Christmas Tree
Christmas Tree
Okay. I think I'm losing my mind because I allowed Bartholomew, Santa's Second Favorite Elf in my video Christmas card this year. That little guy sure does attract trouble, but don't take my word for it. Check out the Bartholomew movie today!
In Germany, December 6 holds a special place in the celebrations leading up to Christmas. This is the day St. Nicholas visits children. Like many of Germany's traditions, those surrounding St. Nicholas, or Father Christmas, vary from region to region. What never varies is the sentimental attention on children as the holidays approach and the giving of chocolates, coins, marzipan and little toys.
In the north, St. Nicholas often arrives by boat, in the east, he comes down to earth on a golden cord and in the south, he emerges from the forest. In Catholic communities, St. Nicholas is dressed as a bishop, wearing a bishop's robe and the tall hat called a miter, while carrying a staff. In Protestant areas, he is more likely to be called Father Christmas and appear as a kindly old man with a long white beard and fur-trimmed hood.
Often, but not always, St. Nicholas travels with his helper, a character called Knecht Ruprecht. This figure sometimes carries the sack of toys and always acts scary, a kind of enforcer. Before St. Nicholas rewards good behavior with a gift, Knecht Ruprecht shakes a rod, a chain or sometimes a bundle of switches, easily persuading children to give true accounts of the past year. If a little one has been bad, a promise to be good in the future must be made.
In some towns, St. Nicholas celebrations start the night of the fifth. Children place their cleaned little shoes next to the fireplace or under the bed. In the morning, they awake to find chocolates and small toys. At least the good children do. Bad children are likely to find a small bundle of switches or a few lumps of coal as a warning to try harder in the days before Christmas.
In other villages, St. Nicholas comes on the sixth and goes door-to-door. Children listen for the rattling sound of Knecht Ruprecht's chain and, when they finally hear him outside, are overwhelmed with mixed feelings of joy and apprehension. St. Nicholas and his helper are invited into the house and the children gather round while St. Nicholas checks in his big book for who has been "naughty or nice." We know of at least one good little girl uncertain of the book's outcome, who hide up on a shelf inside a cupboard and could only be coaxed out after her testimony of good behavior had been unquestioningly accepted. Nice children usually haven't long to wait before a small toy or some candy appears. Children with debatable behavior must first promise Knecht Ruprecht to be good, a promise that usually comes quite readily.
The German St. Nicholas tradition has had a very direct influence on the Santa Claus figure so familiar to Americans. The modem-day American Santa Claus was created by Thomas Nast, a famous German-American political cartoonist who came to the United States in 1846.
On a clear winter night more 400 years ago, Martin Luther walking toward his home. As feet followed the familiar paths, his eyes gazed upon the radiant beauty of the heavens which were declaring the glory of God.
Looking through the branches of the evergreens, he saw the stars beyond that seemed to be sprinkled on the sky like silver jewels.
So enthralled was Luther that he wished he might somehow preserve the vision and share its splendor. If he could only take one of these trees into his home, how greatly his family would rejoice in its beauty!
So it was, legend contends, that Martin Luther took one small tree into his home on Christmas Eve. On its branches he placed lighted candles so his family might know something of the beauty of stars shining through the branches of trees.
Whether his was really the first Christmas tree, no one can say. We do know that the custom of bringing trees into the home at Christmas time was soon thereafter well established in Europe.
In time, the Christmas tree came to North America, brought to the new world by Europeans. The Christmas tree remains today as the most important holiday display in homes and buildings.
If we look beyond the tree, we can still see the twinkling stars with their silent testimony of faith.
From the Christian Courier, Vol 18 No 12
Beneath the wooden exterior of the handsomely carved nutcracker lies a rich heritage that comes from the Erzgebirge region of Germany. Recognized worldwide as the home of the nutcracker, the Erzgebirge (translated as "ore Mountains") first prospered as a mining center in the 13th century, yet the region also provided a rich supply of wood. And by the 1700s as metal resources were depleting, this abundance of wood gave villagers a new livelihood carving simple wooden objects.
The German nutcracker is the most celebrated of all the European wooden collectibles. Originally, each one was created by combining dozens of hand-crafted pieces with thousands of hours of labor. Today over 130 steps are required to complete each nutcracker.
From the very beginning the people left the imprint of their way of life on their products. This explains why most nutcrackers have a grim face, as the woodworkers were depicting the hard life of the mining community, their difficult working conditions, and meager rewards.
Ken Althoff, in The Legend of the Nutcracker and Traditions of the Erzgebige, recounts the German folktale of how the nutcracker seemingly became a useful gadget. The story goes that long ago a miserly farmer offered a reward to anyone who could find an easy way to crack the nuts from his walnut trees. A soldier suggested shooting the nut, a carpenter wanted to saw through the nut--both unacceptable solutions. Then along come a puppet carver with a beautiful puppet painted in bright colors with a large mouth and strong jaws-- strong enough to crack the hard walnuts.
The farmer was grateful and rewarded the carver with his own special workshop. Though the story carries no historical truth, it's correct to say that the nutcracker is at least a 250-year old tradition.
Advent is the four-week period leading up to Christmas. The Advent season begins on the first Sunday after November 26. The German Advent calendar tradition goes back to the 19th century when children would draw Christmas pictures on 24 pieces of paper and hang them in the house. In the 1880s the wife of a German pastor crafted small Christmas boxes (Schachteln) for her impatient son to open on each day leading up to Christmas. Each box was filled with a delicious cookie and Gerhard was allowed to open one each day and eat the cookie inside. By 1903 or 1904, Gerhard Lang, as a partner in Reichhold & Lang in Munich, was manufacturing the first commercial illustrated Advent calendars (without cookies). The first calendars with fold-out windows appeared in 1920. Since the 1940s, Stuttgart's Selmer Verlag has specialized in diorama calendars that display Christmas village scenes. The first chocolate-filled Advent calendars were being marketed as early as 1958.
December 1 is also the traditional starting day for many German and Austrian Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmärkte), depending on the date of the first Advent weekend.
From About.com
If you have a Christmas tradition or legend to share with us, please send it in! We'd love to read it on our radio program or put it here on our Christmas page! E-mail it to Tim Kretschmann.