I am mentally and emotionally exhausted. Every year it seems that the holiday season gets harder and harder. Of course, you all know I work in bookstore. It’s my feeling that everyone should be required to work retail or in a service industry immediately after graduating from highschool. It should be mandatory so that everyone, no matter what their station in life, is aware of “how the other half lives.” Honestly, they say that more people kill themselves every year at the holidays than any other time, and I have to wonder, how many of those people work in retail? I bet the ratio’s pretty high. So I’ve actually been sick a couple times this holiday- once before my holiday series of posts, on Christmas, and today I am sick again. I am getting very tired of being sick.

Of course, it’s the stress. Stress wears you down and affects your immune system. I don’t know how it is in other countries, but Americans are just plain rude. My mother raised me to be courteous and compassionate. I say please and thank-you. I hold doors for people. I smile at people and stop to pick up things that others have dropped if it falls closer to me. I pick up things that I have knocked off shelves or tables with my coat or whatever. I put things back where I got them if I decide not to buy them. I do not make work for other people. There is enough to do without adding things, especially this time of year. A person who lives consciously and conscientiously tries to live cooperatively with society. We may all be individuals, but we are also parts of the whole. We can’t act like we only have ourselves to live for. As living creatures, we cannot shirk our responsibilities to our fellow beings.

The holiday is just the worst time of year. Even people who were raised properly forget their manners. Everyone is trying to be ten steps ahead of everyone else. I am just so tired of trying to help three people at once or with my arms full of books that were abandoned somewhere because people have forgotten what patience is. There’s nothing that makes me feel more misanthropic than rude people at the holiday. It never ceases to amaze me how people, who would not be caught dead in a bookstore at any other time of year, will be the rudest and most demanding customers during the holiday. I’m sorry, but I don’t know what book was on your favorite trashy talkshow even if the cover is green. (A side note: the cover is seldom if ever green or whatever other color the customer insists it was.)

This will probably be my only post until after the New Year because I just don’t have the energy to post more often. I’m still hoping more people will jump on the round robin game. Wunderkind, if you would like to post an entry…? Come the New Year, I’m going to start posting from a Pagan Calendar I started collected way back in college. Just about every day has a Pagan holiday or historical event, and I’ll be posting them whether I actually blog or not.

Thought I’d post this today though…. The Welsh Isle of Bardsey is considered by some to be Avalon, which translates to Isle of Apples. It seems fitting then that one of the world’s rarest apple trees should be discovered there. Not many people are aware that the story of Arthur was originally the Welsh Mabinogion before it was rewritten by Sir Thomas Mallory as Morte d’Arthur.

Welsh gardeners keen to bite into one of the world’s rarest apples

So, in lieu of reading my posts, enjoy the news article if you have a sweet tooth for apples and read the linked Mabinogion at Sacred-texts.com if you’d like to read the original Arthur.

Santa Around the World

• United States & Canada: Santa Claus, Kris Kringle (from Christindl)
• China: Shengdan Laoren.
• England: Father Christmas
• France: Pere Noel.
• Germany: Christindl, Christkindlein, or Weinachtsmann
• Spanish speaking countries: el Niño Jesus, Papa Noel, or the Three Kings (Los Reyes Magos: Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar)
• Italy: Babbo Natale (Father Christmas)
• Morocco: Black Peter
• Japan: Santa Claus or Santa or Santa no ojisan (Uncle Santa)
• Sweden: Jultomten
• Norway: På Norsk Julenissen
• Netherlands: Kerstman.
• Finland: Joulupukki
• Dutch: Sinterklaas
• Russia: Grandfather Frost

Timeline of Santa in America

1600′s: Puritans were not allowed to exchange gifts, light a candle, or sing Christmas carols. In fact, it was illegal to mention St. Nicholas.

17th century: Dutch immigrants brought Sinter Klaas to America.

1773: Santa first appeared in the media as St. A Claus.

1804: The New York Historical Society was founded with St. Nicolas as its patron saint. They adopted the habit of exchanging gifts at Christmas.

1809: Washington Irving, as Diedrich Knickerbocker, mentioned Saint Nicholas in his book, A History of New York. He was described as riding into town on a horse.

1812: Irving revised his book to show Nicolas riding over the trees in a wagon.

1821: William Gilley printed a poem about Santeclaus, who was dressed in fur and drove a sleigh drawn by a single reindeer.

1822: Clement Clarke Moore, a dentist, is believed to be the author of An Account of a Visit from Saint Nicolas, which became better known as The Night before Christmas. Santa was portrayed as an elf with a miniature sleigh and eight reindeer: Blitzem, Comet, Cupid, Dancer, Dasher, Donder, Prancer, and Vixen. Others attribute the poem to Henry Livingston, Jr. Two reindeer have since been renamed Donner and Blitzen.

1841: J.W. Parkinson hired a man to dress up in as “Criscringle” and climb the chimney of his store.

1863: Illustrator Thomas Nast created images of Santa for the Christmas editions of Harper’s Magazine. The tradition continued through the 1890′s.

1860s: President Abraham Lincoln later asked Nast to create a drawing of Santa with some Union soldiers, demoralizing the Confederate army.

1897: Francis P Church, Editor of the New York Sun, wrote an editorial in response to a letter from Virginia O’Hanlon. She had written, asking if there really was a Santa Claus. This has become known as the “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” letter.

1920′s: The image of Santa had been standardized to portray a bearded, over-weight, jolly man dressed in a red suit with white trim.

1931: Haddon Sundblom, illustrator for The Coca-Cola company, drew a series of Santa images until 1964. The company still holds the trademark for the Coca-Cola Santa design, and Christmas ads including Santa continue to the present day.

1939: Robert L. May, a copywriter at the Montgomery Ward Company, created the Rudolph poem. It is speculated that he may had been “taunted as a child for being shy, small and slight.” A copy of the poem was given free to Montgomery Ward customers.

1949: Johnny Marks wrote the song, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The song was recorded by Gene Autry and became his all-time best seller.

