madame was in charge of them all!

“Oh, Henry!” snapped Henrietta, “of course we can’t get all that stuff! The tree will be easy! As for the decorations, we can make our own simulations!”

“And how are you going to do that?” Henry asked.

“We could merely collect tin foil and other various pieces of material from the garbage cans. By Christmas, we’ll have a beautiful tree!”

Henry was not through asking questions. “It’s all very well, but you know how well those cans are covered! We chickens cannot lift such a thing!”

“Details! Details!” sighed Henrietta. “That’s precisely why I have called upon that…uh…‘dog’…Chips!”

The chickens were all in an uproar! “SILENCE!” shouted Henrietta. “Meeting adjourned! We shall re-meet tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.!” The chickens cackled and clucked and retired to their various roosts.

The next day, It had stopped snowing, but the sky was filled with gray clouds, which meant more snow. It was now only 3 days to Christmas, and the Hen and Rooster Society had to hurry with their plans. Henry the Rooster flew up to the window, looked in at the clock, and announced, “It’s 4:00!”

“Good!” said the Grande Madame. “Hagatha! Go get Chips!”

“Hagatha! Go get Chips!” mimicked Hagatha. The rest of the chickens filed into the coop. Henrietta flew up to her usual post, and said, “Let’s bring this meeting to order!” The hens settled down and the Grand Madame started the meeting.

“As you know, we were called here last night to discuss our plans for Christmas. You are probably wondering what Chips has to do with this. Ah! Here he comes now!” Hagatha came racing into the coop followed by Chips the dog, who had a bad habit of chasing her. Chips was a pitiful sight. A fat, overgrown, tan-haired mongrel.

“Duh…what is it you need ME for?” he asked, while lazily scratching at a flea.

“We the members of the Hen and Rooster Society have decided to do something different for Christmas this year. We’re going to have a Christmas party using Human traditions.”

“We’re going to have a Christmas tree,” explained Henry. “We need decorations for the tree, and the only place we can think of to get them is out of THEIR garbage cans!”

“Of course,” continued the Grand Madame, “we hens are too small to lift the cover, even combined! We want you YOU to knock them over for us!”

“OH NO!” shouted Chips, “I’ve done that before, and I won’t get any more doggie-donuts if I do!”

“We realize that,” said Henrietta, “and we plan to pick it all up afterwards!”

“Promise?”

“OF COURSE!!” yelled Henrietta. She raised her right wing and said, “Members of the Hen and Rooster Society NEVER lie, cheat, or steal!”

“O.K. When do you want me to do it?”

The Grand Madame leaned forward and whispered, “Tonight, at 12:30!”

“TONIGHT!” But when those cans fall over, they’ll wake the Humans up!”

The Grand Madame sighed. “Technicalities!” she said. “I have thought of that also! We hens have decided to drag one of those old sleeping bags up to the cans. They will fall on it with a very soft landing. Practically no noise!”

“Golly Gee! You think of everything!”

“I know,” she replied. “Oh! I almost forgot! Helen! Go contact Mr. and Mrs. Brown, and inform them they will be expected to furnish the refreshments!

Harriet! Notify Bradley Bull the Third and the rest of their oafish gang that they will be expected to furnish the tree! Now hurry along ladies, we’ve no time to lose!” The hens waddled off to their assignments, while Chips was still pondering his.

Helen came trotting into the shed (which wasn’t much of a shed at all because it had a hole in the roof) where Mr. and Mrs. Brown, the rabbits, were huddling into one corner of their cage, keeping warm from the swirling snow.

“MR. AND MRS. BROWN! GUESS WHAT?” screeched Helen.

“What now,” drawled Mr. Brown. “Didja lay a purple egg?”

“Oh shush!” snapped Mrs. Brown. “Pay no mind to him. What was it you wanted to say?”

Helen, still glaring at Mr. Brown for the insult, finally said, “Well…we’re holding a Christmas party…uh…the chickens that is, and we’ve invited you and …uh…him! She said as she glared at Mr. “Him.” “By the way, you’ve been assigned to furnish the refreshments!”

