2017 Home for the Holidays

Page 38 2017 Home for the Holidays LINCOLN DAILY NEWS November 22, 2017 By John Fulton P opular traditions during the holiday season are simply things we keep doing, some most definitely longer than others. And these traditions keep evolving to fit more modern lifestyles and the modern conveniences we have available to us. Here are a few of the traditions focused around the Christmas Season. Let’s start with the Christmas tree. Many European countries decorated trees to celebrate the winter solstice, however Germany is widely credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we know it. Some also believe Martin Luther was the first to add lighted candles to a tree to attempt to depict a “starry night” scene on evergreen trees. Many early non-Germanic American immigrants, particularly the New England Puritans, believed Christmas trees to be pagan symbols – along with decorations of any kind, singing carols, or any joyful expression. Puritans believed these things desecrated the sacred event of Christmas. There was even a fine for hanging decorations. Christmas trees became popular in the United States in the 1890’s through the early 20th century. Remember those were real trees, so the tradition was to put them up on Christmas Eve, and they would remain for the “12 days of Christmas.” Candles in the early days or where electricity wasn’t available, symbolized the “light of Christ.” The electric light strings, as we know them, didn’t become popular until the 1930’s. My dad said they used candles with clip-on holders. He laughed and said they lit them once on Christmas Eve and they started blowing them out about as soon as the last was lit. The goal was celebrate without burning the house down. Both my father and my mother- in-law both said the tree was cut off the farm, or close by. There are many versions of the tree tradition around the world. One example would be in South Africa where they decorate windows instead, and use cotton to simulate snow. Another would be the Philippines where trees are scarce, so they make trees out of lumber and other items. Each family has their own traditions, and it may involve cutting a tree, or setting up an artificial one on Thanksgiving weekend, or something entirely different. Let’s move on the Christmas stockings. The origins of this tradition aren’t well known, but there are legends to attempt to tell the story. One popular legend concerns a poor man Reconnecting with holiday traditions CONTINUED ===