Santa through the Ages

Santa, like Christmas, is a hodgepodge of Pagan symbolism with a thin veneer of Christian gloss. Despite his entirely Christianized name, there is no evidence that a Saint Nicholas of Bari ever existed. The Catholic Information Network speculates that he was born in Patara in the province of Myra in Asia Minor and supposedly died in 345 or 352. Allegedly, he even attended the first council of Nicea, though his name does not appear on the list of attending bishops. It actually wasn’t until the 10^th century that the Christian author Metaphrastes wrote down the legends associated with St. Nicholas. A century later, the Roman Catholic Church taught that, during the Muslim invasion of Asia Minor, his remains were transferred to Bari in Italy, where he became known as Nicholas of Bari. Like most saints, it is said his body was miraculously preserved, and it exudes a sweet smelling odor which cures medical disorders and illnesses. He is honored as a Patron Saint in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Sicily, and Switzerland, and he is considered the patron saint of children and sailors.

The Christian church created an entire fictional life story for St. Nicholas. He was given the name Hagios Nikolaos. As an infant, his mother only nursed him on Wednesdays and Fridays, making him fast on the remaining days. (It must have been a very noisy household!) He miraculously supplied gold to three girls as marriage dowries so they did not have to become prostitutes, or perhaps not so miraculously as his father supposedly left him a fortune. He also used his money to help poor children, throwing anonymous gifts through their windows. (I hope he didn’t hit anyone!) He even brought three children back to life after they had been chopped by a butcher and grabbed the sword of an executioner to save the life of a political prisoner.

Though his legends have since acquired aspect of other Pagan deities, St Nicholas seems to have been created mainly from myths attributed to Poseidon. When the persona of St. Nicholas was invented, the Church adopted Poseidon’s title “the Sailor,“ and various temples of Poseidon became shrines to St. Nicholas. He is even said to have halted a storm at sea in order to save three drowning sailors. His last name seems to have come from the Nickar, helpful water spirits.

In Russia, Saint Nicholas replaced Mikoula, the god of harvest and patron of laborers. St. Nicholas also adopted some of the qualities of “The Grandmother” or Befana from Italy and Mother Holle in Germany. It was Befana who filled children’s stockings with gifts, and her shrine at Bari was converted into a shrine to St. Nicholas. This may be why Santa Claus has a female honorific (santa) instead of a male one (san). In Scandinavian countries, he is Joulupukki, similar to the American Santa. Joulupukki literally means, Yule Buck. In Finland, spirits of darkness wore goat skins and horns. In the beginning, the Joulupukki didn’t give presents but demanded them in tribute. He was an ugly creature and frightened children. It is unclear how he was transformed into a Father Christmas figure.

In Russia, St. Nicolas became Father Frost who distributes toys to children on New Year’s Eve, though before 1917 he was much more related to Christmas. He is always accompanied by his granddaughter Snegurochka (Snow girl), who helps Grandfather Frost provide a New Year’s party and gifts for children. He wears a long fur-lined coat in bright blue or red cloth. According to new tradition, Grandfather Frost and Snegurochka live in the town Veliky Ustug from which they begin their New Year journey by troika of white horses. Grandfather Frost and Snegurochka visit children asking them to sing or read a poem, a custom tying Grandfather Frost to Odin, god of poetry. Odin is depicted as a tall, old man with a white beard and cloak. He rode through the skies on his eight-legged horse Sleipnir. (Is this perhaps where the eight reindeer came from?) Also known as Wodan, Wednesday is named for him. He is the god of wisdom, magic and occult knowledge, runes, poetry and war. Like a shaman, Odin travels in other worlds, gathering more insight while his two black ravens Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory) keep him informed. (hmmm, this would make it pretty easy to make a certain list.)

After the Reformation, Saint Nicholas was forgotten in all the protestant countries of Europe except Holland. In England, Father Christmas delivers the presents. He is shown with holly, ivy or mistletoe. In much of Europe however, Saint Nicholas was replaced by Christkindlein, the Christ child, who delivered gifts in secret to the children. He traveled with a dwarf-like helper called Pelznickel (or Belsnickle) or with St. Nicholas-like figures. Christkindlein eventually became Kriss Kringle. Other companions included the Zwarte Pitt, Hans Muff, Schimmelreiter, Krampus, Leutfresser, Rumpelklas, and Schmutzli.

In Holland however, Saint Nicholas became Sinterklaas, a kind and wise old man with a white beard, white dress, red cloak, and a crosier. Riding through the skies on his white horse, Sinterklaas visits homes on his birthday (December 5 or 6). On December 5, children place their shoes on a window sill or in front of the door, or if they have a fireplace, they hang their stockings. In the morning, they find small gifts. Sinterklaas’ Black Jacks gathered information about the behavior of children during the year. While good children were rewarded with presents, bad children were beaten with rods by the Black Jacks. Or even worse, they were thrown in a big bag and taken back to Spain, the home of Sinterklaas. In the 17th century, Dutchmen immigrated to North America, bringing the Sinterklaas tradition with them. Thankfully, the black jacks became happy little elves.

Radio programs from the year 1927 onwards had great influence in editing Santa’s costume, reindeer, and Korvatunturi (Mount Ear, near the Polar Circle) as his dwelling place. In 1930, an advertiser with the Coca-Cola Company was asked to design attractive advertisements to help Coca-Cola sell better in the wintertime. Because he had to use the company colors of red and white, he adopted the Dutch Sinterklaas with his white dress, red cloak, and long white beard. And so our modern Santa Claus was born.

Yule

Alternate Names : Alban Arthuan (Light of Arthur), Midwinter, Rebirth of the Sun, Saturnalia, Zagmuk

Despite hundreds of years in the hands of Christians, Yule is still a Pagan holiday. Marking the shortest day of the year, Yule occurs on the winter solstice when the sun rises and sets at its most southerly points. Yule usually occurs on or around December 21st (this year, it was 1:08 this morning). It is a Lesser Sabbat or Lower Holiday in the modern Pagan calendar, one of the four quarter-days of the year. This is the winter quarter of the year that began at Samhain and will end on Imbolc. Yule occurs when the sun is weakest, but it is also the point at which the sun is reborn, as days grow longer again. For this reason, Yule was the birthday of the main deity in many religions: Dionysus, Mithras, Helios, Horus, Oedipus, Theseus, Hercules, Perseus, Jason, Apollo, Attis, Baal, and even Arthur to name a few. Osiris died and was entombed on December 21st.

