Questions

What are Santa’s Names Around the World?

England – Father ChristmasEstonia – JouluvanaFinland – Joulupukki (Old Man Christmas)France – Pere NoelGermany – Weihnachtsmann (Christmas Man), NikolausHawaii KanakalokaHungary Mikulas (St. Nicholas)Netherland – KerstmanIceland – JolasveinnItaly – Babbo NataleJapan – Santa Kurousu, Hoteiosho (a god or priest who bears gifts)Lithuania – Kaledu SenuMexico – San Nicolás, SantaNorway – Julenissen (Christmas gnome)Poland -Swiety Mikolaj (St. [...]

What Popular Christmas Song was Written for Thanksgiving?

“Jingle Bells” was written in 1857 by James Pierpont (1822 – 1893) to be sung at a Thanksgiving program at his Unitarian church in Savannah, Georgia. It was originally titled “One Horse Open Sleigh.” The performance was repeated at Christmas due to its instant popularity. “Jingle Bells” is now one of the world’s most popular [...]


What is the Story of the Christmas Tree?

The tree as a symbol of Christmas comes to us from Germany, in much the same way that we use and decorate it today. Martin Luther is said to have cut a fir tree from his garden one wintry Christmas Eve and placed it in the nursery of his home for his wife and children. [...]

Why Do We Send Christmas Cards?

It was in England that Christmas cards were first produced. People had, of course, sent private notes of good wishes to each other for uncounted Christmases, marking the birth of hope and peace and the beginning of each new year. In addition to these notes it was customary in the first part of the nineteenth [...]


Why Do We Give Christmas Presents?

The gifts given by the Wise Men to the Infant Jesus are, of course, very probably the source of our present-day custom. We give, thus, to those we cherish, and this derivation is so direct that in many countries even today gifts are given on January 6 rather than December 25. January 6, the Twelfth [...]

Why do Children Hang Up Christmas Stockings?

The first Saint Nicholas, a real person who was a bishop in Asia Minor in the fourth century, is probably the source of our present Saint Nick who fills the stockings of good children on Christmas Eve. The story is that the bishop heard of a poor man who was about to sell his three [...]

Why Do we Kiss Under Mistletoe?

Although kissing under the mistletoe is associated completely with the Christmas season, there is no reason why it should be, except for the power that custom can bestow. In a Scandinavian myth, Baldur the beautiful, god of light and spring, was troubled by dreams that his life was in danger. His mother Frigga, goddess of [...]

Why is the Poinsettia the Flower of Christmas?

The poinsettia as a symbol of Christmas is a completely American development. In 1836 it was brought to the United States when our first Minister to Mexico returned from there; his name was Dr. Joel R. Poinsett and the flower was named for him. As it grew in Mexico it was a wild, small, and [...]

Where Do Christmas Carols Come From?

One of the happiest customs of the Christmas celebration throughout the world is the singing of carols. For us in the United States it would be hard to imagine the holiday without the music that fills the air around us – the old, beloved music. Often it is a strain of melody that starts the [...]

Why Do We Decorate with Holly at Christmas?

Holly remains green throughout the winter, and is therefore a logical choice for Christmas ornamentation; its use goes far back to ancient peoples who took its greenness as a promise that the sun would again return to the earth, another year. Over the centuries many legends have surrounded it with Christian implications. The early French [...]