Singing carols, exchanging gifts, enjoying a holiday feast and wishing others good cheer – this is what Christmas is all about to many people. However, some may not know that these traditions are related to English celebrations.
Giving gifts on Christmas is a Victorian custom. Before that time, people exchanged gifts on New Year’s Day or Twelfth Night. Beginning in Victorian era, British children would write letters to Father Christmas and throw them into the fireplace. They believed the draft would carry the letters up the chimney and Father Christmas would be able to read the smoke.
The tradition of hanging stockings from the mantel also comes from this time period. According to legend, Father Christmas once dropped some gold coins while coming down a chimney. Instead of falling through the ash grate, the coins landed in a stocking that had been hung on the mantelpiece to dry. From then on, children have hung out their stockings in hope of finding them filled with gifts.
Singing carols at Christmas also has English origins. In the Middle Ages, groups of singers and musicians, called waits, would roam from house to house singing carols to spread the holiday spirit. Most of the popular carols sung today were written during the Victorian era.
Decorating the home with holly and other greenery is an English winter tradition that began long before the Christian era. Historians believe this was done to lift people’s spirits and remind them that spring would soon arrive. Hanging mistletoe has become especially popular today, because people enjoy kissing under the mistletoe. This custom descended from ancient Druid ceremonies.
Drinking wassail is another English custom that continues today. Derived from the Anglo-Saxon phrase “waes hael,” meaning “good health,” wassail was meant to enhance the merriment of the holiday season. It originally was made of mulled ale, cream, roasted apples, nuts, eggs and spices. Throughout the years, people have developed quite a ceremony for drinking wassail. First, the bowl is carried into the room. Then, people sing a traditional carol about the drink. Finally, the hot beverage is served.
This year, as people decorate their homes and raise their glasses in a toast of good cheer, they can know that they are carrying on centuries-old traditions.
