All Things Christmas (13 page)

The high command was aghast when they heard about what was going on in the field. Both sides quickly issued strict orders against friendly communication with the enemy. All fraternization was forbidden. Interestingly, unlike most of the fighting men, a young corporal in the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry strongly opposed the tr
uce. His name was Adolf Hitler.

Later Unsanctioned Truces

Tentative feelers were put out in the following years by the Germans proposing a Christmas truce, but the British rebuffed them. Still unofficial truces did occur at scattered locations. Evidence of a Christmas truce in 1916 was found in a letter home by a 23-year-old Private, Ronald MacKinnon. He writes of German and Canadian soldiers reaching across the battle lines near
Vimy
Ridge to share Christmas greetings and trade presents. “Here we are again as the song says. I had quite a good Xmas considering I was in the front line. Xmas eve was pretty stiff, sentry-go up to the hips in mud of course...We had a truce on Xmas Day and our German friends were quite friendly. They came over to see us and we
traded bully beef for cigars.”

MacKinnon died shortly thereafter in the Battle of
Vimy
Ridge.

Chapter Fifteen

The
Two Men Who Shaped Christmas

Saint Francis of Assisi

The way in which the world celebrates Christmas can be traced back
to the influence of two men…both of whom you know well. The first of the pair is the universal saint whose statue is so often seen in gardens because of his close association with animals. Yes, some of the most important religious traditions surrounding the Christmas season originated with St. Francis of Assisi. The traditions that Francis began have become so much a part of our celebrations of Christmas that it is now hard to imagine them ever not being there.

How Things Were Before Francis

Although Christmas was part of the liturgical calendar with an established day of remembrance it had no elaborate rituals associated with it, especially in the Early Church. It was the 4
th
Century before it appeared in the list of Feasts and Festivals with its own defined liturgy.  In
425
a Codex banned
circus games on December
25
th
, but it was only in
529
that the
cessation of work
was
impos
ed. The Second Council of Tours
in 566
-
7,
proclaimed
the sanctity of the
twelve days
from Christmas to Epiphany and the duty of
an
Advent fast
. Fasting was forbidden on Christmas Day and all of the faithful were required to receive communion. And so it remained for centuries. People typically celebrated Christmas by going to Mass at church, where they would here a sermon on the birth of the Christ Child. Churches occasionally had paintings of Jesus as an infant, but that was pretty much the extent of things.

St. Francis
has an New Idea

Everything changed when, in 1223, St. Francis invented the nativity scene. From that comes all of the little crèches we have in our homes, the larger sets they have in most churches, the outdoor displays with live animals. It all began with St. Francis.

St. Bonaventure, who entered the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor around 1240, wrote a biography of St. Francis of Assisi. Here’s how he tells the story of the first Nativity Set: “It happened in the third year before his death, that in order to excite the inhabitants of
Grecio
to commemorate the nativity of the Infant Jesus with great devotion, Francis determined to keep it with all possible solemnity; and lest he should be accused of lightness or novelty, he asked and obtained the permission of the Pontiff.

Then he prepared a manger, and brought hay, and an ox and an ass to the place appointed. When the brethren were summoned, the people ran to join him. The forest resounded with their voices, and that venerable night was made glorious by many and brilliant lights and sonorous psalms of praise. The man of God stood before the manger, full of devotion and piety, bathed in tears and radiant with joy; the Holy Gospel was chanted by Francis, the Levite of Christ. Then he preached to the people around the nativity of the poor King; and being unable to utter His name for the tenderness of His love, he called Him the Babe of Bethlehem.

A certain valiant and veracious soldier, Master John of
Grecio
, who, for the love of Christ, had left the warfare of this world, and become a dear friend of this holy man, affirmed that he
beheld
an Infant marvelously beautiful, sleeping in the manger, Whom the blessed Father Francis embraced with both his arms, as if he would awake Him from sleep. This vision of the devout soldier is credible, not only by reason of the sanctity of him that saw it, but by reason of the miracles which afterwards confirmed its truth. For example of Francis, if it be considered by the world, is doubtless sufficient to excite all hearts which are negligent in the faith of Christ; and the hay of that manger, being preserved by the people, miraculously cured all diseases of cattle, and many other pestilences; God thus in all things glorifying his servant, and witnessing to the great efficacy of his holy prayers by manifest prodigies and miracles.”