The winter solstice is a most ancient holiday, far older than the Christian holiday of Christmas. Prehistoric peoples across Europe were building stone monuments such as Stonehenge and Newgrange in Ireland as early as 3000 BCE in order to mark the solstices. Other similar astrological monuments can be found from South America to Asia. Most modern pagans acknowledge Yule as the rebirth of the light half of the year, and some traditions perform the play of the Oak King and the Holly King, just as it is done at Midsummer, to mark the change of the seasons as one of them reigns over the other.

One of the earliest recorded festivals of the Solstice was the Zagmuk, the Mesopotamian Festival of Light. During the winter months, the Mesopotamian god of light, Tammaz, Marduk or Enlil, was held captive by the Chaos dragoness Tiamat. The 12-day festival of Zagmuk was humanity’s way of assisting the god in breaking loose from his bonds and returning the sunlight. The king was often sacrificed in effigy in order to assist Marduk in fighting the demon Tiamat and the forces of chaos. During the festival celebrating Marduk’s success, gifts were exchanged.

In Ancient Greece, the winter solstice was Lenaea, “The Festival of Wild Women.” A man (later a goat) was chosen to represent the harvest god Dionysus, who was torn to pieces and eaten by a gang of women. Later in the same ritual, Dionysus was reborn as a baby. In later traditions, the women became funeral mourners and observers of the birth.

Another pre-Christian holiday celebrated at the winter solstice is Saturnalia. Many secular Christmas traditions can be traced directly to this holiday. Saturnalia was of course named for Saturn, god of the ‘seed time’ and mythical ruler. According to Roman myth, he presided over a golden age. The celebration of Saturnalia was an attempt to return to this golden era. No wars were fought or criminals punished during the festival. In fact, most businesses were not allowed to operate at all. Feasting was the norm, and slaves were even given the same status as free men during the celebration. Everyone wore the same type of clothing in order to erase social barriers, and adults and children exchanged gifts of candles and clay dolls. Originally, Saturnalia was held on December 17th, but it was eventually combined with several other festivals to stretch from the 17th to the 23rd of December. Opalia in honor of Ops fell on the 19th and Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome, fell on January 1st.

Dies natalis solis invicti, the birthday of the invincible sun, may also have influenced both the secular and religious customs of Christmas. This was the celebration of the birth of Mithras, the warrior-god, whose story and popularity rivaled that of the Christ. The festival was most popular during the reign of the emperor Aurelian (270-275 A.D.) who attributed his military victories to the sun god. Images of Sol Invictus remained popular and appeared on Roman coinage, even into the reign of Constantine the Great (306-337 AD). Pope Julius I officially designated Mithras’ birthday as the birthday of Christ in 336.

Another holiday of the Solstice which has impacted the modern celebrations of Christmas immensely is Yule. Interpretation of the name is debatable. Some say it comes from the Anglo-Saxon Geola and means ‘Yoke of the Year,’ while others suggest it is derived from the Norse Jul, meaning ‘wheel.’ Some suggest the name comes from the Norse god Ullr, the winter god and Odin’s alter-ego. There is also some speculation it is derived from the Old English word for “jolly.” During the Norse Yule which begins on December 21st, all beings – men, gods, trolls, and the shades of the dead – converge on the earthly realm. This was a sacred time of feasting and merrymaking, when everything people did reflected on the year to come. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, up to thirteen days. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.

Many of the Norse gods were honored during the Yule celebrations, including Thor, Freya, Freyr – to whom a boar was sacrificed to ensure fertility, and Odin. As the leader of the Wild Hunt, Odin was particularly connected to the holiday of Yule, the most common time of the Hunt’s ride. Gifts were left for the ghostly riders to ensure a good harvest in the coming year.

As can be seen by its traditions, the holiday of Christmas has always been more Pagan than Christian. Both Martin Luther and John Calvin abhorred it; the Puritans refused to acknowledge it; and it was even made illegal to celebrate for short periods of history. The holiday was already too closely associated with the birth of older Pagan gods and heroes.

The first written record for Christmas occuring on December 25th appeared in 354 AD and blatantly admitted it was to supercede the Pagan holiday. Despite the fact that shepherds do not normally tend their flocks by night in the high pastures in the dead of winter, December 25th was adopted as the birthday of Jesus. By this argument, the Eastern half of the Church rejected the December date, preferring a “movable date” fixed to the moon. Today in the Greek and Russian orthodox churches, Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the 25th, which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.

It took nearly two hundred years for a December birth to catch on. By 529, Christmas was a civic holiday. The Emperor Justinian prohibited all work or public business, and in 563, the Council of Braga forbade fasting on Christmas Day. Four years later the Council of Tours proclaimed the twelve days from December 25 to Epiphany as a sacred, festive season. The Christian version of the Solstice spread to many countries no faster than Christianity itself. “Christmas” wasn’t celebrated in Ireland until the late fifth century, in England, Switzerland, and Austria until the seventh, in Germany until the eighth, and in the Slavic lands until the ninth and tenth.

Christmas and Yule Traditions of the Middle Ages

At one time, the Yule log was the center of the celebration. Lit on the eve of the solstice (it should light on the first try), it must be kept burning for twelve hours for good luck. The tinder used to light the log should be the ash of the previous year’s log. The Yule tree and wreaths eventually replaced the Yule log. Instead of burning the tree, candles were placed on it. While Protestants might claim that Martin Luther invented the custom and Catholics point to St. Boniface, the custom can be traced directly to Saturnalia. Modern Pagans may light candles at the stroke of midnight on the solstice to symbolize the rebirth of the god.

In areas where fruit was an important crop (like apples in England), a custom of blessing the orchards at Yuletide developed. Called saining, these rites blessed fruit trees and livestock to bring abundant food in the seasons ahead. Many of the wassail songs reflect this in their lyrics. The term wassail means “your health” in Old English. The traditional bowl or cup full of mulled wine originated in the fourteenth century. The leader of a gathering would take up a bowl of wine. Shouting “Wassail!” he would toast the others and drink before it was passed to the next person with a kiss. This continued until all in the room had drunk from it.

