“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother, Mary, was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law and, yet, did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him ‘Immanuel,’ which means ‘God with us.’ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”Matthew 1:18-25 NIV
We do things in life because they have become a tradition or custom. They become so much a part of our cultural existence that we do them without questioning or understanding why. We do them because, it has always been done. We must be careful because we can do something wrong for so long that we begin to believe it is correct.
We follow Christmas traditions and customs, and very few of us know why, what their meaning is, or where the idea originated. We just do it. Our story goes back at least 4,000 years ago. It begins in Mesopotamia, called the cradle of civilization. Here, Christmas became the festival that renewed the world for another year.
Here began the Twelve Days of Christmas. The festivals, the bright fires, the giving of gifts, the carnivals, merrymaking, and clowning, the mummers who sang and played from house to house, the church processions with their lights and songs.
All these and more had begun centuries before Christ was born, and they celebrated the arrival of a New Year. People all over the world learned from Mesopotamia. Everything happening there in the course was time imitated by its neighbors – imitated, yet never copied precisely. Thus, it changed its face as it went.
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The Northland people knew that winter followed summer, spring followed winter, and winter was when all of nature’s green life died except in the evergreen. All the Northland cherished the tree that did not die. Thus, long before the Christian era, Evergreens were used as an emblem of eternal life.
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Holly was symbolic of joy and peace, and primitive people would hang it over their doors as wreaths to entice spirits to bring good luck. Why a circle? A circle is the symbol of timelessness, and the green leaves of life are everlasting. And according to some sources, Christ’s crown of thorns had been fashioned from holly leaves.
At first, the berries were white, but when the crown was pressed down on his brow, blood drops turned them bright red. Because Holly was initially regarded as magic, it was believed that the husband would rule throughout the year if a house were hung at Christmas with thorny holly. If turned with smooth Holly, the woman would be the master.
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Since the Mistletoe grows as a parasite at the top of the trees, it symbolizes the link between heaven and earth to the ancient people. The Druids believed that it contained a sacred spirit. Priests dressed in long flowing robes marched into the forest, followed by men, women, and children. Trumpets were sounded, and bards chanted as they approached the sacred oak trees upon which the Mistletoe grew. The high priest carried a gold curved knife with which he cut down the Mistletoe.
He threw it at young, beautiful girls who caught the sprigs in a sparkling white cloth. The Mistletoe was not allowed to touch the earth, or it would bring bad luck. The priest then gave everyone a sprig to hang over their doors at home, and all that entered received a “kiss of peace.”
The Mistletoe was also considered a symbol of hope and peace among the Romans. Therefore, when enemies met under it, they laid aside their weapons, kissed each other, and declared a truce until the next day.
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Thank you for reading an excerpt of Rev. Rocky Brown’s article on scoopusamedia.com. To read more of the article, “Our Christmas Traditions,” please subscribe to Scoop USA Media. Print subscriptions are $75.00 and online subscriptions (Print, Digital and Vizion) are $90. (52 weeks/1 year)
