Holiday Cheer
O Tannenbaum!
"Christmas Tree." Encyclopedia Britannica.
“A Short History of Christmas Greenery.” English Heritage.
Amy McKeever. “Why Do We Have Christmas Trees? The Surprising History Behind This Holiday Tradition.” National Geographic.
Jessica Brain. “The Christmas Tree.” Historic UK.
“History of Christmas Trees.” History.
Natalie G. Mueller. “Evergreens for the Darkest Days: The Ancient Roots of Christmas Trees.” Society of Ethnobiology.
J.G. Frazer. “The Golden Bough: Balder the Beautiful, Parts I & II.”
'Tis the season for twinkling lights, joyous carols, and the iconic Christmas tree. But have you ever wondered why millions of families drag a little bit of the great outdoors into their homes every Christmas?
Long before the days of singing ornaments and flashing lights, branches or wreaths of greenery were used in cultures all around the world to represent eternal life. These evergreen boughs, which remained green and lively after other plants lost their leaves and seemed to die in the winter, symbolized the triumph of life over death and reminded people of the green plants that would bloom again when the sun returned in spring. From the ancient Egyptians filling their homes with green palms to the Romans marking the solstice with Saturnalia, evergreen decorations became intertwined with celebrations of life and abundance. And in parts of Europe, branches of evergreen were often hung over doors and windows to ward off evil and illness in the dark winter months.
Over time, these traditions continued to adapt to their surrounding cultures, and by the 1500s, it wasn’t uncommon to see community Christmas trees in Germany. But it was the Protestant Christian reformer Martin Luther, according to legend, who first brought the tree indoors, attaching candles to mimic the starry winter skies. Over the next few hundred years, Christmas trees began to spread around Europe, but it took longer for them to catch on in the United States.
Although some German immigrants brought versions of the Christmas tree to the United States as early as the 1700s, many American Christians said the tradition was pagan. And in Puritan New England, some local governments would even fine people for hanging Christmas decorations. But with growing numbers of German and Irish immigrants to the US throughout the 1800s, the tradition of the Christmas tree finally began to spread in the States.
Across the Atlantic, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Britain continued to popularize the Christmas tree. Although earlier royals had embraced the tree, an 1848 portrait depicted the royal family around a decorated tree, making the Christmas tree a fashionable trend not only in Britain but also throughout Europe and in America.
Today, Christmas trees reflect a variety of traditions and are adorned with lights, ornaments, tinsel, strings of popcorn, and cherished memories. From ancient customs to royal influences, the Christmas tree has evolved into a symbol of joy and community, bringing warmth to homes around the world during the Yuletide season.
Why Does the U.S. Military Track Santa?
“NORAD Tracks Santa.” North American Aerospace Defense Command.
“NORAD's Santa Tracker Began with a Typo and a Good Sport.” National Public Radio.
“The Wrong Number That Launched the Santa Tracker.” Christopher Klein.”
“NORAD Satellites, Fighter Pilots Help Track Santa.” Katie Lang. Department of Defense News.
Why does the military track Santa’s sleigh? On the last day of November 1955, tension filled the room at the CONAD (Continental Air Defense Command) operations center. It was the height of the Cold War, and a top-secret line had just started ringing. But as U.S. Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup answered the hotline, expecting terrible news about a Soviet attack, he was met with a surprise - a child's voice asking, "Are you really Santa Claus?" At first, the colonel believed it was a terrible prank, but when the child began crying, Shoup - a father of four - began to play along, listening to the child’s wish list. The mix-up, caused by a misprinted Sears Roebuck advertisement, led children to dial the top-secret military hotline instead of Santa's private office.
Inspired by the incident, CONAD decided to spin the situation into a positive public relations move, and on Christmas Eve, they issued a press release assuring “good little boys and girls” around the country that they were tracking (and protecting) Santa's sleigh.
In 1958, responsibility for the Santa Tracker shifted to the newly formed NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command). With radar systems, satellites, and fighter jets, they monitor Santa’s journey each year, ensuring he’s able to safely deliver presents all around the world.
This Christmas Eve, more than 1,500 dedicated volunteers will gather at NORAD to answer calls and spread the joy of the season. And while children can still call NORAD to check Santa’s progress, they can also see Santa’s location in real time on social media, the “NORAD Tracks Santa” app, and NORAD’s Santa tracking website.
The True History of Black Friday
Beatrice Dupuy. “How Black Friday Became Associated with Sales.” The Associated Press.
Don Vaughan. “Why Is It Called Black Friday?” Encyclopedia Britannica.