“We have!?! Well, I never!”

“Well, you have now!” said Helen as she hurried back to the coop.

When she got there, she discovered that Bradley Bull the Third and the rest of the Bull and Cow Society were there.

“What’s all this nonsense about us sophisticated cows furnishing some tree for some ridiculous party?”

“It’s not nonsense, and it’s not ridiculous!" said Harriet.  "And if you won’t even take the courtesy to listen, we won’t even bother inviting you!”

“Alright then,” he snorted. “What’s all this …uh…“news” I’ve been hearing lately?”

“We’re having a Christmas party! A Christmas party is not a Christmas party without a Christmas tree!”

“And you want us to furnish it! Oh…very well, the unpleasant chore is ours. I believe I know where I can get one.” And off he trotted with the others.

Henrietta sighed, “Well! That’s taken care of! Now! We’ve only to wait for 12:30 tonight! Now ladies, off to bed!”

The hours ticked away. At the right time, Henry crowed, “It’s 12:30! Up ladies!”

“Up ladies! 12:30” yawned the Grand Madame.

“Up ladies! 12:30” sassed Hagatha, “One of these days…POWIE! Right in the clucker!”

They all toddled up to the trash can, and found Chips, still asleep. Harriet snickered to herself, and said, “I’ll wake him up!” She went over to him, and screamed, “THE CATS ARE STAMPEDING!” Chips let out a terrified yelp, and raced under the car.

“Get back out here this instant, you repulsive animal!” shouted Henrietta.

“OH!… it’s only you!”

“It is now 12:35, past time to knock over the cans!”

Henry was now dragging the sleeping bags into place. Helen, very particular about things, noticed a wrinkle in the middle of the sleeping bag. She went over to straighten it out, when CRASH! The cans had fallen right on top of Helen! She was standing in a mountain of garbage, with her head covered with an empty cottage cheese carton.

“Really, Helen,” clucked the Grand Madame, “This is no time for trying out hats! Besides, it’s too big!”

“OH, SHUTUP!” she screeched. She knocked the carton off and stood looking embarrassed and angry at the same time. She turned on Chips and bellowed “Clumsy oaf!”

“Settle down!” ordered Henry. “Now, let’s sort through this stuff!”

All night long, Chips, Henry, Henrietta, Helen, Hagatha and Harriet picked out tin can lids, tin foil, strings, napkins, broken glass, and other various pieces of material they thought would look nice on their tree.

The early morning sun was soon appearing over the horizon, and they decided they had better pick up before the Humans awoke. Piece by piece, the garbage was put back into the cans, and with a mighty push, the cans were put back into place. All of their collections were on a pile on the sleeping bag, and they only had to drag it down to the coop. ‘Twas now only two days to Christmas, and the coop was buzzing with excitement.


Around noon, Bradley came walking in holding a scraggly, bony branch in his mouth. He dropped it in front of the Grande Madame and said, “Is this what you had in mind?” She looked the poor thing over and replied, “Well…not exactly…but…I think we’ll have to make it do. Come girls! Help me set it up!” They all came over, picked it up and put it into a can. They all stood back and looked at the sickly thing.

“Well,” sighed the Grande Madame, “maybe it will look better after we decorate it!” They got their collections and started placing them on the tree.Helen and Harriet worked on the tree, while Henrietta surpervised Henry and Hagatha on decorating the interior of the coop.

While all this was going on, Mrs. Brown was busy trying to figure out how she was going to furnish refreshments. Then she thought of the old abandoned garden beyond the wire fence. This garden, nobody ever picked clean, and nobody ever bothered with anymore. She thought it worth investigating. But how did she expect to get out of her cage? Then she began thinking. The next time the boy came to feed her, she would put a stick on the hinge of the door, which would prevent it from shutting all the way.

