Santa Claus is a lively, jolly and fat old fellow who tours the whole world on Christmas Eve delivering presents to deserving children. The modern-day Santa Claus finds his origins in Saint Nicholas. This patron saint was shown in paintings to look like the ordinary person that he was, but was given a make over by the Coca-Cola Company in the 1930's. That's right; our beloved Santa Claus is nothing more than a clever marketing ploy. And you thought it was hard when the kids on the playground told you Santa Claus didn't exist.

Christmas cards were introduced during the 1840s in Britain with the introduction of the postal service and the penny stamp. While a penny was a lot of money during those days, sending Christmas cards still became very common by the 1860s.

Holly and mistletoe are also attributed to the Druids. The ancient Druids were the first society known to have worn sprigs of holly and mistletoe. The druid priests believed that holly was able to remain green and vibrant the entire year because it possessed magical properties. We may have also picked up some other significant traditions from the Druids. Do you think that it's a coincidence that the colors of holly, green and red, are the colors associated with Christmas today? Mistletoe, on the other hand, represented fertility and was looked down upon by the Christian church for its association with non-virginity.

Gift giving came to us from the Romans. The Romans exchanged holly wreaths as gifts during their Saturnalia festival, which coincided with the Druid's winter solstice. The wreaths were a symbol of eternal life. Later, many Christians would take to adorning their homes with holly during the Saturnalia festival to avoid persecution from the Romans. Eventually adornment with holly was absorbed into Christian practices as well.

So, now that you know a little more about why you do the things you do during the Christmas season, why don't you see what other tidbits of historical knowledge that you can uncover to share during your next holiday gathering.

By Adam Lenk
For more Christmas articles and information visit Making Christmas

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