“What’s the Real History of Black Friday?” History.
David Mikkelson. “How Did 'Black Friday' Get Its Name?” Snopes.
Every year, millions of people shop online and in-person to take advantage of Black Friday sales. But where did “Black Friday” start?
Despite several myths that often circulate about Black Friday this time of year, Black Friday wasn’t originally a term used to advertise sales - it was used by the police to complain about their crowded city of Philadelphia. Between the early Christmas sales and, often, the Army-Navy game, the streets of Philly in the early 1960s were filled with rowdy crowds and increased traffic, so police were called in to work overtime. Annoyed by the crowds and drivers who flooded the city, officers began referring to the day as “Black Friday” in the same way the day of the stock market crash was called “Black Tuesday” - it was just really unpleasant. By the 70s, bus and taxi drivers had also adopted the name.
But Philadelphia’s store owners didn’t like having their first day of Christmas sales being called “Black Friday,” so they tried to rebrand it as “Big Friday.” Despite their efforts, it was too late - Black Friday was here to stay. So the stores tried something else, taking the name Black Friday and running with it. Stores began telling people Black Friday was the biggest shopping day of the year, and as a result, they were finally “in the black,” or making a profit. Now that story wasn’t true, but it worked. By the 1980s, stores across the country were advertising Black Friday sales, and today it has continued to grow into a multi-day shopping experience including Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.
The Most Dangerous Thanksgiving Parade(s)
“Macy’s Used to Set the Balloons Free…” New York Times.
“1997 Macy's Parade Accidents.” Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Wiki.
Brooke Migdon. “That Time a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Balloon Caught Fire and Other Inflatable Mishaps.” The Hill.
Did you know that the Cat in the Hat put a woman in a coma?
One of the most quintessential parts of Thanksgiving is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, with its dancers, singers, floats, and massive balloon characters. But those iconic balloons have caused more than their fair share of damage over the years. Part of the dangers of these Thanksgiving balloon characters is that they used to be released at the end of the parade, after which they’d soar unrestrained into the sky. But in 1931, a released balloon caused a “cat”astrophe when “The Cat” flew into a high-voltage line, bursting into flames. The next year, another cat balloon collided with a small plane in the New York sky - almost killing the student pilot and her instructor. After that, Macy’s stopped releasing the balloons. However, mishaps continued. Over the next few decades, dozens of balloons were impaled by street lamps, like in 1993, when Sonic the Hedgehog careened into a street lamp, knocking it over as it deflated and injuring three onlookers.
But nothing compares to the great balloon massacre of 1997. So many bad things happened in the 1997 parade that it has its own wiki page, but to summarize, the winds were so severe that several handlers were knocked to the ground - possibly even knocked unconscious. The Pink Panther and Barney balloons were ripped open by street lamps then stabbed to death by the NYPD, and the Cat in Hat balloon hit a streetlight which fell and injured four people, one of whom was sent to the hospital where she remained in a coma for a month.
Thanksgiving Fast Facts
“Turkey for the Holidays.” University of Illinois.
Carmen Nigro. “Thanksgiving Ragamuffin Parade.” New York Public Library.
Christopher Klein. “The Thanksgiving Raccoon That Became a Presidential Pet.” History.
“Which President Started the Tradition of Pardoning the Thanksgiving Turkey?” The White House Historical Association.
Valerie Sukovaty. “The National Thanksgiving Turkey, President Obama and Me.” Disney Parks.
Susanna Kim. “Black Friday Is Plumbers' Busiest Day of the Year.” ABC News.
60 seconds of Turkey Day facts - Let’s go!
The Pilgrims didn’t have pumpkin or apple pie for Thanksgiving. They didn’t have enough of the necessary ingredients - especially sugar..
But the pilgrims probably did eat turkey, a tradition that’s stuck around. And every year, an estimated 46 million turkeys are sacrificed for our Thanksgiving feasts.
One tradition that’s died out though is that children in New York City used to trick or treat on Thanksgiving! They’d dress up as poor people and go door to door hoping to receive candy, pennies, or an apple. This odd tradition was called “ragamuffin day” until it faded out by the mid-20th century.
Speaking of the early 1900s, a kind citizen sent President Calvin Coolidge a live raccoon to be cooked for his 1926 Thanksgiving dinner, but Coolidge became so enamored by the little bandit that Rebecca the Racoon became a White House pet.
Rebecca wasn’t the only animal to get a presidential pardon, though - every president since George H.W. Bush has officially pardoned a Thanksgiving Turkey who is then sent to live at a children’s farm, or in some cases, Disneyland, where they star in the Thanksgiving Parade.