The next morning, one day to the party, sure enough, in came the boy with a bowl of food for her and Mr. Brown. He opened the door, put the food in, and shut the door. Not all the way of course, because of Mrs. Brown’s invention. When the boy left, she looked at Mr. Brown – still asleep! Then she hopped out.
She wound her way around the lumber pile, then hopped through the fence.

“CARROTS!” she exclaimed. “I just adore carrots! Now, for the chickens. Corn! Here’s a few ears! And for the cows, sugar beets. Oh, now there’s Chips. Why, he’d like a bone! But where’s little ol’ me gonna get a bone? Why, I think I remember seein’ one that other dog who used to live here left behind, of course! Now I’ll jest set myself to workin’ on this stuff!” She towed them back in her paper basket, and went to work.

Back at the chicken coop, things were nearly finished. Strung across the interior of the coop were gaily colored pieces of material, with a Santa Claus pasted on the wall.

“Who’s he?” asked Harriet, pointing at the Santa Claus.

“I guess he’s the chimney cleaner!” said the Grande Madame. “He’s always going up and down in them. The Humans like him, is all I know.” In the middle of the room, stood the finished Christmas tree.

“Charming! Simply Charming!” cackled Henrietta.

“No thanks to her!” mumbled Hagatha, “giving orders right and left!”

“All ready for the party tonight!” announced Henry.

Meanwhile, Chips was slicking himself up, and the cows were brushing their tails and Mrs. Brown was hurrying Mr. Brown to getting himself looking decent. Finally, it was time. The hens had their feathers smooth and shiny.

First to arrive was Bradley Bull III and the others, looking very distinguished. Next was Chips. His collar polished, and his nose glistening VERY strangely. “I saw him stick it in silver paint!” gossiped Helen. And lastly, was Mr. and Mrs. Brown.

Everyone gasped as they walked into the room. Mrs. Brown had her tail fluffed, but that was not what they were looking at! Both of them were holding a tray. On them were two luscious carrot cupcakes, a nice red bow tied around a nice white bone, five ears of corn covered with fat, juicy worms, and four sugar beets covered with blueberries!

Mrs. Brown set them on the table and said, “Come and get it!” They took her advice and raced to the table. Pecks, gloms, gnarls and chews were mannerlessly heard from the coop. When all was eaten, everyone complimented Mrs. Brown.

“ON WITH THE CELEBRATION!” ordered Henrietta. They all gathered around the tree and sang, “Randolph the Red-beaked Rooster,” then Henrietta gave them each a stocking.

“What in Jack Rabbits name are these for?” asked Mr. Brown.

“We’re going to hang them on the fireplace!” she replied.

Everyone stared to one corner of the coop, where a makeshift copy of a fireplace was standing.

“Now what are we going to do that for?” asked Bradley, very disgusted.

“HOW IN GREAT CHICKENS SHOULD I KNOW?!?!” she screeched. “All I know is that the Humans do it!”

“Humans!” scoffed one of the bulls. “Poor creatures, they have only TWO legs, can you imagine? Only TWO legs!”

“Oh hushup!” snapped Harriet. “YOU don’t have feathers so distinguished as ours!” she said as she smoothed herself. “NO feathers at all!”

“HMPH!” he said, and turned his head.

“Now!” announced the Grande Madame, “Let us dance!” Chips picked up a home-made fiddle and played “Chicken in the Straw.” Everyone found a partner, and the dance was on! Every time the cows took a dance step, the whole coop shook like an earthquake. When they were through dancing, everyone was so tired, that Henrietta invited them to sleep in the coop that night.

The cows settled themselves down in the back, Mr. and Mrs. Brown went under the tree, Chips laid beneath the “fireplace,” and the chickens, since their regular roosts were occupied, flew up to the rafters. In no time at all, they were all asleep.

The next morning, Christmas morning that is, it had finally stopped snowing but the world was covered with a blanket of white. Then, when the sun was shining, Henry flapped his wings, and gave his daily crow.

