With Christmas upon us again, it’s interesting to note that the name Christmas comes from Christ’s Mass.
And yet, back in AD600 it was just that - a religious celebration to commemorate the birth of Jesus. Can you imagine that nowadays? Christmas Day comes without any fuss, and everybody goes to church, and has a joyful but fairly normal day. If you have ever suffered from the stress of gift-buying, card-writing, Christmas cooking or the tricky decision of which in-laws to spend lunch with, a simple Christmas like that has its appeal.
However, like it or not, Christmas has evolved into a massive event involving weeks (months maybe?) of preparation before the big day. Mechanised nativity scenes in department stores, Christmas pudding mixes on sale as early as August, TV ads making you feel guilty if you haven’t bought the latest gifts for your loved ones – does it all seem a bit too much sometimes?
The plus side is that if we don’t go overboard, family get-togethers can be fun. The best way to tackle the last week of December is with a relaxed approach, which is what the people of the northern hemisphere would probably have had in pre-Christian days, when they celebrated the Winter Solstice on 21st December.
This was the time the people of northern Europe held the ancient midwinter feast of Yuletide to help them get through the darkest days of the year. A Yule log was burned in the hearth and for 12 days the people celebrated the return of the sun and light. At around the same time, 17th December, the Romans celebrated Saturnalia for a week, in honour of the deity Saturn.
In celebrating Christmas, many of our customs have come from the ancient festivals, such as lighting candles and the Yule log, gift-giving and merrymaking, greenery, and feasting on special foods. The custom of exchanging gifts also relates to the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh which were presented by the Magi to the baby Jesus.
So let’s make the most of the season of goodwill, have a peaceful holiday and don’t stress!
I hope you and your loved ones enjoy Christmas, however you celebrate it.
Happy Christmas!
CHRISTINE’S HELLO appears every month in Christine’s BIG Crossword magazine.
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