On the topic of parades, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade didn’t have balloon characters when it debuted nearly 100 years ago - instead, they had real, live animals from the Central Park Zoo.
And lastly, Black Friday is the busiest day of the year - for plumbers, and not for the reasons you might think. They’re not showing up to deal with clogged toilets, but clogged sinks and busted garbage disposals. So be careful what you put down the drain!
The Thanksgiving Myth of Unity
Claire Bugos. “The Myths of the Thanksgiving Story.” Smithsonian Magazine.
Nora Smith. “The First Thanksgiving.”
Dana Hedgpeth. “This Tribe Helped the Pilgrims Survive Their First Thanksgiving.”
Nancy Eldredge. “Who are the Wampanoag?” Plimoth Pautuxet Museums.
Let’s talk about the story of “The First Thanksgiving” that so many American children learn in school.
“[More than] four hundred years ago, the Pilgrims made up their minds to come here to America. After the long journey from Europe, the Pilgrims had a very hard year in their new colony, called ‘Plymouth.’ Some of them got very sick, and they didn’t have very much food. But some Indians had helped the Pilgrims, and they had a good harvest in autumn. After their harvest, the Pilgrims said, ‘Let us thank God [... and] have a great Thanksgiving party[! We can] invite the friendly Indians and all rejoice together.’” *Taken in part from Nora Smith’s “The First Thanksgiving,” an online teaching resource.
Well that’s a load of malarkey. So what really happened? While the Pilgrims and Wampanoag did share a meal after the Pilgrims’ first harvest in 1921, the Wampanoag were certainly not invited. It fits nicely into our narrative though: to thank the native people who saved their lives by teaching them how to farm in Plymouth’s sandy soil, the kind and generous Pilgrims invited them to share in a harvest feast. But that’s just not what happened. In fact, the Wampanoag showed up ready to fight! The Pilgrims had been shooting their muskets as part of the harvest celebrations, and the Wampanoag believed the English were attacking. It was only after the English clarified they were celebrating a good harvest that the Wampanoag people joined.
But why does it matter? It’s just a children’s story. It matters because the stories we tell shape our understanding of the very real people in them. Adding little pieces to the story, like the supposed friendship between the Pilgrims and the “friendly Indians,” not only elevates our perception of the Pilgrims, it robs the people of the Wampanoag Confederation of the most basic respect: their name. In the years after the first Thanksgiving, the people of the future United States mirrored that native erasure as they engaged in a cultural genocide against the Wampanoag and other indigenous people. To the Wampanoag, the first Thanksgiving wasn’t a happy celebration; it was the beginning of colonization.
The ODd History of Macy's Thanksgiving Day PArade
Todd Leopold. “The History of Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade: 5 Things You May Not Know.” CNN.
Christopher Klein. “The First Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.” History.com.
“Macy’s Used to Set the Balloons Free…” New York Times.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade wasn’t always a televised spectacle! Here’s the most interesting ways the parade has changed since it began nearly 100 years ago.
At the bottom of the list, it was originally called the “Macy’s Christmas Day Parade.” Even though the first Macy’s parade took place on Thanksgiving morning, Macy’s wanted to mark the event as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. While the name was later changed to the “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” the Christmas theming has stuck around as each parade ends with the arrival of jolly old St. Nick.
In the number two spot, the first parade in 1924 was six miles long! Compared to today’s two and a half mile route, the first Macy’s parade was a real hike for anyone walking along. But that’s really nothing compared to number one: before the Macy’s parade had balloons, they had zoo animals from Central Park. Macy’s employees marched bears, camels, elephants, and more through the streets of New York City as if Ringling Brothers had come to town. Now imagine making that 6 mile walk with a grizzly bear at your side. Personally, I prefer the balloons (even if one put a woman in a coma for almost a month.)
Under the Mistletoe (Historical Version)
Evan Andrews. “Why Do We Kiss Under the Mistletoe?” History.com.
Kat Moon. “Here’s Why People Kiss Under the Mistletoe at Christmas.” Time Magazine.
Frank H. Tainter. “What Does Mistletoe Have to Do With Christmas?” The American Phytopathological Society.
Oh by gosh by golly, it’s time for mistletoe and holly. But why do we associate this parasitic evergreen with kissing on Christmas?
