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Mistletoe is a plant that grows on willow and apple trees (and in garden centres!). The tradition of hanging it in the house goes back to the times of the ancient Druids. It is supposed to possess mystical powers which bring good luck to the household and wards off evil spirits. It was also used as a sign of love and friendship in Norse mythology and that's where the custom of kissing under Mistletoe comes from.
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History of Holiday Traditions

Feb 10, 2017

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Page 1: History of Holiday Traditions

Mistletoe is a plant that grows on willow and appletrees (and in garden centres!). The tradition of

hanging it in the house goes back to the times of theancient Druids. It is supposed to possess mystical

powers which bring good luck to the household andwards off evil spirits. It was also used as a sign of

love and friendship in Norse mythology and that'swhere the custom of kissing under Mistletoe comes

from.

Page 2: History of Holiday Traditions

ChristmasCandy Canes

The Christmas Candy Cane originated in Germany about 250 years ago. Theystarted as straight white sugar sticks.Sometime around 1900 the red stripes wereadded and they were flavored with peppermint or wintergreen. Around 1920, BobMcCormack, from Georgia, USA, started making canes for his friends and family.

Page 3: History of Holiday Traditions

The Colors of Christmas

Green

Evergreen plants, like Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe have been used for thousands ofyears to decorate and brighten up buildings during the long dark winter. They

also reminded people that spring would come and that winter wouldn't lastforever! Red

As mentioned above, an early use of red at Christmas were the apples on theparadise tree. They represented the fall of Adam in the plays.

Red is also the color of Holly berries, which is said to represent the blood of Jesuswhen he died on the cross.

Red is also the color of Bishops robes. These would have been worn by St.Nicholas and then also became Santa's uniform!

Page 4: History of Holiday Traditions

The History of the Yule Log

The custom of burning the Yule Log goes back to, and before, medieval times. Itwas originally a Nordic tradition. Yule is the name of the old Winter Solstice

festivals in Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe, such as Germany.The Yule Log was originally an entire tree, that was carefully chosen and brought

into the house with great ceremony. The largest end of the log would be placed intothe fire hearth while the rest of the tree stuck out into the room!

Page 5: History of Holiday Traditions

The History ofChristmas Trees

The evergreen fir tree has traditionally been used to celebrate winter festivals (pagan andChristian) for thousands of years. Pagans used branches of it to decorate their homes duringthe winter solstice, as it made them think of the spring to come. The Romans used Fir Trees

to decorate their temples at the festival of Saturnalia. Christians use it as a sign ofeverlasting life with God.

Page 6: History of Holiday Traditions

The 12 Days ofChristmas

The 12 Days of Christmas are now most famous as a song aboutsomeone receiving lots of presents from their 'true love'. However, to

get to the song there had to be the days to start with!The 12 Days of Christmas start on Christmas Day and last until the

evening of the 5th January - also known as Twelfth Night. The 12Days have been celebrated in Europe since before the middle ages

and were a time of celebration.