The Increasing Popularity of Francis’
Nativity Scene

Francis correctly understood that a realistic nativity scene would help people of that era, and forever after, imagine what it may have been like to be present on the first Christmas. He set it up in a cave just outside
Greccio
and featured costumed people playing the roles of Mary and Joseph. Local shepherds watched over their sheep in nearby fields, just as shepherds in Bethlehem watched over sheep on the first Christmas, when the sky suddenly filled with angels announcing Christ’s birth.

This first nativity scene turned out to be so popular that people in other areas began setting up their own living nativities to celebrate Christmas. Eventually, Christians worldwide celebrated Christmas by visiting living nativity scenes and praying at nativity scenes made of statues in their town squares and churches.

It wasn’t long before the nativity scene migrated from the outdoors into people’s homes. Eventually small statues were created representing not only the Holy Family and the ox and ass, but also angels, shepherds, sheep, camels, and the three Wise Men that we have today.

The Introduction of Christmas Carols

In addition to introducing the nativity scene, St. Francis also instituted the Christmas tradition of caroling. Prior to that time, people had listened to priests sing solemn Christmas hymns during formal church services. Francis, however, wanted people to be able to express their joy at Christmas by singing simple songs wherever they happened to be…at church, at home, or walking the fields doing their chores.

He based his idea on the Gospel of Luke. “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!’” (
Luke 2:13-14
). \ Francis felt that people should sing joyful songs of praise to God at Christmas just as the angels sang and praised God on the first Christmas.

One of St. Francis’ special talents was finding simple, uncomplicated ways to transmit the message of Christ and salvation in a way the common folk could relate to. He did this by adding religious lyrics to the popular melodies of his time. In the process, he invented a new musical genre; he created what we now know as the Christmas carol. The word
carol
, by the way, is derived from the French word
caroler
, meaning
dancing around in a circle
.

Francis wrote a song called “
Psalmus
in
Nativitate
” for people to sing at Christmas. It was written in Latin so it could be sung during Mass, but had a popular melody. It was the first ever Christmas carol and led to the tradition of caroling that we all know and love today.

Wandering minstrels sang Christmas carols during the
Middle
Ages as they traveled from community to community. Mimicking this behavior, people formed groups and walked from door to door, singing Christmas carols for people at their doors. It wasn’t long before people
began rewarding these carolers with something warm to drink accompanied by snacks such as cookies.

Next time the radio stations begin playing Christmas music much too early, instead of fuming at them offer a quite prayer of thanks for St. Francis and the traditions he created.

Charles Dickens

In 1988, the Sunday Telegraph of London dubbed Charles Dickens
The Man Who Invented Christmas
. If you’re not familiar with the history of Christmas celebrations, this may seem like an exaggeration. But on a closer examination, the Telegraph’s phrase is closer to the truth than you might imagine.

In England at the turn of the nineteenth century, Christmas had almost vanished from the scene. The beginning of Victorian era in Britain marked a low ebb in the long decline of Christmas festivities. The energizing force that St Francis of Assisi brought to Christmas lasted until the 16
th
Century when things began to wane. It began with the Protestant Reformation in 1520, which stripped churches of decoration and shunned any practice deemed
Romish
.
Then in the mid-1600’s Oliver Cromwell, a self-styled Puritan
Moses,
came to power. The revolt he led suspected all religious celebration and suppressed such frivolity such as the singing of Carols. For a time all celebration of Christmas was outlawed in England.

However, the ultimate disappearance of Christmas from the English scene can be traced to the Industrial Revolution rather than Cromwell’s Revolution. As large numbers of people left their ancestral villages and moved to the large cities, they left behind cultural traditions such as the celebration of Christmas. The bosses of these new factories weren’t inclined to encourage a holiday that meant a day off from work, especially a day of
paid
vacation. Ebenezer Scrooge’s reluctance to give Bob
Cratchit
a holiday on Christmas was typical of the times.

Despite of these obstacles and setbacks, there was a sudden, spontaneous revival of Christmas celebrations in Victorian times. A number of things seemed to happen at once. Victoria married a Saxon, and Prince Albert brought with him the German custom of decorating a Christmas tree. The singing of Christmas carols, which had all but disappeared at the turn of the century, suddenly became quite popular again. And the first Christmas cards also appeared in the 1840’s. But more than anything, it was the Christmas stories of Charles Dickens, particularly his 1843 masterpiece,
A Christmas Carol
, that rekindled the joy of Christmas in both Britain and America.

This new and romantic notion of Christmas resulted in a number of changes. Christmas, which had been ignored, now turned into a major holiday. The celebration of Christmas became a one or two-day affair rather than the traditional twelve days of Christmas. It was also an occasion for family and close friends to gather for food, singing, and merriment. Before
A
Christmas Carol
, turkey was uncommon on Christmas tables. After the book, it became the choice for Christmas dinner. And last, but not least, Christmas was seen as a time for being generous to the poor.