“OH …BE…QUIET!!!” haggled Hagatha. She jumped to the ground while everyone else was just awaking. But to their surprise, a gift was lying by each one of them! For Chips, a shiny, jeweled collar! For the cows, each had a silver bell! For the rabbits, a bonnet for Mrs. Brown, and a pair of boots for Mr. Brown! For Henry, a megaphone; for the Grande Madame, a fancy pair of theatre glasses, and for the other hens, knitted shawls!

“Who do you suppose gave us these?” asked the Grande Madame. But nobody heard her. They were all too busy with their gifts.

No one noticed the Humans peering into the windows. “I hope they like our gifts!” said Mrs. Human, and they walked back to the house to open their own gifts!

Christmas Traditions: The Yule Log

The origins of the Yule log as part of the Christmas holiday stem from an Old Norse winter solstice custom which began well before the time of Christ. To the Norsemen, the sun was a spinning wheel of fire, known as hweol (which became “yule”), that approached during summertime and receded during the wintry months. From hweolor-tid, meaning the "turning time of the sun", came our word Yuletide. The ancient Norsemen created a wheel-like calendar of the four seasons from a round section of “wheel” or Yule log. The Yule log would be kept burning all day and all night during the darkest days of the winter solstice. A piece of the log was saved to ignite the Yule log of the following winter.

The burning of the Yule log spread throughout in the Middle Ages. In some places, the custom occurred with a log of freshly cut wood being carried into the house on Christmas Eve with great ceremony. The log was often embellished with greenery and sometimes sprinkled with oil, salt and mulled wine. It was said that the cinders of this log could protect the house from lightning and evil.

The tradition of burning a Yule log waned somewhat when the great hearths were gradually replaced by cast-iron stoves and furnaces. Today’s Yule log is usually a Christmas decoration placed in the center of the table with candles and greenery. The Yule log, or buche de Noel, is also a French pastry, a delicious cake roll, which is traditionally filled with chestnut cream and coated with marzipan. The pastry is sometimes covered with coffee or chocolate-flavored icing and decorated with sugared holly leaves and roses.

Christmas Traditions: The Wreath

Our modern term wreath is linked to the word wrist. It came from the Old English writha, denoting a twisted band or ring of leaves or flowers in a garland. The tradition of decorating with a wreath originates with the Roman use of a holly wreath as a symbol of the sun during the celebration of Saturnalia. Early Christians adopted this custom to avoid persecution, but associated the holly wreath instead, with its thorns and red berries, with Christ’s crown of thorns. It later became popular to make the wreath from evergreen boughs, representing eternal life, since holly was not always available (see The Tradition of Holly).

Today, it is a popular custom to hang a wreath, decorated in various ways, on the front door as well as other locations on or in the home. In the Philippines, colorful wreaths made of tropical flowers are made and worn by all in a great parade following Christmas Mass.

Christmas Traditions: Wassail

The word “wassail” comes from the Old Norse phrase “ves weill”, meaning “be in health”. Thus, a holiday tradition sprang up from toasting others’ health with a spicy drink. There are many wassail recipes, but most are based on a hot-spiced ale or cider with roasted apples.

In old times, a group of carolers would carry around a wassail bowl during the Twelve Days of Christmas, offering samples, and sometimes being invited into homes and offered food, money or a re-fill of the wassail bowl. In older times, there was a wassail ceremony performed at the roots of apple trees, blessing them to be especially fruitful during the coming year. Wassail was poured around the roots, and a shot-gun was fired up through the branches while a wassail song was sung: “Oh, here we come a-wassailing among the leaves so green…”. (See The Tradition of Caroling)

Traditional Christmas Food

Feasting during the Christmas holiday has long been a tradition. In the Middle Ages, King Henry III of England raised the level of feasting and revelry to great heights. He was also attributed to have started the custom of giving food to the needy during the holiday season of 1248.

One of the earliest traditional Christmas foods is the mince pie, which originated in the Middle Ages. Originally, it contained a mixture of chopped poultry, rabbit, pheasant and partridge. Later, sugar, apples, raisins, oranges and lemons were added. Eventually, the meats were omitted, leaving only the sweet ingredients. Closely related is the English Christmas plum pudding, a concoction of fruits and sweets, sprinkled with brandy and flamed when served. The fruitcake was derived from the Christmas plum pudding, which traditionally includes raisins, dates and candied fruit.

