5 Christmas symbols and what they mean

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Around late October right after all the Halloween excitement has died down, you will notice that people start putting up shiny and colourful decorations in homes, commercial establishments, and even offices. If you’re wondering what all of these are for, we have listed down some common holiday decorations you may see that are symbolic of the season. Some of them may have had religious significance in the past, but with the celebration becoming more secular, many are regarded as mainly decorative.

Christmas tree

Christmas trees are the most popular holiday decorations in Canada, but did you know that it predated the celebration? As early as 133-31 B.C., ancient Romans used decorated evergreen trees in winter festivals. Evergreens such pine, cedar, or spruce symbolized life and magical powers in winter because their leaves remained green throughout the year.

In modern times, the first recorded use of decorated Christmas trees was in Riga, Latvia in 1510. Later on, Germans started decorating their Christmas trees with paper roses, apples, candy, and candles. In the 1840s, the Illustrated London News published a drawing of the royal family celebrating around a decorated tree. This started the trend of decorated Christmas trees in Britain. Meanwhile, the first Christmas tree in North America was reportedly seen in Sorel, Quebec in 1781. In a party hosted by the German Baroness von Riedsel for British and German soldiers, a balsam fir decorated with fruits and lit with white candles was the main decoration in the dining room.

Today, Christmas trees are used all over Canada, whether fresh or in their plastic form. They are usually strewn with electric lights of various shapes and colours, and festooned with many ornaments, like stars, snowflakes, balls, and the like. Incidentally, Canada currently exports about 1.95 million fresh-cut Christmas trees to over 20 countries all over the world.

Santa Claus

The stout, bearded man dressed in red who gives out gifts to children around the world, was actually based on a saint. St. Nicholas was a Turkish bishop who was known for his acts of charity. This made him the ideal patron saint of mariners, merchants, bakers, travellers, and children in many countries such as Greece, Germany and the Netherlands.

The Dutch was said to have brought the idea of Saint Nicholas to the United States in the early 19th century. The name “Santa Claus” is actually an evolution of the Dutch “Sante Klaas.” Meanwhile, the image of the jolly old St. Nick that we know today came from the 1823 poem “The Night Before Christmas.” Cartoons and advertisements started to depict a portly Santa Claus riding his magic sleigh pulled by flying reindeer, which enabled him to travel the world in one night. This began the tradition of waiting for Santa’s mysterious Christmas eve visit to drop gifts for good kids all over the world. Despite not actually seeing Santa Claus, kids leave a plate of cookies and a glass of milk under the Christmas tree to anticipate his arrival (and his gifts, of course!).

Did you know that Santa’s Post Office is in Canada? Children who send letters to Santa are received by Canada Post. Each child receives a response from him too! Your kids, grandkids, nephews and nieces can send their letters to: Santa Claus, North Pole H0H 0H0, Canada. They should do it early (before December 14) if they want to receive a response. No postage is required for letters from within Canada.

Mistletoe

Together with the holly, ivy and evergreen trees, the mistletoe has long been a symbol of life and strength. This is because they remained fresh throughout the year. Many households cut sprigs of mistletoe and holly to hang on their doors during winter. But aside from life and strength, it is also known as a symbol of love. This idea came from ancient European legends and myths which endowed the mistletoe with powers of healing, fertility and love (see video below). This eventually led to the holiday tradition of kissing under the mistletoe. This belief became popular and spread throughout Europe, then eventually into the New World (America), and carried on in modern times.


Why do we kiss under the mistletoe? Carlos Reif, TED-Ed

Snowflakes and snowmen

With the yuletide celebrated during winter in this part of the world, snowflakes and snowmen naturally became symbols of the season. In modern times, their status as emblems were amplified by popular Christmas stories and carols that have since become classics. These include vivid descriptions of snow during the holidays (as in “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens), and in the case of snowmen, as characters coming to life and taking part in magical exploits. A good example of this is Frosty the Snowman, who is the subject of a song and a movie.


Frosty the Snowman (with lyrics) sung by Gene Autry (KoyangiChick)

Nutcracker

The nutcracker started as a humble tool used to, well, crack nuts. In the 15th century, woodcarvers started making them in the form of soldiers, knights or kings. These would have mouths attached with a lever that would open and close for cracking nuts. It was a staple in most homes since, according to German folklore, nutcrackers brought good luck to families and protected their homes. Later on, nutcrackers came to be regarded more as Christmas decorations rather than tools. They became popular in the 1950s when the story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by E.T.A. Hoffman was interpreted into a ballet. As it is a fantasy story set during Christmas time, households soon began decorating their mantels at Christmas with nutcracker soldiers. Today, ballet companies all over the world, including our own Royal Winnipeg Ballet, perform The Nutcracker Ballet during the holidays.


The Nutcracker, presented by Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet

Happy holidays!
 
Sources: Religious symbolism of a secular Christmas, Christopher D. Cunningham, Third Hour; Christmas in Canada, James H. March, The Canadian Encyclopedia; The meaning of Christmas symbols, Sherri Osborn, the Spruce; Why do we kiss under the mistletoe? Carlos Reif, TED-Ed; Accessed November 11, 2019.

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