The surprising history of your favourite Christmas traditions

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It turns out that the Christmas traditions that many of us hold dear — from Yule logs to Christmas trees and lights — were not originally created for the Christmas holiday, says Dr. Jacqueline Murray, history professor at the University of Guelph’s College of Arts. Christmas traditions have a long history of religious and secular meanings.

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“A number of them are from the ancient times and celebrations surrounding the solstice,” says Murray. “When we’re talking about these kinds of Christmas traditions, primarily we’re talking about European cultures.”

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National Post’s Sophie Blake spoke to Murray about the little-known origins of Christmas traditions.

Yule logs

Yule logs today are widely known as a holiday dessert — but there’s a reason it’s shaped that way. Yule logs come from Celts and Scandinvaians who burned tree trunks in hearths in hopes to bring the sun back during the short days of winter. “As the days got shorter, people would use light as a way to coach the sun back,” says Murray.
A symbol of winter and the winter solstice, yule logs were hauled into homes and shoved into fireplaces to burn until “you could noticeably see the light staying longer as the days got longer.” The yule log dessert derives from France in the 19th century, and remains a symbol of the ancient tradition of burning yule logs to this day.

Elves

Today, elves are a symbol of toys, gifts, and Santa’s workshop — bringing joy to children around the world. But, as Murray puts it, “elves were the spirits of darkness that would go around and cause people harm.” Also associated with the winter solstice, bells and other noise makers were used to chase away the evil spirits of elves “so that the sun could inhabit the land again.” But, because elves were vague and little creatures, they were very easy to repurpose, says Murray. “When we start incorporating the Christmas story and bringing in Santa Claus, the elves get domesticated and become Santa’s little helpers,” — which is what we see today.

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Mistletoe

Mistletoe represents love, romance, and partnership — which, according to Murray, is not far off from its origins. Also originating in Celtic history, druids would harvest them from sacred oak trees — “mistletoe’s only grow on oak trees, and oak trees, because of their size and sturdiness, are often considered a sacred tree.” Druids considered mistletoes as a symbol of the fertility of mother earth, and “they would hang it in their doorways to protect the houses against thunder.” Ultimately, “from this protective aspect of hanging it in doorways and the link to fertility – it became kissing under the mistletoe.” Today, the mistletoe is highly linked with the idea of marriage and union between one person and another, “even if they may not consciously link that to fertility,” says Murray.

Holly, much like the oak tree mistletoe, was used to ward off evil spirits through its prickly composition. “Holly decorated doorways, windows, and fireplaces,” said Murray. “And this prickliness would help to ward off evil spirits or catch them before they entered the house — like the little elves.” As much as mistletoe has become about kissing, it is also a symbol of peace — which is congruent to its historical association with protection.

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Christmas trees

One of the most widely embraced holiday traditions, Christmas trees have a long history — from warding off demons, to representing royalty, to symbolizing Christmas. Christmas trees originated not as trees, but as evergreen boughs used to decorate the house, says Murray. Because evergreen boughs don’t die, they became “symbols of surviving the winter and the coming of the sun.”

“There is a document in the Strasbourg Cathedral archives from 1492 that says the nine fir trees were purchased by parishes for the new year – which then was Dec. 25,” says Murray. The trees became an expression of German culture, and they would bring the trees into their homes to decorate with apples, tinsels, and sweetmeats. From here, German immigrants brought the practice around the world with them. “Even in pre-Christian times, they would decorate the end of the yule trees with pine cones and berries and fruit that were symbols of the various Gods,” says Murray.

The first full Christmas tree was brought by Queen Charlotte in the 1800s, setting up a tree in Windsor Castle in December 1800. Soon after, Queen Victoria wrote in her diary of two round tables with trees, lights, sugar ornaments and presents. In the mid 19th century, an apple shortage sparked the use of glass balls to hang on trees instead. The trees began to move across the social stratus, and Christmas trees started to be sold in markets and seen in public spaces in the early 20th century, according to Murray.

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The first Christmas tree in Canada was in Quebec, when German soldiers brought them in 1781.

Christmas lights

Winters were known as the season of light, according to Murray. Not only would people burn yule logs to ward off demons and bring the sun back, but they would light candles in windows and on evergreen trees. Martin Luther is thought to be the first to light candles on trees in the 1500s, says Murray. And, when Queen Charlotte and Queen Victoria started putting candles on their trees like Luther, “everyone followed suit,” said Murray. Three years after the lightbulb was invented, Edward Hibberd Johnson, vice president of Edison Electric Light Company, illuminated the first tree with electric lights in 1882. Today, people hang Christmas lights around their houses — on roofs, fireplaces, staircases, doors, and, of course, their Christmas trees.

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