Another symbol of Yuletide is the use of evergreen plants to decorate indoors. Evergreens were considered magical and protective simply because they were alive in a season of death. In the British Isles, it has always been the custom to decorate with flowers or greenery at all seasonal celebrations. In the winter months, evergreen plants were used. These included rosemary, gorse, bay, cypress, holly, ivy, yew, and mistletoe. The tradition of kissing under a bough of greenery first became widespread in the late 18th century. Washington Irving mentioned the ancient association of mistletoe with the Druids in a Christmas short story in 1819, around the time of the revival of interest in Druidism in England. Mistletoe was especially venerated by the Celtic Druids and believed it to be an aphrodisiac. (It should be noted however that Mistletoe is potentially poisonous and should not be used internally.)

In addition to the gifts of candles traditional to the Saturnalia holiday, gifts of coins, honey, figs and pastry were given. Though honey and figs were believed to be aphrodisiacs, they were also highly prized for their nutritional value. Honey is a natural preservative which is said to restore youthfulness to the skin. There were many other traditions of the season as well. Riddles were shared, magic and rituals were practiced, and wild boars were sacrificed and consumed along with large quantities of alcohol. Corn dollies were carried from house to house, and fertility rites were practiced.

Divinations were cast for the coming Spring. A windy Christmas was said to bring good luck, however “if Christmas on a Sunday be, a windy winter we shall see” and the Twelve Days of Christmas could be used to predict the weather for each of the twelve months of the coming year, and so on. The tree should be taken down by Twelfth Night or bad luck is sure to follow. A person born on Christmas Day could see the Little People, and a cricket on the hearth brought good luck.

By attaching Christmas to the traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders increased the popularity of Christmas but gave up the ability to dictate how it would be celebrated by the masses. While believers attended church on Christmas day, afterwards they would celebrate in a carnival-like atmosphere similar to Mardi Gras. Each year, someone was crowned the “lord of misrule” and eager celebrants played the part of his subjects. The poor wandered from house to house, demanding the best food and drink from the rich. If they were refused, the mob could terrorize them with mischief.

Christmas in the New World

It’s ironic to hear Religious Right groups portray themselves as the great defenders of Christmas when their spiritual forebears hated the holiday and even banned its celebration. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence. As part of their effort, they cancelled Christmas. When Charles II was restored to the throne by popular demand, with him came the return of Christmas. This didn’t stop the pilgrims from banning Christmas in America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was against the law in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings.

Conversely in the Jamestown settlement, Christmas was enjoyed by all. After the American Revolution however, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America’s new constitution. Although Christmas became popular in the South as early as the 1830s, other regions were apathetic. Christmas did not become a federal holiday until June 26, 1870. As late as 1931, nine states still called for public schools to remain open on Christmas Day. Factories and offices in New England were often open on Dec. 25, and many Protestant churches refused to hold services.

Americans re-invented the holiday, changing it from a raucous carnival holiday into a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia. Old customs were unearthed as people looked toward recent immigrants and Catholic and Episcopalian churches to see how the day should be celebrated. Although most families quickly adopted the idea of Christmas and assumed that their celebrations were how it had been done for centuries, America had reinvented a holiday to fill the cultural needs of a growing nation.

Holiday facts

Each year, 30-35 million fir trees are sold in the United States alone. There are 21,000 Christmas tree growers in the United States, and trees usually grow for approximately 15 years before they are sold.

The first eggnog made in the United States was consumed in the Jamestown settlement.

Poinsettia plants get their name from Joel R. Poinsett, an American minister to Mexico, who brought the red-and-green plant to America in 1828.

The Christian ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ are the days after Christmas Day until the Epiphany, the day designated for the manifestation of Christ to the Magi, on 6th January.

The Salvation Army has been sending Santa Claus-clad donation collectors into the streets since the 1890s.

Rudolph, “the most famous reindeer of all,” was the product of Robert L. May’s imagination in 1939. The copywriter wrote a poem about the reindeer to help lure customers into the Montgomery Ward department store.

Construction workers started the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tradition in 1931.

The History of Christmas Tree Ornaments

Even as bows of holly, ivy, and mistletoe were used in Victorian England to decorate walls and mantels, the Germans decorated tall green fir trees with colored paper, fruits and sweets. It is from Germany that many of our Yuletide customs spread. In the mid 16th century, German towns would set up Christmas markets, providing everything a family might need for their celebrations. Bakers would make shaped gingerbread and wax ornaments. A visitor to Strasbourg in 1601 described a tree decorated with “wafers and golden sugar-twists (Barley-sugar) and colorful paper flowers. The early Christmas trees were symbolic of the Paradise Tree in the Garden of Eden, and the foods used to decorate it were symbols of Plenty. The flowers were originally only red (for Knowledge) and White (for Innocence). Later little gift items were hung on the tree… dolls, books, fiddles, drums, work boxes, needle cases, ribbons, and lace. Part of the German tradition of taking down the tree on January 6th was the “Plündern,” during which the children raid the tree of cookies and sugar plums.

An early version of a “tree” with candles was the “lichtstock,” a wooden pyramid trimmed with green sprigs and candles, but the traditional German Christmas trees have always been the silver fir and the balsam. They are grown in such a way to make candle usage on the branches safe. The poet Goethe first saw a Christmas tree in 1765 in Leipzig. His description of a Christmas celebration in “Die Leiden des Jungen Werther” (“The Sorrows of Young Werther”) in 1774 is the earliest depictions of a candle-lit tree, and it may have helped spread the custom. Candles on the tree replaced bon-fires as a symbol for the returning sun, though in some areas, old trees are still brought to a public place and burnt in a big bon-fire. Tinsel was invented in Germany around 1610. Though silver was durable, it quickly tarnished by candlelight. Mixtures of lead and tin were tried, but proved to be too delicate for use, so real silver was used for tinsel right up to the mid-20th century. The Rauschgoldengel, literally the “Tingled-angel,” was introduced in the 1850s from the Thuringian Christmas markets. Also in the 1850s, fancy shaped glass bead garlands for the trees and short garlands made from necklace ‘bugles’ and beads were popular decorations.