For thousands of years, cultures across Europe viewed mistletoe as a symbol of friendship, life, fertility, and even spiritual protection. This was due partly to the fact that mistletoe is a parasitic evergreen - meaning that it stays green in the winter while the host tree seems to die. Even after the Christianization of Europe, certain traditions, like hanging a bough of mistletoe in the doorway to keep away evil spirits in the winter, remained. By the 1700s, some Englishmen took the “love” aspect of the mistletoe superstition and made a habit of kissing any women found passing beneath the mistletoe. If you didn’t accept the kiss, you would have to face the bad luck that allegedly came with refusal. It didn’t take long for this new tradition to make its way into music and art, which is why it quickly spread throughout the English-speaking world and remains a symbol of Christmas love to this day.
Under the Mistletoe (Loki's Version)
J.G. Frazer. “The Golden Bough: Balder the Beautiful, Parts I & II.”
Kat Moon. “Here’s Why People Kiss Under the Mistletoe at Christmastime.” Time Magazine.
Evan Andrews. “Why Do We Kiss Under the Mistletoe?” History.
Erin Allen. “Highlighting the Holidays: Under the Mistletoe.” US Library of Congress.
Mistletoe has been linked to wintertime for thousands of years, but why do people kiss under the mistletoe at Christmastime? According to Norse mythology, it - like a lot of things - is all because of Loki.
Baldr, the son of Odin and Frigg, was the wisest and most beloved of all the gods. In fact, he was so joyful and generous that he was called the “bringer of light.” But when Baldr began to have dreams of his own death, panic set in amongst the gods. So Baldr’s mother, Frigg, called upon all things, living and nonliving, to swear an oath not to harm her son. Fire and water, iron and bronze, boulders and sand, trees and grasses, sickness and poison, and all creatures of the Nine Realms swore not to bring any harm upon Baldr. And he was safe… for now.
All of this praise and focus on another god didn’t sit well with the mischievous Loki. So he disguised himself as an old woman and went to meet with Frigg, saying, “It really is incredible that you made everything in creation swear an oath not to harm your son. Not leaving a single thing out! Truly incredible.” Well,” responded Frigg, “there is a certain plant, mistletoe, that I didn’t make swear an oath. It’s just so young and innocent - it didn’t seem appropriate.“ “Oh, how wise you are,” Loki praised. Then he immediately departed for earth and plucked a bough of mistletoe from a hawthorn tree, fashioned it into an arrow, and returned to the gods in Asgard.
When Loki arrived, the gods were in a circle around Baldr, throwing spears, swords, and rocks at him and laughing as every weapon bounced off of the now-invincible god. But there was one god, Höðr, who sat dejected outside the circle. “Perfect,” Loki thought as he glided towards the blind god.”Why do you disrespect the great Baldr by refusing to prove his invincibility?” “It is no disrespect; it is that I cannot see to throw,” grumbled Höðr. “Well why didn’t you say so?” Loki asked with a smile. “Here, I have an arrow you can throw - let me guide your hand so you may show your respect to the son of Odin.” So with Loki’s help, Höðr threw the arrow of mistletoe… and it sailed completely through Baldr’s body. For a brief moment, a look of shock contorted Baldr’s face as his eyes widened, then he fell down dead.
The gods were so shocked they couldn’t speak, and one by one, they began weeping. The bringer of light was gone forever. Frigg, her body racked with sobbing, knelt over her dead son and took the bloody arrow of mistletoe, the one thing from which she had neglected to protect her son, in her hand. And as Frigg wept over the loss of Baldr, her tears dropped onto the leaves of the mistletoe, forming white berries on the bough. In doing this, Frigg, goddess of love, put a spell on mistletoe that it would never again hurt any living thing. It was instead to be a symbol of love and peace, and anyone who passed underneath was to share a kiss in memory of Baldr’s grace and kindness.
Santa Claus is Coming... to Slap Heretics
Gustav Anrich. “Hagios Nikolaus.”
Peter A. Kwasniewski. “A Tale of Two Wonderworkers: St. Nicholas of Myra in the Writings and Life of St. Thomas Aquinas” Angelicum.
Jeremy Seal. “Nicholas: The Epic Journey from Saint to Santa Claus.”
Phillip Schaff. “Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Volume 14.”
“Myra.” Encyclopedia Britannica.
Before he was dropping off presents all around the world, St. Nicholas was slapping heretics in the face. So what made “Jolly Old St. Nick” so angry?
In 325 C.E., a group of leaders in the Christian church met together to establish doctrine for the growing movement of Christianity, and one of the major issues they wanted to handle was the divinity of Jesus. Now, St. Nicholas of Myra - modern day Turkey - believed that Jesus was fully God and fully man, an important belief of many Christian denominations to this day. But this council was supposed to be a discussion-type event, so people were arguing their different views. One man in particular, Arius, wasn’t on board with the whole “divinity of Jesus” thing, and as he argued, St. Nicholas got angrier and angrier until he stood up, walked across the room, and slapped Arius across the face for demeaning the divinity of Christ.