Dickens himself described the holidays as “a good time, a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of other people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.” For the rest of his life Dickens called it his
Carol Philosophy
.

He did not so much invent these traditions as resurrect and popularize them. Much of what we consider a
traditional
Christmas comes from the vision Dickens portrayed in
A Christmas Carol
. His name had become so synonymous with Christmas that on hearing of his death in 1870 a young girl in London asked her father, “With Mr. Dickens dead, does that mean Father Christmas will die as well?”

Chapter
Six
teen

THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Trees and Presents in Front of the Fire

Christmas Day,
known as
the
Day of Nativity
in the Eastern Church, begins with the vigil Christmas Eve
Mass
. However, Christmas is more than just a day; it's also a season,
traditionally
known as
Christmastide.
Unlike the mercantile Christmas season, which now begins sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving, and positively
conclude
s at midnight December 24
th
so as not to intrude on the after-Christmas sales which begin the next day, Christmastide has always lasted from December 25
th
until the Baptism of our Lord, which is celebrated the
Sunday following the Epiphany.

Nestled within Christmastide are two traditional festive seasons: the Octave of Christmas and the Twelve Days of Christmas. The Octave of Christmas (from the Latin
octava
, meaning eight) finds its roots in the Old Testament where
many of the
Hebrew’s
feasts and festivals
lasted for
eight days. The
Fe
stival
of Tabernacles
,
Sukkoth
,
and the
Festival of Light
, Chanukah,
are two
examples.
Today
the Church
honors
two
festive seasons
with
an
Octave
,
Easter and Christmas.

The Twelve Days of Christmas are counted from Christmas Day until the eve of the Epiphany, January 5
th
. Several notable feast days occur during this period. One of these is the Feast of St. Stephen which occurs the day after Christmas. Known as
Boxing Day
throughout the British Empire, it draws its name from the alms box in which worshippers deposited a gift for the
poor on Christmas day.
St. Stephen, you will recall, was one of the first deacons and his task was to make the daily distribution of food to the believers.
The morning
after Christmas
, December 26
th
, the box was ope
ned and the gifts distributed.
We learn that this custom was not restricted to the British Isles from the Carol depicting a 10
th
Century Bohemian King distributing alms to the poor: “
Good King Wenceslas looked out on the feast of Stephen
…”

The Twelve Days of Christmas ends on the eve of the Epiphany or, as it is appropriately called, the Twelfth Night. During the
Middle
Ages the Twelve Days of Christmas became a time of revelry and foolishness. The Shakespearean play
Twelfth Night
is built around this celebration of Christmas madness and features one of his many
wise fools
who understand the real meaning of life better than those who think
they are bright
.
In the United States,
the celebration of the
Epiphany has moved to
the
Sunday between Jan
uary
2
nd
and Jan
uary
8
th
, which lessened the festive significance of the 12 days
by making the period variable
.

And finally, while most everyone is familiar with the song
The Twelve Days of Christmas
, very few people are aware that it is, in fact, an allegorical rhyme designed as a memory aid. The date of the song's first performance has been lost to history, but it is found in European and Scandinavia traditions as early as the 16th century. Each of the items in the song is representational of a significant part of Christian teaching. The hidden meaning of each of the twelve gifts was designed to h
elp youngsters learn their faith.

The repetitive nature of the song and the way it correlates number of days and quantity of items makes it easy to remember and repeat even by the youngest child. 
he
items themselves seem just eccentric enough, particularly to modern ears, to make them memorable as well.

Examining the song’s allegorical underpinnings, we find that the
T
rue
L
ove
referred to in the song is God Himself. Meanwhile, the
me
who receives all of these wonderful presents
is
every baptized person. Mentally sing it again incorporating this new understanding of the words.

Day
1
The partridge in a pear tree
is Christ Jesus upon the Cross.

Day 2
The two turtle doves repres
ent the Old and New Testaments.

Day
3
The three French hens s
tand for Faith, Hope and Love.

Day
4
The four calling birds are the four evangelists
, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Day
5
The five golden rings represent the first five books of th
e Bible, also called the Jewish
Torah
, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Day
6
The six geese a-layin
g are the six days of creation.

Day
7
The seven
swans
a-swimming refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowled
ge, Piety and Fear of the Lord.

Day
8
T
he
eight maids a-milking served to remind children of the eight beatitudes enumera
ted in the Sermon on the Mount.