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The Story Behind 12 Christmas Words and Traditions

The document discusses the origins of 12 common Christmas words and traditions: 1) Xmas comes from the Greek letter chi, the first letter of Christ's name in Greek. 2) Santa Claus originated from the Dutch figure of Sinterklass, but Norse mythology also involved a gift-giving figure. 3) Carols were originally pagan songs that were adopted by Romans and the church for their popularity. 4) Baubles were originally items carried by court jesters before referring to Christmas tree ornaments. 5) Tinsel originated from a Ukrainian fairytale about a generous spider decorating a family's tree. 6) Stockings have a story about St. Nicholas secretly giving gold balls

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200 views

The Story Behind 12 Christmas Words and Traditions

The document discusses the origins of 12 common Christmas words and traditions: 1) Xmas comes from the Greek letter chi, the first letter of Christ's name in Greek. 2) Santa Claus originated from the Dutch figure of Sinterklass, but Norse mythology also involved a gift-giving figure. 3) Carols were originally pagan songs that were adopted by Romans and the church for their popularity. 4) Baubles were originally items carried by court jesters before referring to Christmas tree ornaments. 5) Tinsel originated from a Ukrainian fairytale about a generous spider decorating a family's tree. 6) Stockings have a story about St. Nicholas secretly giving gold balls

Uploaded by

LêPhạmMinhTâm
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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THE STORY BEHIND 12 CHRISTMAS WORDS AND TRADITIONS

Xmas, Santa, mistletoe, nativity... sit down with a mulled wine and find out where 12 of our most common
Christmas words come from.
- by Mark Grist & Paper Rhino
We’ve all heard of the 12 days of Christmas. But what about 12 words of Christmas? Here’s the story
behind a few of them.
One… Xmas.
Xmas has been contentious over the years, with some arguing it’s a term designed to remove the religious
importance of Christmas.  In fact, X is the symbol for “chi” - the first letter in the Greek word for Christ, and
that is why Christmas, or Christ’s Mass, became Xmas.
Two… Santa.
Santa Claus comes from the Dutch, Sinterklass, which literally translates as Saint Nicholas. Before Saint
Nicholas was even born though, the Norse god, Odin, was believed to lead a hunting party through the sky
during Yule, and he even delivered presents to children.
Three… carol.
Coming from the Latin "carula", meaning circular dance, carols used to be pagan songs, sung all throughout
the year. They were swiftly adopted by the Romans, and then by the church, as they were so popular.
Four… bauble.
This used to be the term for a baton carried by court jesters, or bauble bearers, in Tudor England. Back in
the 17th Century, to give the bauble to someone actually meant to make fun of them.
Five… tinsel.
Coming from France, étincelle, meaning “sparkle” or “spark”, it became part of our Christmas tree
decorations thanks to a Ukrainian fairytale all about a generous spider who took pity on a poor family,
choosing to spend the night decorating their tree with a web of gold and silver.
Six… stockings.
Originating from an old English word, stocc, meaning trunk of a tree, our Christmas stockings also have
their own Christmas tale behind them. In it, St Nicholas wanted to help a poor man and his daughters.
Knowing they wouldn't accept charity, he threw three golden balls through their window at night, each one
landing in a different stocking. The balls were sometimes represented as oranges, which is why we get
oranges in our stockings today.
Seven… chestnuts.
We can trace the word “chestnut” back to "kastaneia", which means "nut from Castana" – a town in
Greece. From here, our chestnuts trees were imported to the rest of Europe. Roman soldiers used to roast
them over an open fire, or eat porridge out of them before they went into battle.
Eight… Nativity.
The word “Nativity” comes from the Latin word “nativus”, meaning 'born'. It’s thought the first Nativity
scene was created by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1223. Mary and Joseph are usually placed on either side of
the manger. Then you have the shepherds. And don’t forget the three kings. They’re traditionally added
last.
Nine… reindeer.
Santa’s reindeer technically come from New York, and a poem called A Visit from St Nicholas. Rudolph is
also American, first appearing in a series of colouring books promoting the Christmas goods of a
department store. His red nose was nearly removed, as the store manager was concerned there’d be links
drawn between it and heavy drinking.
10… mistletoe.
The latter half of mistletoe evolved out of “tan” meaning “twig”. The mistle part was another word for…
dung. Bird dung to be exact, named as it is because mistletoe sprouted out of trees wherever birds
congregated. Kissing under the bird poo twig doesn’t really sound as romantic, does it?
11… mince pies.
Starting out as a large oblong, mince pies were originally a mixture of suet, fruit, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg
and… meat. Served around Christmas, the mince pie evolved throughout the Victorian era, with the meat
eventually being removed.
12… mulled wine.
Created by the Romans when they'd heat wine to defend their bodies against the cold winter, mulled wine
spread across their empire and the regions they traded with. Its popularity continued throughout the
Middle Ages, as we mixed heated wine with spices, believing it would promote health and prevent
sickness. And what better drink to sit back and toast to this world of culture and history we’ve surrounded
ourselves with.
Merry Christmas, one and all!

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