Christmas around the world

[Andybev01]

I can't recall, but it suits my brother to a T.

[Murfreesboro]

Re my aunt, my mother used to say that if having a tree in the house had bothered her so much, she wouldn't put one up. Admittedly, this was before the days of nearly universal artificial trees. My aunt was an indefatigable housekeeper and couldn't stand the dropped needles.

Mama's attitude was that so much work goes into Christmas, it has to be a season and not just a day.

[MauEvig]

Sorry! I need to keep up with my own threads.

I'll need to check out the whychristmas website myself.

If you guys want to hear a disturbing Christmas story, I believe this one originated in Iceland where a giant cat will devour your children if you don't give them new clothes for Christmas. It's called the Yule Cat. How can a cat have such a friendly name and...you know what...maybe I shouldn't ask.

Where do people come up with some of these disturbing legends anyway? And you thought the Krampus was evil?

Murf I remember you mention the epiphany before right? Doesn't that have to do with the 12 days of Christmas?

How is it that in America we only have the one day to celebrate? Other English speaking countries also get Boxing Day. Oh well, at least we get New Years, and I always saw that as Christmas Part II anyway. Probably because when I was a kid it meant more family get togethers, sometimes more presents from relatives visiting from afar, and in general getting to visit with them.

[Murfreesboro]

Ok, the 12 Days of Christmas actually follow Christmas. If you start counting with Christmas Day, then 12th night is Jan 5th. But I grew up calling Jan 6th 12th night, and about 50% of people do that, if they observe the full Christmas season. However you count it, Jan 6 is the feast of Epiphany, the day that commemorates the 3 wise men finally reaching the baby Jesus. The season of Epiphany then extends to the beginning of Lent, which means it ends on Mardi Gras (fat Tuesday). Down in New Orleans, the carnival season kicks off on Epiphany, when they eat the King Cakes, etc.

All this has to do with the ancient liturgical calendar, which Roman Catholics and some of the oldest protestant denominations (eg, Lutherans and Episcopalians) still observe. However, most protestants discarded it at the Reformation. Since America was founded mostly by Protestant dissenters, the old Catholic calendar never took root here in the larger culture.

In America, what we call the Christmas season, Black Friday to Christmas Day, is mainly Advent (the four weeks leading up to Christmas). In Medieval times, Advent was a penitential season like Lent. People were actually fined for feasting and partying prior to Christmas Eve. The Christmas season began at sundown on Dec 24th.

The halfway point of winter is Groundhog Day, Feb 2 (halfway between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox). In the Catholic church Feb 2 is called Candlemas, and it commemorates the day when Mary was ritually clean to return to the Temple (6 weeks after giving birth). In some Catholic parts of Europe, they will leave their Nativity Scenes up through Candlemas. After that, the church year starts focusing more on Jesus' adult ministry and the road to Calvary.

[Murfreesboro]

You also asked about Boxing Day and why America doesn't recognize it. My understanding is that Boxing Day originated In the UK and spread throughout the Empire/Commonwealth from there. Since we had broken off from them, we weren't included. I believe it refers to literal boxes. It was the servants' day off, Dec 26, and they would get boxes of hand-me-down clothes, etc, from their employers, who had gotten new clothes the day before. Also they would go home to visit their own families and celebrate the holiday in their own way. Dec 26 is also St Stephen's Day on the old liturgical calendar.
It was a day traditionally associated with charity to the poor (think Good King Wenceslas carol).

Although of course there have always been some people who could be classified as servants, America historically hasn't had a strong class system. That may be another reason why Boxing Day never really caught on here.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

I don't know if this is true or not, but when I was a kid my Canadian relatives told me that they call it Boxing Day because the day after Christmas is when you would put the crappy gifts you got in a box and bring them back to the store.

Again, not sure if it's true or something they just tell as a joke. I know that Boxing Day is big in Canada for sales, and it was the only holiday shopping event they did until the late 90s when they started copying us and they added sales events around Canadian Thanksgiving and through the holiday season.

[Murfreesboro]

Lol. No doubt there are several reasons why it's called boxing day.

I think Lucy Worsley, in her Twelve Days of Tudor Christmas, says it was the day when boxes of charitable donations (money), which were kept at the parish church, were opened and distributed to the poor.

[Andybev01]

I like Lucy Worsleys programs.

History with a touch of humor and sometimes dark humor.

[MauEvig]

I guess Boxing Day started around 1663, at least many sources say it dates back that early.
I could have sworn it started much earlier than that, but maybe I'm wrong. Historians are unsure when it started exactly.
I think it's a nice sentiment, really.
You're correct that the US has a looser caste system, but sometimes it doesn't always seem that way. It's possible to move up in the United States where it's basically fixed in a lot of other countries.
That said, if the traditions surrounding Boxing Day predate the Revolutionary War, my guess is that the British who tried to be more distinct from Americans after the civil divorce if you will, and popularized certain customs. It puts some context on why Scrooge might have waited until the day after Christmas to let Cratchit have a raise and such. I always wondered that. Though in the Muppet Christmas Carol I believe he delivered a turkey to their house that same day. Many versions have him actually help him on the day after Christmas though. I think he still has a turkey delivered to the Cratchit family on Christmas day in most versions though. Puts into context the culture of the time.
Yet Christmas became popular in the United States as well, just not Boxing day. But perhaps the US just put their own spin on it. The US was made up of more than just British settlers too. There were French, former German Hessians, African Americans, and the Native Americans. Later more immigrants would have come in and added their traditions to the plate. I think Americans tried to forge their own culture and identity from there.
Yet Christmas has always been a universal holiday, that even spread and gained some popularity in Eastern Countries. There's got to be something magical about that, even if it's just a minor celebration elsewhere.

[Murfreesboro]

In the novella, Scrooge has a prize turkey sent to Cratchit anonymously on Christnas Day. People say the popularity of the book resulted in turkey becoming a more popular Christmas meal in England. Prior to that, Christmas dinner was eirher goose or roast beef. I think the wealthier people ate beef.

[Murfreesboro]

Re the spread of Christmas even to some places that aren't historically Christian: I think that's due largely to the global influence, first of British, then of American, cultures. And I guess the French, Spanish, and Portuguese had influence in the far East for several centuries. Certainly the Philippines have (has?) strong Catholic customs from their Spanish colonial past. Then, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, Christmas just comes at a great time of year, after the harvest is over, the days are long and dark, and everybody is ready for a party. Plus it's so beautiful and sparkly. I know other cultures and religions have their festivals, and some of them are lots of fun, I'm sure, but I doubt any of them can match or surpass Christmas.

[Andybev01]

Christmas is still a huge deal in the Phillipines.

My sisters ex is from there and they pretty much celebrate Christmas all throughout the year.

[Murfreesboro]

I used to talk with some Filipinos on another forum, and it sounded like they started Christmas in September. They had a sort of Day of the Dead thing like Mexico, too. Not the costumes and parades, but going to the cemeteries on Nov 1-2 and cleaning up the gravestones, etc.

I think, when countries don't do Halloween or Thanksgiving, there's nothing much to anticipate other than Christmas. We are actually very fortunate to have such a varied holiday season.

[Andybev01]

Americans know how to celebrate.

[Murfreesboro]

Lol. Yes, we do!