Christmas

Hello and Christmas greetings. As the holidays, and I mean holidays in the American sense of the word, loom I thought I would donate my last post of 2012 to this ‘magical’ time of year. When you look at Christmas as a whole, the celebrations, the traditions, the meaning, it can be a little bit vexing. So many appended customs, stolen traditions, and general misconceptions put together tend to make things very confusing. Particularly, if you think about it too much. I try not to think about it too much, but sometimes I just can’t help it. So, what I’d like to do this month is to be helpful. To clear up some of the general ambiguities related to Christmas, hit you with some trivia and maybe even impart a little bit of knowledge, but most importantly help you sleep a little easier.  And when I say "you", what I really mean is "me". 

I want to first say that I will in no way be dealing with the topic of religion in this article but for obvious and unavoidable reasons I may have to refer to religious figures. This is in no way, shape or form a reflection of whether or not I believe in the entirely fictional character Jesus. Only joking, I’ll try and remain impartial.

Okay let’s start with Christmas day. The actual day. The 25^th of December, the birth of Christ, right? Wrong. The truth is that, if we assume the birth of Christ actually happened, no one knows exactly when it happened. The religion of Christianity was spread in no small way by the Roman Empire, and Christmas as a festival was not celebrated until well over 300 years after the birth of baby Jesus. Depending on sources the reason this date was chosen varies. However, popular belief is that it was set to coincide with southern (winter) solstice and, as Paganism was pretty popular back then, the day was stolen. Not very festive I think you’ll agree!

Okay, next up is the Christmas trees.  This festive necessity is a product of our German neighbours. Well done Germany,you did good. In its original format edible treats were left in the branches. Prince Albert (Queen Victoria’s husband) who was of German origin helped to popularise it when he and the Royal family adopted the tradition here in Blighty. That said Prince Albert was not the first Royal to be involved in tree decorating shenanigans but he is seen by most as the person responsible for its widespread adoption over here.

Now let’s discuss Turkey. I’m thinking poultry here, not geography or synonyms for 'idiot'.  Despite what you may think, turkeys are not native to Europe, and they were first introduced to England in the 16^th century (from America). The person credited with the introduction, William Strickland. Therefore, on Christmas day, when you’re chewing your way through a grotesquely large, dry, probably fairly bland bird, ask yourself and/or the chef or house proprietor the following question  -Why? If the retort has anything to do with tradition then you will be able to educate the ‘retorter’ with the above information, simply pointing out that turkeys are a relatively new resident of these shores, of about four hundred years. Okay, so they’re not that new, but still, I reckon a goose is better on the taste front so it’s probably worth being a little bit pedantic in the interest of your stomach.

Personally, I struggle to think of Christmas without giving some thought to the more needy. That brings me nicely to point four, Bob Geldof. Bob, for those of you who don’t know (and I can only assume you have been living on the moon for past few decades if you don’t) is an Irish singer-songwriter, turned political activist who has helped to bring us the Boomtown Rats, Live Aid and, lest we forget, the hit Christmas song ‘Do they Know it’s Christmas?’. He has helped to raise countless millions of pounds for very worthwhile charities and causes, primarily promoting awareness of poverty in developing countries. Bob however is still needy. Despite being worth around £32 million and having ‘non-dom’ tax status, he has not been able to afford the halo he has so much wanted and worked for. Joking aside the man has done an awful lot of good. This from someone whose only other real achievement was ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’ is pretty bloody impressive. So whole heartedly I say, well done Bob. Also, if he were to ever read this article, I’m sure he’d be happy that he got more ‘air time’ than Jesus has in a Christmas-related article. 

It’s A Wonderful Life. It really is, but in this instance I am of course referring to the film. Despite its secured status as an all-time Christmas classic, what you may not know about this movie gem is that it actually wasn’t very well received when it was first released. In fact the film recorded a loss of over US$500 million at the box office for RKO.  It was released in 1946 to mixed views and lost out in popularity to the much more acclaimed Miracle on 34^th Street.  Thankfully people did a u-turn and woke up to the genius and warmth of this film and it continues to be a staple part of the Christmas diet. Whilst on the subject of this film I think it’s worth mentioning some interesting research I discovered about Mr James Stewart. Turns out, and forgive me if I am teaching you to suck eggs, that Jimmy was not only a distinguished actor, but also a Second World War hero. Joining the Air Force as a Private and rising to the rank of Colonel in four years. Pretty neat, huh? (Hopefully that will come up in a pub quiz one day otherwise there’s a genuine danger I’ve lost you ten seconds of your life.)

When reading up on Santa Claus I of course first consulted Wikipedia. It informed me that the origins of Santa, aka St Nick, were derived from the 4^th century Greek Christian Bishop St Nicholas. Wikipedia also told me that he was famous for his generosity and gifts to the poor. No surprises there. It then goes on to mention a story involving him helping the three daughters of a pious to whom he gave dowries, so that they wouldn’t have to become prostitutes. Hmmm, I can’t say that part of the St Nick story has ever appeared in any Coca-Cola commercial I’ve ever seen. 

On the topic of Coca-Cola; a common misconception is that Coca-Cola had some influence in the colour of Santa outfits. That is not the case, as drawings of Santa in a red suit pre-dated Coca-Cola’s 1931 advertising of Mr Claus in a red suit. That said it is an easy mistake to make, as many early drawings of Santa include him sporting a dashing green or even tanned outfit. Whatever tanned is. Now how‘d you like that for some Christmas trivia?

And with that I think I’ll say good bye for the year. Happy Christmas people and thank you for reading.