Queen Victoria often visited relatives in the German town of Coburg, and while there, she fell in love with the young Prince Albert. After their marriage, they returned to England to raise their family. The first Christmas tree that Price Albert provided his family, decorated in the finest of hand blown glass ornaments, was admired by all. From this tree, other Christmas tree decorations were copied. By the 1870′s, glass ornaments were being imported into Britain from Lauscha in Thuringia. Just as the size of the tree became a status symbol, so to were the glass ornaments on the tree. A F.W. Woolworth brought the glass ornament tradition to the United States around 1880, and they were quickly followed by American patents for electric lights (1882) and metal ornament hooks (1892). Planned trees became fashionable, which might mean a simple color theme or a complex Oriental or Egyptian tree. With the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 however, fine trees soon fell out of fashion until the 1930′s.

In America, decorations were not easy to find in the shanty towns of the West, so just as when the tradition began, people made their own. Tin was pierced so that light could shine through and create patterns. Old magazines with pictures to cut out, rolls of Cotton Wool, and tinsel were much sought after commodities at the general store. The Paper Putz, or Christmas village, was a popular feature under the tree, especially in the Moravian Deutsch communities of  Pennsylvania. I’ve seen these. They are lovely. Sometimes there is even a little train going around the whole scene.

Between the 1870′s and 1930′s, Germans made the finest molds for ornaments, with nearly 5,000 different molds at the time. Though there were over one hundred small cottage glass blowing workshops in Europe at the turn of the century, it was from Lauscha, a small town nested in the Thuringian mountains, that most ornaments came. After the war however, glass ornament production declined. Many of the craftsmen left for West Germany. Translucent plastic lock together shapes, honeycomb paper angels, glow-in the-dark icicles, and Polish glass balls and birds became popular decorations. As quantity rather than quality, became the Communist philosophy, many antique Christmas decoration molds were left to collect dust or were lost or destroyed. In the 1960′s, when it was fashionable to have an Aluminum tree and all the same shape and color ornaments, many of the old glass ornaments were thrown away.

The Christmas Tree

Though the Christmas tree has become a strong Christian tradition, its roots are very much Pagan. Like mistletoe, the fir tree is a strong symbol of immortality and the promise of renewal. Evil spirits were blamed for “killing” off foliage in the Fall by early man, and evergreens were one of the few trees which did not whither away from the cold. Even when people had grown sophisticated enough to understand the cycle of the seasons, the belief that evergreens were special because they stayed green during the season of death remained. People believed the trees would deter the evil spirits of winter, especially if they were brought into the home.

The Egyptians were part of a long line of cultures that treasured and worshipped evergreens. When the winter solstice arrived, they brought leaves of their own local evergreen, the green date palm, into their homes to symbolize life’s triumph over death. In Greek mythology, the pine tree was sacred to Attis. The Romans celebrated the winter solstice with Saturnalia, decorating their houses with seasonal evergreens and giving coins for prosperity, pastries for happiness, and lamps to light one’s journey through life. The Norse world tree, Yggdrasil, is an evergreen, and the fir tree is also sacred to Ullr, the bow god and Odin’s wintry alter-ego. In fact, the word Yule and the yew tree are both thought to come from Ullr’s name.

It is from such holy days that our modern practice of gift exchange at this time evolved though legend has it that Martin Luther began the tradition of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas in the 16^th century. In Christian mythology, evergreen trees were not always green. While fleeing to Egypt, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were forced to hide from Herod’s soldiers in a clump of cedar trees. The trees brought forth green needles, and their white berries turned blue so that Mary’s robe blended in. It is said from that day on, evergreens have kept their color all year round. The origins of the Christian Christmas Tree may be traced in part to St. Boniface. As a missionary to the Germanic tribes, he used the triangular shape of an upside-down evergreen tree as a symbol of the trinity just as St Patrick took the Pagan symbol of the shamrock. It became customary to hang an upside-down tree from ceilings at Christmastime, and by the 11th century, evergreen trees were being decorated with apples and bread to symbolize the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge told about in Genesis. It was referred to as the Paradise tree and was used in religious plays. The Paradise tree later became a popular decoration in homes and churches.

During the Middle Ages, it was customary for Germans and Scandinavians to place evergreen trees inside their homes or just outside their doors to show their hope in the forthcoming spring. Another custom was to have several small trees on tables, one for each member of the family, with that person’s gifts stacked on the table under the tree. It wasn’t until the 1880s that one large tree was placed on the floor. The size of the family tree became a status symbol.

The Christmas tree tradition most likely came to the United States with Hessian troops during the American Revolution or with German immigrants to Pennsylvania and Ohio. Pennsylvanian Deutsch settlements had community trees as early as 1747. Though Christmas tree farms sprang up during the depression, the Christmas tree market wasn’t truly born until 1851 when a Catskill farmer hauled two ox sleds of evergreens into New York City and sold them all. Even as the Christmas tree tradition was taking off in America, the German evergreen was beginning to suffer. It had become the fashion to lop off the tip off a large tree, which prevented the tree from growing further. Statutes were made to prevent people having more than one tree.

By 1900, one in five American families had a Christmas tree, and 20 years later, the custom was nearly universal. Nurserymen who couldn’t sell their evergreens for landscaping, cut them for Christmas trees. Cultivated trees were actually preferred over wild ones for their symmetrical shapes. Six species account for nearly ninety percent of the nation’s Christmas tree trade. The Scotch pine ranks first, comprising about forty percent of the market, followed by the Douglas fir at thirty-five percent. The other top sellers are noble fir, white pine, balsam fir and white spruce.

Mistletoe

Also known as: (Viscum Album) All Heal, Birdlime, Devil’s Fuge, Golden Bough, Herbe de la Croix, Holy wood, Lignum sanctae Crucis, Misseltoe, Mysteldene, Thunderbesem, Witches broom, Wood of the cross.

The European mistletoe, Viscum album, meaning “white inner organs,” is a green shrub with small, yellow flowers and white, sticky berries which are poisonous. The flowers are small with male a female flowers found on different plants. It grows from two to five feet in diameter and is commonly seen on apple trees, and very seldom on oak trees. But it is only the mistletoe found on oak trees which was considered sacred, the white berries representing the oak god’s semen. The mistletoe found in North America is Phoradendron flavescent or Phorodendron serotinum, meaning “tree thief.” Despite the romantic folklore of mistletoe, it is actually a partial parasite, a “hemiparasite.” As a parasitic plant, it grows on the branches or trunk of a tree, sending out roots that penetrate into the tree to take up nutrients.