The greatness and variety of the traditional English Christmas feast was described by Charles Dickens in A Christmas Carol, when Scrooge met the Ghost of Christmas Present in a room surrounded by all kinds of food:

“Heaped up on the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, great joints of meat, sucking-pigs, long wreaths of sausages, mince-pies, plum-puddings, barrels of oysters, red-hot chestnuts, cherry-cheeked apples, juicy oranges, luscious pears, immense twelfth-cakes, and seething bowls of punch, that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam.”

Many main dishes have adorned the Christmas table, but throughout Europe and America it has usually been a roasted turkey, goose, beef or ham. Each country has it’s own Christmas dinner specialties unique to the historic culture of the people. In some places, fish is a main dish, such as lutfisk (cod) in Scandinavian countries and baked carp in Austria. In America, a land which has been a melting pot of many cultures, many kinds of foods are served at the Christmas dinner. For many, the Christmas dinner menu is similar to that of the Thanksgiving feast.

And he…He HIMSELF…!
The Grinch carved the roast beast!!
- From Dr.Suess’
How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Holiday desserts are many and varied. From France comes the buche de Noel, or yule-log, a cake rolled and filled with chestnut cream and coated with either marzipan or flavored icing, and decorated with sugared holly leaves and roses (see Tradition of the Yule Log). In Italy, the meal is topped off with torrone, a candy made of egg whites, honey, and nuts. Fruit-filled breads called stollen are favorites in Germany. In Mexico and other Latin-American countries, thin, round pastries called bunuelos are usually eaten with cinnamon and sugar. Various kinds of Christmas cookies, including frosting-covered sugar cookies, have long been a popular part of the holiday goodies prepared in the kitchens of America and Europe.

Traditional holiday drinks are popular in some areas. In Sweden, glogg, a hot punch made with spices, liquors, raisins, and nuts, and julmust, a soft-drink similar to root-beer, are favorite for the holidays. Eggnog is a dairy holiday drink popular in England and America, which is a descendant of the Old English drink syllabub, a spiced mixture of wine and creamed milk. But perhaps the most celebrated English holiday drink is wassail (see Tradition of Wassail).

It is unlikely that most of our “traditional” Christmas foods would have been eaten in Jerusalem when Christ was born. So what types of food would have been customary to that place and time? The Bible makes mention of several foods which would have been common in a Holy Land meal. Mentioned at least 230 times, bread, usually made from wheat, was indeed the staff of life. Meats, usually from cows and sheep, were reserved for special occasions. Common food items included fish, olives, grapes, figs, lentils, nuts, salt, honey and cakes. Cakes? Yes, they even had a dessert, usually made from flattened dough that was fried or baked. Sometimes dried fruit was added to the dough, establishing, perhaps, a forerunner to the fruitcake.

Christmas Traditions: Stockings

The tradition of hanging stockings by the chimney can be traced to an early legend of the original St. Nicholas in the 3rd Century. The legend tells of how he tossed a small bag of gold down the chimney belonging to a family with three daughters that needed help. The gold landed in a stocking that was hung up to dry.

In Holland, the stocking tradition took the form of a shoe. As early as the sixteenth century, children placed wooden shoes by the hearth on the night of St. Nicholas's arrival. The shoes were filled with straw and sugar, a meal for the saint's gift-laden donkey. In return, Nicholas would insert a small treat into each clog. However, if the children had been bad, they might expect a lump of coal instead. Today’s clogs are usually filled with candies and small toys.

Clement C. Moore seems to have popularized the American replacement of the shoe with the stocking in his 1822 poem A Visit From St. Nicholas: “stockings hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there”. American author Theodore Ledyard Cuyler wrote of how his family hung stockings at the fireplace for Santa Claus at their farm in western New York in the 1820's.

