THE DAILY BLADE: The Meaning Of Christmas
Merced (CA) Sun-Star columnist Herbert A. Opalek writes about the multicultural origins of many cherished Christmas customs and traditions:
The Christmas tree emerged from the “Paradise Tree,” an evergreen tree decorated with apples and used in a popular play held on Dec. 24 in medieval
Martin Luther is credited with being the first to decorate a tree with lights. As he walked through the woods near his home, he looked up into the night sky and thought about the star that led the wise men to the Holy Child. …
The candy cane started out about 400 years ago as a plain stick of white candy. Europeans put them on their trees as decorations along with fruits and cookies.
In 1670, a choirmaster in
To make the candy reminiscent of Christ, he bent the candy into the shape of a shepherd's staff. …
St. Nicholas' northern residence, fur-lined suit, and reindeer-pulled sleigh came from the Slavic regions. His red suit, his secret arrival, and his giving to good boys and girls came from
The first nativity scene was set up by Francis of Assisi on Dec. 24, 1223. Popular, in many heritages, are painted nativity scenes, living nativity scenes and dramas that portray the birth of Christ.
Christmas trees, candy canes and Jolly St. Nick have all become secularized – mainly by being bogarted by retailers – but they all came into being to honor the birth of the miraculous Babe.
Fakin’ It
MSNBC reports that “real trees are still the favored purchase among consumers, artificial trees are gaining ground”:
In 2007, 17.4 million people bought artificial Christmas trees - a whopping 87 percent jump from the previous year's total of 9.3 million, according to a survey conducted for the National Christmas Tree Association, whose members are farmers and retailers of real trees. Rick Dungey, a spokesman for the association, could not explain the huge jump and said it seemed to be a statistical anomaly, although the margin of error for the survey is only 3.1 percent.
While live trees are still outselling fake ones, with about 31.3 million bought last year, all signs indicate their artificial counterparts are becoming a bigger and bigger piece of the Christmas tree buying pie. …
Indeed, artificial trees now available are more lifelike, experts say, but there seems to be more behind the trend towards fake trees.
The price range for many of these trees has become more economical, under $100 in some cases. “The truth is that money is tight, and people realize Christmas trees are a luxury,” says Richard Laermer, author of “2011: Trendspotting.”
And what goes better with a fake tree than a fake crackling fire? Yes, WPIX’s parent company Tribune Co., declared bankruptcy, but the NY TV station plans to broadcast its much beloved Yule Log on Christmas Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET, “with the same ferocious flame work and sentimental songs by Mantovani, Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole,” reports The New York Times. People who grew up in NYC but live elsewhere can download the WPIX Yule log to an iPod, or can buy several other Yule log DVDs to keep this venerable tradition alive in their own homes (even if they have real fireplaces now).
Stocking Stuffer: The Meaning Of Christmas: Not
Humorist Roy Blount Jr. explains the real reason for the season:
It is at this special time of the year, that we realize how urgent is our need to foster love and faith and brotherhood and... at any rate, faith, and by that I mean consumer confidence. …
Are we going to let it be said that all we had this Christmas to cheer was cheer itself? No! …
So let’s say “bah, humbug” to b-words like bailout and bankrupt. Let’s digress from anything ending in -ession. Let’s entertain some new, upbeat holiday words.
Why not wake up tomorrow morning feeling consumptious? Rhymes with scrumptious, and approaches sumptuous. When we’re consumptious we’ve got that fire in the belly that’s burning a hole in our pocket. We’re going to be pumping bucks today, we’re going to open our hearts to goods and services, we’re going to take it upon ourselves to help
Neiman Marcus is certainly doing its bit: On December 21st, the posh retailer sent out an e-mail to customers informing them: “Savings so good, we couldn’t wait! After-Christmas sale starts online today.”
To be fair, retailers do add to the holiday festivities with elaborate holiday window displays, especially at their NYC flagship stores – which are always a must-see for tourists and Gothamites alike. This year, honors for the best Christmas window displays goes to Bloomingdales – each window illustrates a song from Tony Bennett's new
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