The name mistletoe comes from the Old Saxon Mistl-tan, meaning a different twig and referring to the fact that it is always found growing on a tree whose twigs it does not resemble. The Missel thrush receives its name from the berries which it eats, spreading the seeds in its droppings. In the Celtic language mistletoe means “all-heal.” To Nordic Pagans, the mistletoe is Guidhel, “guide hel,” perhaps from its association with the death of Baldur, Nordic god of beauty, peace, and the summer. Frigg, his mother, obtained promises from all plants and animals that they would not harm her son but overlooked the lowly mistletoe which could not even grow on its own. To amuse themselves, the other gods gathered to throw things at Baldur, knowing that everything would veer away without striking him. Loki fashioned an arrow from mistletoe wood however and gave it to Hod, Baldur’s blind brother. Thus Baldur died by the hand of his brother and was sent to the underworld. The whole world mourned so much that Hel agreed that if every living thing would shed a tear for Baldur’s death, she would release him again to the word of the living. So Frigg traveled the world, begging all things to cry for her son. Only a cranky old giantess living alone in a cave would not cry, and so Baldur could never fully return to the living world. Some say Loki was the giantess. Still Baldur did return to the world, after a fashion, and mistletoe was given into the care of his mother. From then on, anyone who passed under mistletoe was required to exchange a kiss of peace.

In winter, trees lose their leaves revealing the perennially green mistletoe. The ancient Druids worshipped mistletoe for a variety of reasons. They believed that it represented the spirit because it seemed to grow from the air on the sacred oak. The fact that it appears to be alive in winter while its host tree appears dead led some Pagans to believe that it held in itself the life of the host tree during the colder months. The Druids sacrificed two white oxen before harvested mistletoe in the sixth day of the moon with a golden sickle, itself a symbol of the moon. To be effective however, the herb should never touch the ground. It was caught in a sheet of the finest white linen. If the plant was sought for and not found or if it fell to the ground during harvest, some great misfortune would befall the nation. Once the herb was harvested, the druids divided the branches into many sprigs and distributed them to the people, who hung them over doorways as protection against thunder, lightning and other evils. The folklore continued over the centuries. It was believed that a sprig placed in a baby’s cradle would protect the child from goblins. Giving a sprig to the first cow calving after New Year would protect the entire herd. In France, the kissing custom linked to mistletoe was reserved for New Year’s Day. Today, kisses can be exchanged under the mistletoe any time during the holiday season.

Although there is supposed to be a monkish tradition that the mistletoe was originally the tree used for the cross and ceased to be a tree after that usage, it is generally regarded as a Pagan plant and is banned from use in some churches. Though early Christians condemned mistletoe as evil and Pagan, later Christians latched onto its Pagan symbolism and proclaimed the mistletoe as an emblem of eternal life. They even adopted the custom of kissing under the mistletoe as a sign of peace. Later, this custom evolved into stealing a kiss from anyone found standing under the mistletoe and was once again condemned as too licentious for devout Christians. In the 18th Century, the exchanging of kisses between a man and a woman was adopted as a promise to marry. At Christmas, a young lady standing under a ball of mistletoe cannot refuse to be kissed, and the kiss could mean deep romance, lasting friendship, or  goodwill. It was believed that if the girl remained unkissed, she could not expect to marry in the following year. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe caught on in England long before it became popular in Puritan America. However, it was said that if the mistletoe were not burned after the kissing was done, that those who kissed beneath it would be enemies before the year was out. As it burned, it was avidly watched by the women. If the flame was steady, so would their husbands be, but if it sputtered, their husbands would be ill-tempered. A woman might also take a sprig of the mistletoe under which she kissed in order to have dreams of her future husband.

Processed European mistletoe has shown success in killing cancer cells and strengthening the immune system and is currently undergoing clinical trials. Small quantities of the leaves, powdered, are said to be good for those who suffer from epilepsy, but the berries have the exact opposite effect. In Sweden however, it is thought that just carrying a bit of mistletoe wood, as in the handle of a knife, is sufficient to ward off an epileptic fit.

Mistletoe protects against witchcraft, demonic illusions, and nightmares. Some felt that it was very unlucky not to bring some mistletoe into the house at the holiday and that it should be left hanging all year long until the next year when it was replaced. This would ensure that the house would not be struck by lightning or catch on fire or that the inhabitants would never be without bread. It also seems that mistletoe increased fertility, and might be given to cows to eat or be hung in the barn for that purpose. Mistletoe which had been properly harvested, that is, not allowed to touch the ground, could be used to ward off illness or heal wounds. It was hung around the neck or the wood was worn as a ring. It might also be worn or carried to aid men in hunting or by women to ward off possession, witchcraft, and poison or to aid in conception. It was kept near a newborn to prevent the fairies from replacing it with a changeling. Even if there was no fear of fairy theft, the mistletoe might be laid out near the bedroom door or placed under a pillow to give a restful sleep. The golden color of dried mistletoe denoted its ability to find buried treasure, and Albertus Magnus and other authorities said mistletoe was the key to every lock.

Ivy

Also known as: Alehoof, Cats-foot, Gill-go-by-the-hedge, Gill-go-over-the ground, Gort, Haymaids, Hedgemaids, Lizzy-run-up-the-hedge, Robin-run-in-the-hedge, Tun-hoof.

Common ivy, Hedera helix, and ground ivy, Glechoma hederacea, are found throughout Europe and northern and central Asia. In the Druidic alphabet, ivy is known as gort (G). It’s unlikely that there are many people who do not know what ivy looks like. This well-known evergreen climber will grow on nearly any surface. Its fibrous roots, growing out of every part of the stem, are equipped with small disks at the ends which adapt to whatever surface the ivy happens to find for support. When these fibers meet with soil or a deep crevice, they become true roots. Though not a truly parasitic species, they do have the potential to tear down whatever tree or wall they happen to become attached to. When ivy grows to the summit of its tree or supporting wall, the leaves change from the familiar angular, five-lobed leaf and become ovate without margins. Ivy will only produce flowers when the branches get above their support. The flowers of ivy are uniformly small, yellowish-green clusters of globular umbels, with five broad and short petals and five stamen. They seldom open before the end of October and usually continue expanding through December. The nectar provides food for late bees when little else is available. The berries, when they mature, provide food for many small animals, but are potentially poisonous and should not be eaten by humans.