Hanging stockings was a more prevalent custom prior to the popularization of the Christmas tree. In the mid to late-1800’s, a debate as to whether one should observe the custom of hanging stockings versus decorating a tree with presents underneath continued for many years. Though the stockings were filled by St. Nicholas in Clement C. Moore’s poem, a Christmas tree was not mentioned. In the books Kriss Kringle's Book, and Kriss Kringle's Christmas Tree - A holiday present for boys and girls, Kriss Kringle ignored the stockings hung by the fireplace and hung his presents on the branches of the small tree that he brought with him. The debate over which custom should be followed soon gave way to the idea of having both.

The stockings that were hung by the fireplace, were initially, and remained for many years, those actually worn by the children. Today’s specially produced Christmas stockings are much bigger, allowing for more and larger-sized presents and treats.

Christmas Traditions with Snow

Many of the traditions and stories surrounding the Christmas holiday were developed in countries where snow is usually on the ground at Christmas time. Snow plays an integral part of the celebration for many people, whether or not they actually have snow during the holiday. Several popular Christmas carols are about or involve the enjoyment of snow, such as Let it Snow, Winter Wonderland, Sleigh Ride, Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, The Christmas Song and White Christmas.

A popular 20th Century American custom was to bring snow inside the house with a flocked Christmas tree, and a fake snow spray for the windows. Popular indoor Christmas decorations include paper snowflakes, plastic icicles, and holiday villages on replicated snowy ground cover. Building snowmen, sleigh riding, sledding, ice-skating, and skiing are snowy, wintertime activities often associated with the Christmas holidays.

Snow is a key element in the entire legend of Santa Claus, reflected in the home-workshop at the North Pole, Santa’s warm fir suit, the reindeer, and the sleigh.

Christmas Poinsettia

The poinsettia, a plant on which the leaves form a flaming red star with a brilliant yellow center, was introduced to the United States by Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist and the first United States Ambassador to Mexico. Between 1822 and 1830, he had been intrigued by a tropical plant, and twice brought it home to his greenhouses in Charleston, South Carolina. It quickly became popular among his horticulturist and botanist friends. In the early 1900's, Albert Ecke and his sons, flower growers in Hollywood, California were among the first to develop and popularize the potted Christmas poinsettia. In Mexico, poinsettia are known as the Flores de la Noche Buena, or the Holy Night Flowers.

Christmas Entertainment

Before movies and television, several important Christmas performances were presented that have remained key to the celebration of Christmas, including various stage versions of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol and Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann.

One of the greatest Christmas productions ever created was Handel’s Messiah, first performed in Dublin, Ireland in 1742. Handel composed this inspired production during a brief period of 3½ weeks. At the first London performance, King George II had the impulse to stand during the “Hallelujah Chorus”, and this has remained a tradition for the audience today. Other significant staged Christmas performances include Amahl and the Night Visitors, an opera by Gian Carlo Menotti, and The Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke.

Hollywood has done more than its share of shaping the modern celebration of the Christmas holiday through the many movies and television shows that have been produced. Some of the early Hollywood movies that remain popular today include: A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, The Bishop’s Wife, It’s a Wonderful Life, Holiday Inn, and White Christmas.

There are multitudes of Christmas television specials produced and re-televised every year. Certain early television specials have become a significant part of celebrating Christmas for many people. They include: Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Christmas Traditions: Mistletoe

Mistletoe is a white-berried parasitic plant that grows on the trunk of trees, usually on apple and oak trees. Early pagan beliefs held that the mistletoe had magical powers of peace and joy. A story of the Norse goddess Frigga, tells how she blessed the plant to bestow a kiss on all who passed beneath it.

In the Celtic language, mistletoe means “all-heal”, and was thought to be a cure for sterility and diseases. Celtic druids would hang them over doorways as protection against lightning and other evils. A sprig over the cradle would protect the child, and an entire herd of cattle would be protected by giving a sprig to the first cow calving after the New Year. Enemies meeting under a mistletoe had to call truce until the following day. From this comes the custom of hanging mistletoe from the ceiling or doorway and exchanging kisses.

