Today I want to write about the many and varied myths and
legends associated with the many and varied symbols and songs of Christmas.
This will in no way be exhaustive but it seems opportune given that Facebook
and my inbox are filling with these myths and legends.
The Twelve Days of Christmas This song is about the twelve
days between Christmas and Epiphany. Traditionally a time of celebrations and
gift giving and part of the fun was a Twelfth Night celebration where
"memory-and-forfeits" games were played/sung. In these games the
leader recited a verse, each of the players repeated the verse, and the leader
added another verse, and so on until one of the players made a mistake, with
the player who erred having to pay a penalty, such as an offering up a kiss or
a sweet. The myth is that the
items in the song (partridge, turtle doves, etc) are symbolic of various
Christian doctrines (partridge=Jesus, two turtle doves= the Old and New
Testament, etc) and that it was sung by Catholics in England when the practice
of their faith was outlawed as a way of teaching their doctrine.
Legend of the Candy Cane This holiday
treat is a relatively recent addition to the world. In early Christmas cards
sugar candy was represented as white sticks until early in the 20th
century when the now traditional upside down “J” shape with red and white
strips began appearing. Candy sticks with color strips are known in the 1840s.
The myths that the candy cane developed as a way for Christians to identify one
another or as a symbol of the scourging Jesus received are again
fabrications where a secular item is infused with religious meaning that was not
the original intent of the item.
I could go on from the Christmas tree to Santa Claus to the
number and gender of the wise visitors to Christmas lights to Christmas being
the actual date of Christ’s birth. As with almost any Christian holiday
(perhaps any faith’s holidays) the symbols and traditions are often times
adopted or adapted from those of the indigenous cultures. When trying to make
your belief system understandable to someone outside your traditions what
better way than to adapt them to local items and events?
So should we just ignore all our traditions and symbols of
Christmas? No. I think that knowing what the origins of a myth or legend are is
important as is the truth behind the adaptation or adoption. Then you can make
an informed decision about what you will include in your own festivities and
how you will share the meaning and significance of the symbols and legends you
choose to pass along.
I think finding “Christian” meanings in myths and legends is
one way of keeping the faith alive but we should never divorce the real roots
from the thing itself. So I talk about the Christmas tree representing for me
eternal life and the lights as symbols of the light of Christ but also mention
that it started out as a religious symbol for indigenous peoples who had no
knowledge or intent to communicate what I find in it today. I don’t need my
faith to be the only reason for a symbol or a celebration, it doesn’t have to supplant
the meaning it had with another and be deemed superior. When we try to cover
over or hide the original we are saying that ours is better and that isn’t the
point. The point is to let things speak and to find meaning within them for
yourself and your faith but not to deride or belittle or even replace the
faith, tradition or people that gave you the song, symbol or whatever.
In the early days of some of the American colonies Christmas
was banned as a holiday as were all its symbols. It took well into the 1800s
before Christmas began to be adopted as a holiday thanks in part to the
immigrants who came from countries where their Christmas traditions were never
banned. Think about what we almost lost if that ban held up over time. Sure
most of what we associate with Christmas has its roots in other cultures and
indigenous faiths but that doesn’t mean we can’t find significance and meaning
in it for our faith and lives. So grab a cup of nog (not Christian), belt out
the “Twelve Days of Christmas” while sitting in front of your Yule log (again
not Christian) and your Christmas tree and find within it all meaning for your
life and faith.
God, thank you for all faiths and cultures and the
celebrations and traditions that belong to them. Thank you for giving me a mind
to think and a heart to feel. Thank you for the meaning I can find in them and in
the entire world. Thank you for giving me a faith that can be seen and known
and felt in so many ways. Keep my imagination strong, my faith nimble and help
me to never let the meaning I find in something be understood as the only
meaning it can have. Amen.
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