Ground ivy was used by the Saxons to clarify their beers before hops had been introduced. It not only improved the flavor and color, but also rendered the beer clearer. It is not much used as a food otherwise and has more medicinal uses than dietary. Cups or bowls made of ivy wood were thought to cure whopping cough. Ivy is a diuretic and astringent. It was used most often as a tea for headache, cough, and as a blood purifier. The juice obtained from pressing the stem and leaves may be used for bruises and black eyes due to its astringent action. An eyewash may also be made for weak or sour eyes from ivy or it maybe used in eardrops for ringing in the ears according to Gerard. Combined with yarrow or chamomile, it is excellent as a poultice for abscesses and skin tumors.

Ivy represents intoxication due to its association with the cult of Dionysus and Bacchus. Ivy is said to have been particularly abundant in Nyssa, the fabled home of the wine god Bacchus. An ivy crown was reserved for Bacchus and poets. It is carried by women for good luck, and a wreath of ivy was presented to the recently married as an emblem of fidelity. Dionysus is said to have once escaped pirates by filling their boat with ivy. Ivy was supposed to cure drunkenness, and for this purpose, it was bound to the forehead. Romans used ivy leaves boiled in wine as a hangover cure and to dispel the effects of alcohol. Where ever it is grown or strewn, ivy guards against negativity and disaster. Ivy and holly are a magical pair, ivy considered female and holly male, despite their association with deities of the opposite sex.

In Egypt, Ivy was sacred to Osiris as a symbol of his place as a nature deity. Another god associated with ivy is Attis. He was a shepherd known for his sensual beauty who unmanned himself through his unrequited love of the mother goddess Cybele. His priests, who also often castrated themselves after extensive ritual preparation, could be recognized by their ivy leaf tattoos. Interestingly enough, another plant sacred to Attis was the evergreen tree, another symbol of the Yuletide season.

Like other evergreens, ivy is seen as a symbol of eternal life and is used in Christmas decorations, though not to the extent of pine, fir, mistletoe and holly. It was considered unlucky to have it growing in the house, though cut pieces are safe decorations for the holiday. If ivy growing on the side of the house dies, someone in the house will die as well. Picking ivy off a church is said to bring sickness. Lay a green ivy leaf in a dish of clean water on New years eve and leave it there, undisturbed, till the 5th of January. If the leaf is still fine and green, then you or whoever you laid it there for will be whole and healthy for another year. If there are any black spots however, there will be sickness. Red spots could indicate death by violence unless magical measures are taken.

Picking ivy unobserved, a young lady could try her luck at divination:

Ivy, ivy, I do pluck thee.
Down my bosom I do put thee.
The first young man that speaks to me
is my lover, sure to be,
if he be handsome and pleaseth me.
If his coat be brown or gray
his love for me is far away.
If his coat be black or blue
His love for me’ll aye be true.

Holly

Also known as: Aquifolius, Bat’s wings, Christ’s thorn, Holin, Hollin, Holm, Holme chase, Holy tree, Hulm, Hulver bush, Tinne.

Holly was originally known as aquifolium or agrifolium, meaning “having pointed leaves.” This carried over into the scientific name of the European holly, Ilex aquifolium. Its new world counterpart is Ilex opaca, meaning “dark” or “shaded” and referring to the dusky color of the American plant’s leaves. The holly is an evergreen bush with glossy green leaves. German folklore said that if a families brought the smooth, thornless holly indoors for decoration, the wife would rule the household in the coming year. The husband would rule if the leaves were thorny. Holly plants are dioecious (either male or female, not both). The female hollies have berries, while male hollies do not. Though small animals will eat the berries and deer and cows may browse on the leaves, the entire plant is inedible and poisonous to humans. When the young tips are fed to cows, it is said to improve their milk and butter. It will also improve the appetite of rabbits if they are given a holly stick to gnaw in their hutch.

In the Druidic alphabet, holly corresponds with tinne (T). Holly represented heroism and was associated with Cu Chulainn. In Teutonic tribes, holly was associated mother Holle (a variation of the Norse underworld goddess Hel). In fact, the word hole also comes from her name from the Germanic hohle, meaning cave… a yonic symbol of the Goddess in many cultures. She is also called Halja, Hilde, Hunlda, Holde, Helle, Hol, and Hella. Witches who favored this goddess made wands of holly wood. It is also a suitable wood for ritual knives. Mother Holle is the patron of newborns and is charged with naming them, the symbolic equivalent of giving them souls. This naming ritual is called the hollekreisch baptism. The red berries are consider symbolic of her life-giving lunar blood (menstrual), just as the white berries of the mistletoe are the oak-god‘s seed. Like Santa Claus, Mother Holle controls the weather and dispenses gifts.

Many ancient Europeans perceived holly as a plant with curative powers. It was used as folk medicine for toothache, measles and dog bites. Scratching the legs with a holly branch was said to ward off fever. New milk drunk from a cup made of variegated holly was supposed to cure whooping cough. However, holly should not be ingested. It is poisonous for humans, especially the berries.

Holly was the sacred plant of Saturn and was used at the Roman Saturnalia festival to honor him. Romans gave one another holly wreaths and carried them about, decorating images of Saturn with it. Although holly use in English decoration celebrating Saturnalia (December 12) dates from Roman times, its use as a Christmas decoration is dates only from the reign of Henry VI (1422-1461). Fresh green holly is the “wintry emblem” referred to in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Londoners decked their shops, homes and churches with holly in Dickens’ time. There are many traditions and superstitions associated with holly. Some have referred to it as the Holy Tree and claim that it first grew in Christ’s footsteps. In Christian mythology, its red berries and spring leaves came to represent the crucifixion. In the English carol, “The Holly and the Ivy,” the white holly flowers represent Mary and the red berries represent Christ’s blood. According to tradition, the pointy leaves represent the thorns of Christ’s Crown. Before that time, the berries were supposedly yellow. In honor to the blood shed by Christ, the berries turned red. The perennial green leaves represent eternal life. One tradition say that white berries represent Jesus’ purity, the green berries the cross of wood, and the black berries his death. The bitter bark is also said to represent the passion.