I stood for a moment in tremor of doubt,
Then kissed her, half looking for war:
But – “Why did you wait, Sir!” she said with a pout,
“Pray, what is the mistletoe for?”- from a poem by Clinton Scollard

According to British superstition, a young woman who was not kissed under the mistletoe would not be married during that year. Since a berry was always plucked off at every kiss, maidens in former times saw to it that the branches did not fail to have a plentiful supply of berries. One who stands underneath the mistletoe cannot refuse to be kissed.

Christmas Traditions: Holly

Romans used holly, either as the sun-symbol wreath, garlands or separate branches, to deck their homes during the celebration of Saturnalia. This custom was followed by many early Christians as well to avoid persecution. The holly wreath, with its thorns and red berries, became a representation of Christ’s crown of thorns and His sacrifice. In the year 601, Pope Gregory instructed Augustine of Canterbury to “deck the halls” of the churches in the same manner as the Romans, to solemnize the time by Christian feasting. Ivy, another green leafy plant originating with the celebration of Saturnalia, has often accompanied holly as holiday greenery.

Christmas Traditions: Gingerbread

Decorating gingerbread houses and men has been a favorite holiday activity for many years. Not always associated just with Christmas, gingerbread has been baked in Europe for centuries, and came to America with the early settlers. The word “gingerbread” comes from the Old French gingebras, which means "preserved ginger".

The earliest and strongest tradition of flat, shaped gingerbreads comes from Germany. Gingerbread was a popular item at the Christkindlmarkt, a December street festival held in Nuremberg, Germany in the 1600’s. Gingerbread became a part of children’s literature in the 1800’s with the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, in which the two children discover a house made of gingerbread and candies, and also with the story of the oven-escaping Gingerbread Man.

Today, it is at Christmas that gingerbread makes its most impressive appearance. Houses of all styles and sizes, from the Hansel and Gretel style-houses heavy with candies and sugar icicles, to elaborate Victorian houses richly decorated and ornamented, are built and displayed during the holiday season. Gingerbread cookies are also a common Christmas goodie, from decorated shapes of men and women to the round Scandinavian-style pepparkakar.

Symbolism relating to Christ can also be drawn in gingerbread. One of the Savior’s titles is the Bread of Life, and it is bread that He divided to feed the multitudes and that He broke at the Last Supper. The spice of ginger can be related to the spice oil of myrrh given by the Wise Men to the baby Jesus.

Christmas Traditions: Gift Giving

Scholars believe that the custom of gift-giving originated in the Roman empire, during the celebration of Saturnalia. The gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, given to the baby Jesus by the Wise Men are looked upon as the original Christmas gifts. In Europe, the tradition of Christmas presents dates back to at least as far as the sixteenth century.

Before that, people exchanged gifts at New Year’s. Stories about the original St. Nicholas told of a kind man who helped and bestowed gifts on many people. The anniversary of his death, December 6th, became the day to give gifts, especially to children.

Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, became a tradition in Old England as the day to give gifts of money to the needy that were gathered in boxes at churches, as well as boxed-presents of appreciation to servants (see Boxing Day).

Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.
- from Gifts of the Magi by O. Henry

The Christmas Tree

Early Evergreens

The use of an evergreen tree in association with the Christmas celebration stems back to pre-Christian pagan celebrations. At this time, people would take in evergreen boughs or trees at the time of winter solstice to protect the home and to insure the return of green vegetation. The evergreen was a symbol of rebirth and life amid winter whiteness. During the winter solstice, around December 21st, the Druidic priests of ancient Britain decorated trees outdoors with apples and lit candles, placing them ever so cautiously on the branches, in order to express their gratitude to their god Odin for his bestowing fruits upon them. The Druids are the first known people to have decorated trees for a religious purpose in the winter.

The Christian Tree

Following the advent of Christ, the evergreen became a symbol used by Christianity to represent eternal life, which is “the greatest of all the gifts of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 14:7).

