Learning to Recognise False Christmas Symbolism

I've been seeing this image float around Facebook lately:

While the image above is trying to encourage people this Christmas season, I believe it is going about it the wrong way. Unfortunately, a good deal of the above information is false. Cute, but false. This is the kind of message that you will be finding everywhere this time of year. It doesn't help that our churches, friends, and favorite Christian stars (*cough cough*) are also spreading these little stories in a desperate effort to make Christmas look good. Sorry, guys, you're actually making it look worse. When you make up stories about Christmas to make it look Christian, it really doesn't help your argument.

So, where did these traditions come from?

Christmas trees started around the 8th century because of Saint Boniface. In the village of Geismar, the people worshiped Norse gods. They considered the oak tree sacred and called it the "Thunder Oak". It was forbidden to cut down, because they believed that they would be struck with lightning if they did. So, St. Boniface cut the tree down and nothing happened (of course). Similar to the story of St. Patrick, St. Boniface then used an inanimate object as a metaphor to teach the people about God. Pointing to a fir tree, he said: "This little tree, a young child of the forest, shall be your holy tree tonight. It is the wood of peace… It is the sign of an endless life, for its leaves are ever green. See how it points upward to heaven. Let this be called the tree of the Christ-child; gather about it, not in the wild wood, but in your own homes; there it will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts and rites of kindness." (source)

Christmas wreaths appear to have begun in Scandinavia. During the winter, candles were placed around a wheel and the people prayed for the god of light to turn “the wheel of the earth” towards the sun. In the middle ages, Christians adopted this tradition for Advent, because Christ is the light of the world. We light advent candles in the wreath. Each candle represents a different part of Jesus' story. (source)

Candy canes, unfortunately for Christian children ministry groups everywhere, have nothing to do with shepherd's hooks and the blood of Christ. In fact, we're not totally sure where they came from! We do know that, originally, they didn't have a curved shape and they were completely white. There are more stories besides "The Legend of the Candy Cane" that try to link candy canes to Christians, but only one, about Bob McCormack, seems to have any evidence to prove it. It still doesn't say anything about the colors or the shape, just that McCormack's brother-in-law happened to be a Catholic priest and helped with the process. (source)

The reason we give gifts has been argued and argued over the years. When I was young, I was told that we gave gifts to each other because Jesus gave himself as a gift to us. Some friends of mine at the time believed that we give gifts because the wise men gave Jesus gifts. The truth is it doesn't really matter why we first started giving, but why we give. I read this great article from Christianity Today that you should really read. The author says: "I want to use gift-giving as a means of bringing others together and reflecting God's love rather than appeasing my insecurity or guilt. Bottom line? I want to be more like Jesus, the wise men, and Mary and less like a typical American consumer."

There are lots more traditions that you may be unfamiliar with the meanings behind. I suggest researching them for yourself! Read books or use reputable websites to find the most accurate information. I found a lot of Catholic websites were very accurate. Also, Why Do We Call It Christmas? is an adorable little kid's show that really taught me a lot about the origns of many Christmas traditions. I like to know why I do things, you know? ☺

Merry Christmas, everyone! 🐶