According to Pliny the Elder, holly flowers had the ability to turn water to ice. In folklore, holly provides shelter for elves and fairies who will repay their keep by preventing house goblins from doing mischief. Pliny asserted that planted near a house or farm, holly repels poison and protects against lightning and malicious or mischievous witchcraft. Coachmen who traveled by night would always have a whip made from a holly branch. The wood, if thrown at any animal, should compel it lie down by it, even if one were unsuccessful in hitting the animal. Holly water, sprinkled on a newborn, was also protective, probably due to the plant’s connection with Mother Holle. Conversely, it was thought to be extremely unlucky to cut a holly tree down. Apparently trimming it for decorations was acceptable, but it was a protected tree and should never be cut down.

Robins Singing in a Ring: Chapter 1.1

Tessa Moon

She carefully edged her way through the crowd, trying not to be noticed. Here she was, in blue jeans and a sweatshirt, while everyone else was jumping about in black and more black to music so loud she couldn’t really hear it so much as feel it in her bones. She growled as one of the Goth kids bumped into her, not that he, or she, even noticed. The noise alone was enough to give her hearing loss, but the smell of too many chemicals, covering up too much sweat, was making her nauseous. Honestly, she’d rather smell the good, honest sweat on people than this morass of perfumes, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, makeup, cigarette smoke and who knew what else. Humans were lucky their sense of smell was so poor. The modern world of scents was about as brutal on a shapeshifter as strobe lighting was on an epileptic. Finally, after what seemed to be hours, she won her way through to the bar.

“I’m looking for someone,” she shouted over the music.

The bartender turned around and raised an eyebrow. “A little underdressed, huh?” By way of explanation, she pointed to her shirt. “Careful, I bite?” he read aloud, then shrugged. None of his business. “Sorry, can’t help you.”

“If it’s about money….”

He snorted. “Listen honey, I just work here. These kids all look the same to me. I said I can’t help you because I can’t. I could feed you some bull about whoever it is you’re looking for, but I’d just be taking your money.”

“I think you’d remember the guy I’m looking for then. Styles himself as a vampire, but doesn’t go in for the whole Goth look. More of a medieval getup… you know, white poet shirt, boots….? Tells people he‘s frikkin Vlad Tepes half the time, you know, Dracula. At least he‘s got the huge nose for it….” she trailed off.

He shrugged again. “Like I said, can’t help you.”

She rolled her eyes, but whipped out a card just the same. “Look, if you do see or hear of someone like that, give me a call.”

“Yeah, whatever…” he looked at the card, “Tessa Moon. I’ll let you know if your vampire shows up at a Goth club.” He said mockingly as he turned to help a customer waiting to order a drink.

Ass, she thought as she turned her back on the bar. Now all she had to do was win her way through the flailing sea of black clad stink again. She made a mental note to pick up Tylenol and Tums on her way home. If I didn’t need the work…. but the rest of her thought fizzled out before she could complete it. Yes! She’d caught site of her mark on the far side of the crowd, now all she had to do was reach him before he took off with one of half a dozen ignorant little Goth admirers.

*****

Okay, so that sets the stage for the round robin. In order of when people joined the blogring, it looks like NightlyDreams is up first, then bodhitree, and then wunderkind348. More people will be added to the lineup as they join the blogring. Have fun, and let me know if you need anything.

Edit: NightlyDreams has bowed out of going next, so it falls to bodhitree to make the next entry.

So I made a blogring for the round-robin, Robins Singing in a Ring. I figured it would help us keep track of the additions. If you think anyone would be interested in playing, let them know that membership is open. All they need to do is join in order to be eligible to post an entry.

The description they allowed me for the ring seems a bit terse, but that’s only because I was so limited in the number of “characters” I could use. Five hundred? Pfah! That’s like telling a painter to only use one color. Yeesh! lol

So to expand on the Rules:

Everyone has a week to make their addition to the story. If you don’t post your entry by then, and you don’t tell us otherwise, the next person in line will take your place. If you’re not sure who’s up next, you can ask me or click on the recently joined button on the blogring page and it will show the order in which people joined.

You may add as little as a few sentences or as much as a “page” in your entry. We’ll say a page is five paragraphs. It’s not a strict rule though. If you feel inspired to add more, go for it. A little suggestion here… if someone invents a character for the story and you’d like that character to do something that seems out of character based on what has already been written, message the person who first created it to make sure it’s okay with them. Sometimes people get very attached to their creations, almost as an alter-ego. You shouldn’t be afraid to expand on a character’s personality, but avoid writing something contrary to their past actions without permission. A round-robin is a bit like a fanfic in that you’re constantly adding something new to a story someone else has created. In this case, a story a lot of people have created. heh

To make it easier on everyone, when you post your entry, you can include some of what has gone before if it will help put your post in context, but also, add a link to the previous entry and send your entry to the blogring before saving. Linking to the previous post will help non-members of the blogring follow the story, and sending your entry to the blogring will keep the entries in order in the “weblog pool.” Every once in a while, I’ll gather up all the previous entries into a “chapter,” posting it on my page and linking it to the weblog pool so that it doesn’t become too awkward to scan back for details.

So when I start the story (probably some time on Thursday), I’ll post it as Round Robins Singing in a Ring: Chapter 1. Then each additional entry until I gather up all the additions will be chapter 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and so on.

Now I’m not sure what kind of story this will be and no one really seemed to have a preference. So I’m going to list a bunch of genres here, and if anyone likes one or another, or objects to one or another, let me know. If you really have no preferences, that’s okay. But if you really don’t like a certain type of story, let me know so I can avoid it… The way I see it, our story can be a combination of several genres, barring any genres you guys don’t like.

So…. westerns, romance, horror, sci-fi, steampunk (technology in a primitive setting, usually 18th-19th century), urban-fantasy (fairies in cities), high fantasy (think Tolkien), mystery, thriller, historical fiction, comedy….