A legend of St. Boniface, an English monk who lived in the 7th Century, tells of how he used the fir tree as an example of the tree of life and used its triangular shape to describe the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, evergreens with apples hanging from their boughs were used as part of miracle plays presented on December 24th, which was known as Adam and Eve’s Day. The evergreen, the main prop used in the play, was used since apple trees were bare at that time of year.

The first historical reference to the use of an evergreen for a Christmas celebration occurred in Riga, Latvia on Christmas Eve, 1510. After a festive dinner, black-hatted merchantmen carried an evergreen decorated with artificial roses to the marketplace. After dancing around the tree, they set fire to it. As early as 1531 in Strasbourg, France (formerly a part of Germany) Christmas trees were known to be sold in the market and taken to be set up undecorated in homes for the holiday. This can be assumed to have been a common practice since there was a 16th century ordinance passed in nearby Ammerschweier which limited the height to no “more than eight shoe lengths”.

The Indoor Tree

A German legend of the Christmas tree is attributed to Martin Luther’s celebration of Christmas Eve of 1519. On his way home at night, Martin Luther saw his way clearly because of the stars that shone so brightly in the reflected snow. He went out into the forest and returned with a beautiful fir tree, bringing it into his home so his family could admire it. He then placed glowing candles atop the branches to emulate the starlight outside, and stated that the candles represented the shining stars in the heavens above Bethlehem, some fifteen centuries earlier.

The earliest recorded Christmas tree to be standing up and decorated inside the home as the tradition occurs today was described in a travel diary of an unidentified visitor to Strasbourg in 1605 which was decorated with many colored paper roses, flat wafers, gilded candies, and sugar. The rose was a symbol for Mary, and the wafer was a symbol of the communion or sacrament wafer.

By the 1600’s, such trees were a common sight in German Christian homes each Christmas. In parts of Austria and Germany, some trees were hung upside down from the ceiling, and decorated with strips of red paper, apples and gilded nuts. Trees were usually set up on a table. Candles fastened to branches also became a popular decoration in the seventeenth century. Other ornaments included candies, cookies, fruits and potatoes, sweetmeats, dolls, and toys.

The American Tree

The oldest known reference to the Christmas tree in America was in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1747 among German speaking Moravians, who also gave the first Christmas presents in the New World. These were actually pyramid constructions of evergreen boughs. The earliest Christmas trees were small table-size trees; the idea of a floor to ceiling Christmas tree didn’t become popular until the mid-1800’s. Christmas trees were originally present-bearers, decorated largely with gifts of toys and edibles. Originally, family trees were unveiled on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning; the children believed the tree was brought by Santa.

The first “flocked” trees were also introduced by the Pennsylvania German immigrants. The trees were stripped of their needles after they were dried out, and then wrapped in cotton. These trees were often stored for use again in future years.

The widespread use of a Christmas tree in both America and England did not take hold until the mid to late 1800’s. Although Clement C. Moore’s A Visit From St. Nicholas, written in 1822, and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, written in 1848, created a solid foundation for modern-day Christmas traditions, neither of them make mention of the Christmas tree. In 1834, Britain’s Queen Victoria and her German husband Prince Albert were the first to bring a Christmas tree into Windsor Castle, introducing the tradition to the British Empire. Not until 1850 did Charles Dickens make mention of a Christmas tree in his writings, which he described as a “German toy”.

In the 1850’s, the German company Lauscha began to manufacture glass ornaments for Christmas trees, including shaped glass balls, icicles, bead garlands and gilded-tin angels. These soon became popular throughout America. In the 1860’s the idea of stringing popcorn and hang as garlands on the tree became popular. Wax ornaments of baby Jesus, angels and animals, as well as designed cardboard ornaments, were common in the latter half of the 1800’s.

In 1882, New Yorker Edward Johnson invented the first electric tree lights. The tree-lighting ceremony, a favorite American holiday event, had its origins in Germany.