How did some of the Christmas evens get started? Such as the tree, the lights, the present giving, Santa Claus, etc?
2007-11-20 10:37:49 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Christmas
I was taught that candy canes are symbols of the canes shepherds use to herd sheep. Since Christmas is a celebration of Jesus' birth and Jesus is seen as a shepherd, candy canes are often seen during Christmas.
2007-11-20 10:43:08 · answer #1 · answered by momo5j7 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christmas trees and lights were part of the Pagan tradition. Christmas Trees were more like Yule logs though, and the Christmas lights represent the fire. Christmas actually comes from the pagan holiday of 'yule' or 'midwinter' it's the celebration of the sun god being born to his virgin mother (sound kinda familiar huh?) Gift giving didn't really become big until the 1800s (like Santa Claus) however some biblical scholars will say that gift giving started because the wise men gave gifts to baby Jesus. Santa Clause was first talked about in the late 1700s. Santa is a Dutch-American tradition (Saint. Nick). However Santa did not become big until the 1850s.
2007-11-20 10:46:38 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
okay, #1 answerer is completely wrong. Christmas was originally a pagan holiday celibrating the winter solstice, that's what the tree is for. The lights were in tribute to the sun god. When they converted to christianity, they wanted to keep this important holiday, and began to claim that this celebrated the birth of Christ. Psh. Christ was born in OCTOBER, PEOPLE! St. Nickolas was a true story. There WAS, in fact, a REAL saint who had to do with this, and he gave presents to small children and that's a really, really, really, long story. It takes like a day to tell. google it.
i'm not mad, i'm not a rebel, i just hate it when people think that christmas is a christian holiday.
okay.
i'm also not ridiculously religious.
2007-11-20 10:47:35 · answer #3 · answered by metalli*carmen 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is quite simple. The tradition began in the 17th century. Any kind of paper for presents would have been too expensive for the middle class or those in poverty. Stockings on sills and fireplaces became popular. The the poem "The night before Christmas" came into being and solidified the tradition.
2016-05-24 09:09:23 · answer #4 · answered by audrey 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the gift giveing.... idk, lol , the tree , i dk... lol but the lights? they have to do with the light nd joy that christmas brings and santa claus? welllll....... it came from the old TRUe story of saint nicholas who was an old man of the 1800's who sat on a park bench and handed out small home made dolls and othe rsmall trinkets (gifts) which some hoew through many countries turned into saint nicholas, its like telephone .... u know? saint nicholas became santa nicholas and then someone heard claus instead of nicholas lol which made santa claus, lol
2007-11-20 10:43:14 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Think the first christmas tree was given to a king or queen as a gift
2007-11-20 10:41:36 · answer #6 · answered by steven m 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bringing a tree inside the house was originally a German tradition,, and for lights they would put candles on the branches.
2007-11-20 10:40:29 · answer #7 · answered by Pikaboo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some of the traditions used to be pagan and were adopted by the Christians.
2007-11-20 10:40:57 · answer #8 · answered by Sour Girl™ 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
jesus was born
i dont know about the christmas tree
and i dont know about the whole "Santa Clause" thing
but good luck in finding the answers!!!
2007-11-20 10:42:20 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
as far as i'm told coca cola invented santa clause don't know how true that is but i find it quite amusing
2007-11-20 10:41:04 · answer #10 · answered by garthy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