However, slapping people in the face, especially in front of the emperor, was a big deal back then, so St. Nicholas had his priestly robe taken away and was thrown into jail. But as St. Nick prayed for guidance throughout the night, Jesus and the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Nicholas in his cell. “Um… why are you in jail?” asked Jesus. St. Nicholas replied, “I’m in jail for loving you.” Upon hearing this, Jesus and Mary loosened St. Nicholas’ shackles and handed him his priestly robes and copy of the Gospel. When St. Nicholas’ guards arrived the next morning, they were in awe as St. Nick recounted the events of the past night. Hearing this, the church leaders freed St. Nicholas and asked him for forgiveness. Incidentally, the council went with St. Nicholas’ view of the divinity of Jesus. Over the next few decades, St. Nicholas continued to give to the poor and needy until* he moved to the North Pole and began making Christmas presents for all of the good little children of the world.
* his death in 343 C.E. at the ripe old age of 73.
You Better Watch Out…
Jona Lendering. “Nicholas of Myra.” Livius.
“St. Nicholas: Bishop of Myra.” Encyclopedia Britannica.
“St. Nicholas of Myra: Life, by Michael the Archimandrite.” Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca. (1348). Translated by John Quinn and Bryson Sewell.
Joel Fredell. “The Three Clerks and St. Nicholas in Medieval England.” Studies in Philology.
George H. McKnight. “St. Nicholas: His Legend and His Role in the Christmas Celebration and Other Popular Customs.”
Gustav Anrich. “Hagios Nikolaus.”
Peter A. Kwasniewski. “A Tale of Two Wonderworkers: St. Nicholas of Myra in the Writings and Life of St. Thomas Aquinas” Angelicum.
Jeremy Seal. “Nicholas: The Epic Journey from Saint to Santa Claus.”
“Christianity: Theological Controversies of the 4th and 5th Centuries.” Encyclopedia Britannica.
There are some people from history you just wouldn’t want to mess with... like Saint Nicholas of Myra.
Now, when you think of jolly old Saint Nick, you probably imagine a plump old man delivering gifts, but, according to legend, he did a lot more than that! It's believed that Nicholas was born in modern-day Turkey in the late 200s, and after his parents died in a plague, Nicholas was left with quite a bit of money. But instead of using that money to live a life of luxury, he decided to use it to help those in need and became a Bishop in the Christian church.
One of the most famous stories about Nicholas involves three sisters whose family was so poor that no one wanted to marry them. And even if someone had wanted to, her parents wouldn’t have been able to pay the dowries. Without money, the girls were likely going to face the rest of their lives in intense poverty - or worse. So Nicholas, hearing about the sisters’ struggle, threw a small bag of gold through their window as he walked by one night. With the gold, the oldest sister was able to find and marry a husband. So Nicholas tossed another bag of gold through the window - then another - until all three sisters were married.
But Nicholas wasn’t always merry and bright. In another legendary tale, three young men were traveling through the countryside when, as the sun was setting, a kind butcher offered them lodging for the night. But hoping to steal their money and make a little bit of extra money after, the butcher went full Sweeney Todd, murdering the boys, stealing their belongings, and cutting them to pieces before putting them in salt to sell as pork. Just then, there was a knock at the door. The butcher and his wife opened the door to see a furious Nicholas. “Take me to the children,” thundered Nicholas. The butcher and his wife, begging for mercy, took Nicholas to the barrels where they had put the boys - or what was left of them. But Nicholas wasn’t there to punish the evil-doers. Instead, he prayed over the barrels until, one by one, each boy stepped out as if they had never been harmed.
So if Saint Nick is known for giving out gold and bringing dead kids back to life, what is there to be scared of? Well, at this point in history, Christianity was relatively new, and the church was having a conference to make certain decisions about what it meant to be a Christian. And in this conference, known as the “Council of Nicea,” one of the things people were arguing about - without making this too complicated - was whether Jesus was equal to God. Now Nicholas and most of the people at the conference believed that, but a man named Arius and his followers weren’t on board. And when Arius got up and started talking about how Jesus was “less than” God, it was too much for jolly old St. Nick, who promptly stood up, walked across the room, and gave Arius the gift of being smacked in the face.
So yeah, Saint Nicholas gave gifts to the poor and protected innocent children - but he also wasn’t afraid to throw hands. I guess that’s just one extra reason to stay off the “Naughty List” this year!