Christmas comes but twice a year

Some of my in-laws are Dutch, and it is customary in Holland for children celebrate “their” Christmas earlier than ours, i.e. on December 6. The children place stockings or wooden clogs on the hearth in the expectation of gifts while they are asleep and this is followed with a Christmas feast next day. It is all very similar to our customary celebrations that follow in less than three weeks’ time. In some modern Dutch homes, however, the main focus has been transferred to the wider Christmas Eve, December 24, although St Nicholas’ Day is still honoured.

One of the most spectacular events in Holland on St Nicholas’ Day is the arrival by steamer in Amsterdam harbour of Saint Nicholas dressed in his bishop’s red robes and a mitre, along with white gloves and a huge episcopal ring on his left hand.

He is seated on a white horse and accompanied by St Peter, who for some reason is not made welcome. He is known as Black Peter but is included in the formal presentation to civic leaders before the procession moves on to the Royal Palace where St Nicholas is welcomed by the sovereign and royal family. In the homes of the people, parties and general celebrations will follow with the gifting of presents and feasting on local delicacies.

All this will be followed by musical concerts with choirs singing in churches, concert halls, public areas and also on radio and television. It is all very Christian and absolutely necessary. We follow with our main celebrations almost three weeks time. Can’t wait!

Yule be lucky

One of the treats of Christmas is to have a blazing log fire in an open grate which is, in the words of the writer Charles Lamb (1775-1834) “a large heaped up, all attractive fire”.

Few modern houses boast hearths that can accommodate such a large domestic fire but happily when our house was built, we insisted that such necessities were not ignored. Thus we have a fireplace capable of consuming logs while lighting the room and also providing heat if needed, but whether it could safely accommodate an old-fashioned Yule log is open to debate In the past, Yule logs were massive and required the services of several strong youths if they were to be dragged home.

Ideally, a Yule log should be cut from a fruit tree such as apple or pear, which provides a pleasing scent when burning, although birch wood is recommended because it is usually cheap to acquire but it burns away rather too quickly. Beech wood and oak are always reliable but poplar wood produces a bitter smoke whilst the elm burns “like churchyard mould”. Pine and other firs produce a lot of heat along with much crackling and sparks while holly is best burnt while green. Ash is considered the best, burning equally well whether freshly cut or older.

It’s not easy choosing a Yule log but remember that to ensure good fortune next year, a piece of this year’s Yule log must be preserved until next year and used to light next year’s festive fire. That’s if you can remember where you stored it.

Weihnacht

Although it is perhaps rather too early to be thinking of Christmas, most of our large stores and advertisers have been highlighting the festive season for some time. I know I speak for others when I say we do our best to ignore such publicity but here am I, writing about Christmas when there are still nearly three weeks to go – Christmas fever gets earlier. This thought reminds me that there are subtle changes in the name of Christmas which could mislead some of us into thinking it is still some way ahead.

Yuletide is a former pagan name but it continues to be widely used especially by non-Christians and I was surprised to learn that a similar sounding name, Iol, means a wheel, thus representing the turn of the season. In some countries it is named as The Feast of the Nativity while in France it is Noel, and there are variations such as Natal and the Welsh Nadolig.

One popular derivation is Nowell which means “news” and which seems to cater for a wide range of tastes, but I wonder why non-Christians get worried about our use of the essential Christmas (the mass of Christ) when they are quite entitled to select any name they desire for their own celebrations while avoiding something so overtly Christian as Christmas. Such worriers might take a leaf from the Germans who called it Weihnacht, which meant a holy or consecrated night, whereas some thought it meant wein-nacht which suggested jollifications with wine.

Christmas is just one name among other festivals which include Michaelmas, Martinmas, Childermas and Candlemas, the -mas suffix coming from the Hebrew meaning tribute or offering. This has been used throughout the history of the so-called Unreformed Church because the Catholic mass is the principal service of every day.

Happy and holy

It is around this time of the year that we begin to think of singing carols which are so much a part of Christmas.

Carols are in many ways quite unique because they are religious songs without being devotional like hymns. Instead they are jolly, playful and festive, more of a song for children than adults. In fact, the word carol means dance and it stems from the Greek which refers to a ring-dance as jolly as, say, Here we go round the mulberry bush.

In the past, some carols were more like drinking songs than hymns and it is claimed that the true birthplace of carols was Italy due to the influence of St Francis of Assisi, who managed to combine his happiness with holiness. Indeed, it is claimed he wrote some carols which were said to be better than preaching as a means of spreading the gospel among ordinary people.

Better to give

With regard to St Nicholas’ feast day tomorrow, it is claimed that he initiated the idea of giving gifts to one another, especially children,

and this custom has been transferred to Christmas. He encouraged the giving of gifts among kinsfolk and friends, but also to those less fortunate than oneself, especially the poor.

He was bishop of Myra on the coast of Lycia and being a rich person, spent a lot of time giving gifts to those worse off than himself. As

Saint Nicholas and then Santa Nicklaus his name was quickly adapted to become Santa Claus, now part of our culture.