The Everything Family Christmas Book (10 page)

In Spanish and Latin countries, Midnight Mass is referred to as the Mass of the Rooster, after the legend that says the only time a rooster ever crowed at midnight was at the moment of Christ’s birth. The Polish Midnight Mass is called
Mass Pasternak
(Mass of the Shepherds), in commemoration of the shepherds present in accounts of the first Christmas.

Of course, the night of Christmas Eve is also when Santa Claus and his many variants are believed to travel the world, leaving behind presents for the children on the well-behaved list. Although in many countries people open presents on Christmas morning, some open them on Christmas Eve—this includes Canada’s Quebec province, as well as Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Portugal.

Christmas Eve is a time when families begin to gather to celebrate Christmas Day, often traveling to be with each other, and enjoying a Christmas Eve supper together. Historically, it was also the day when Christmas trees and decorations were set up; however, the festive garlands are now often in place weeks beforehand.

Christmas Day

For many people, Christmas morning is a time when children bounce out of bed, eager to see what Santa has brought them in the night. Presents can be found under the tree, with wrapping eagerly discarded by tykes still in their pajamas, watched just as eagerly by parents remembering their own childhood Christmases. Then, they create new memories as a family, making time later in the day to gather with extended family and friends for a large meal, often of roast turkey, beef, or ham.

Christmas Day also finds many people attending church services as a centerpiece for the entire Christmas-season celebration. In keeping with the theme of charity and hope, many religious and secular organizations make time for those less fortunate, offering a Christmas meal or delivering Christmas hampers to those who may be homeless or struggling in some way.

Boxing Day

Despite the name, it has nothing to do with prizefighting. In England, it was customary for churches to open their alms boxes to the poor on the first workday after Christmas in an attempt to give some cheer to those who could not afford a very merry Christmas. Out of this custom grew Boxing Day, on which day service people and other workers would collect money or treats from their employers. It was popularized during Queen Victoria’s reign in England, in the mid-nineteenth century, and remains a day off work in many countries.

Epiphany

The Wise Men’s visit to Jesus is commemorated on Epiphany, also known in some places as Twelfth Night or Three Kings’ Eve. Originally, Epiphany marked the manifestation of God to the world in the form of Jesus, so it included both the birth and the baptism of Jesus. Later, when the Romans began introducing Christianity to the West, they moved the birth of Jesus to December 25, and represented Epiphany as the day the Wise Men presented their gifts.

In the legend of La Befana, an elderly woman chose not to join the Wise Men in journeying to the Baby Jesus because she was too busy cleaning her house. When she regretted her decision and set out after the Wise Men, she became lost. She still wanders the world, leaving gifts with children in honor of the one child she missed—which is how gifts arrive for Italian children on Epiphany Eve. A similar legend exists in Russia, about a woman called the Babushka.

Tradition marks this event on January 6, which remains the date of the Eastern Orthodox Christmas in many countries. You’ll note that there are twelve days between December 25 and January 6, which is where our celebration of the Twelve Days of Christmas comes from.

Candlemas Day

A passage from the Gospel of Luke describes an event that would later become a lesser-known religious holiday, one that in many places marks the true close of the Christmas season. According to Jewish law, a mother was to be taken to the temple to be purified forty days after the birth of her child. Mary was no exception to this rule, as Luke describes: “The days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished.”

If Jesus was born on December 25, then February 2 would have been the day Mary underwent this ritual, an event that was commemorated in the church as early as the fourth century (although it was often scheduled for the fortieth day after Epiphany, and still is for those churches that recognize Epiphany as the birth of Jesus). It became more formalized over successive centuries, by Emperor Justinian in the sixth century and Pope Sergius I in the seventh century.

The day is marked by a ceremony in which candles are blessed, thus giving it the name Candlemas Day. In some European countries, it is considered bad luck to keep Christmas greenery up after this day.

Stars and Wise Men

The Star of Bethlehem, often found at the top of a Christmas tree or on a plate of Christmas cookies, is strictly Christian in origin, from the Gospel of Matthew. The nature of the star mentioned in the gospel remains a mystery; however, the science of astronomy has provided some possible explanations for accounts of a magical star at the time of Jesus’ birth.

Some have argued that it must have been a comet, but records of that time mark the only comets near this period at 17 B.C. (too early), and a.d. 66 (too late). Chinese astronomers, the best in history, observed a nova in 4 B.C., but there is no way to know whether this is the star mentioned in the story.

Another explanation comes from the fields of astronomy and astrology. In the year 6 or 7 B.c., there was an alignment of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces, a fact confirmed by the School of Astronomy at Sippar in Babylon and by the world-renowned astronomer Johannes Kepler. Ancient astrological legend, moreover, asserts that the meeting of these planets would signify the Messiah’s birth. The sign for Pisces is two fish joined by their tails; this is also the sign of the Messiah. However, it’s possible that 6–7 B.C. is too early to be the year of Jesus’ birth.

Careful reading of Matthew shows that it gives no specific number for the Wise Men who were following the star and never refers to them as kings. Over the years, popular culture settled on the number three, presumably because of the three gifts that Matthew mentions: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Their status as kings is believed to come from a passage in Psalms that refers to kings bearing gifts, though they are also referred to as Magi.

Nativity Scenes

The first Nativity scene was created at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in tenth-century Rome. The custom was soon popular at other churches, each one constructing ornate mangers with gold, silver, jewels, and precious stones. Though popular among high society, such opulence was far removed from the original circumstances of Christ’s birth, as well as being inaccessible to the poorer masses.

The more accurate crèche scene is due to St. Francis of Assisi, who in 1224 sought to remedy these problems by creating the first manger scene that was true to the Biblical account of Christ’s birth.

Called a crèche, the scene that St. Francis set up for the village of Greccio was made up of hay, carved figures, and live animals, capturing for the town’s unlettered people more of the spirit and the story of Christ’s birth than any splendid art treasure could convey.

The popularity of St. Francis’s crèche spread throughout the world. In Italy it is called a
presepio;
in Germany, a
Krippe.
It is a
nacimiento
in Spain and Latin America, a
jeslicky
in the Czech Republic, a
pesebre
in Brazil, and a
portal
in Costa Rica.

Christmas Animals

Along with the comparatively recent addition of reindeer, a few other animals have commonly been linked to Christmas. Camels, goats, sheep, horses, and donkeys have all been associated with the Biblical story of the Nativity, although only sheep are mentioned explicitly, and most recreations of the Nativity include some, if not all, of these animals. In some countries, the Camel of Jesus brings gifts to the children.

In addition, there are abiding legends about animals having received the power to speak on the night Christ was born; some say that every year between Christmas Eve and Christmas morning this power returns and the animals speak. Another legend has the oxen kneeling every Christmas Eve at midnight. In
Hamlet,
Shakespeare cites a legend of the “bird of dawning,” which was said to sing the whole night through at Christmastime.

The Boy Bishop

The Boy Bishop was a popular figure in medieval Christmas festivities, inspired by the life of St. Nicholas, who was appointed Bishop of Myra while still in his teens. In medieval times, the boy chosen to be Bishop would preside over certain portions of the Christmas festivities.