Finding Meaning in some Traditions

With Christmas just a week away, I was wondering about some of the history of our culture's Christmas traditions. Many of the secular traditions have pagan origins, but the church has added some of their own meanings along the way. Here are some traditions I researched, but please let us know if you are aware of more detail or information. Merry X-Mas everyone! (You'll read why I say X-Mas below) . . .

The wreath--Pagans began using wreaths on the head to symbolize victory, such as in the Greek Olympics. However, Christians have come to see the wreath as a perfect symbol of our eternal God. (The circle never begins or ends). It is also adaptable to say, using the victory analogy, that the final, ultimate victor is Christ.

The Candy Cane--This has no pagan origin. It was created with Christian meaning when it began. The shepherd hook shape represents Christ, our Good Shepherd (I Peter 5:4). The candy is hard because God is our rock. (I Cor. 10:4) There are 3 stripes in a traditional candy cane, which stands for the Trinity. The stripes represent the lashes and pain Christ received before He was crucified. The largest stripe is red, standing for the blood He shed for our sins. (Ephesians 1:7) The white stripe shows us that Christ was spotless and washes away our sin when we place Him as Lord of our lives. (2 Cor. 5:21) The Peppermint flavor relates to the herb hyssop, which is from the Psalms verse about being washed clean with hyssop. (Psalm 51:7)

The Christmas Tree--This definitely has pagan beginnings--the early Germanic tribes worshipped their gods of nature, such as the tree. However, there are several legends of redeeming this tradition. It is said that Saint Boniface was trying to convert these tribes to Christianity and saw them worshipping an oak tree. He cut it down and later a fir tree sprouted. Boniface used the triangle shape of the fir tree to teach the pagans the concept of the Trinity of God.

It is also said that Martin Luther was one of the first to place a tree with "lights" (candles) in his home, in order to represent the beauty of the star-studded sky on the Christmas Eve when Jesus was born. People place an angel or star on the top of their tree to represent the nativity story. Also, it became popular to put apples on the tree at one point in Puritan history, in order to represent the Garden of Eden and remind ourselves of our fall from grace.

Christmas Cards--These began first by a British Postal worker named Sir Henry Cole. He had an artist depict 3 scenes on a card. In the middle was a family together at a feast/dinner at home. The right side picture was of the needy being clothed. The left side of the picture was of the hungry being fed. He even included the famous "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" on his first card.

Stockings--The beginnings of these are deep in folklore and probably started as a pagan tradition to get blessings from the gods. (In shoes left out at night). The stockings idea began in the 3rd or 4th century when Saint Nicholas, a bishop, used to make anonymous gifts to people all the time. He was traveling in the Caspian Sea area where a widower had 3 daughters. They were poor and had no dowry, so they were not going to be able to marry. It is said he gave them an anonymous gift at night by placing "gifts" in their stockings, which were drying by the chimney.

Santa (Saint Nick)--Santa isn't a completely forbidden word in our home, but we are not teaching our boys that Santa Claus is real. We want to focus on Jesus. However, we do teach our boys about Saint Nicholas, who was a bishop/pastor during the 3rd and 4th century.  We tell our boys that people who don't have Jesus as Lord have to attribute characteristics of love and generosity to something, so they focus on a man named Santa Claus, rather than God.

Here are some facts about Saint Nicholas, the bishop from whom Santa comes. He was extremely generous and loved Christ in word and action.  There is a great sermon on him from our pastor with many details.  You can listen to the message here: http://www.focalpointministries.org/sermon/the-truth-about-christmas-part-1-08-37/
Over the years, humans have elevated a sinful man (just like all of us) in a way that is much like an idol. As I stated, Saint Nicholas was a bishop in the 3rd and 4th century. He was very generous and gave many anonymous gifts. He became very famous and legend built up around him.
Certain churches claimed he stopped a storm on the ocean (sound familiar of Christ?) and became a patron saint of sailors. He also was said to have brought 3 young boys back to life, 7 years after they had been murdered and cut into pieces. Thus, he became the patron saint of children too. His death in December and the celebration and remembrance of him got mixed in with Christ's Mass in the Catholic church. Thus, Christmas all became intertwined with St. Nicholas Day and Jesus. Voila! There you have it.
We, as Christians focused on Biblical truths, choose to expose the folklore as false and celebrate the real man who lived in service to Christ and loving others with generosity.  His life points to Christ's example, which is the REAL deal!

X-Mas--People might cringe at this saying, thinking modern, liberal people are trying to replace Christ and make it neutral. They might be, but little do they know that the early Christian church used the Greek symbol X (chi) to represent the name Christ. So, this gives you an opportunity to explain this 2,000 year old tradition to the next person who says or writes this to you! They might be shocked!