The Top 40 Traditions of Christmas: The Story Behind the Nativity, Candy Canes, Caroling, and All Things Christmas by David McLaughlan
Authors: David McLaughlan
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Court.
When?
The original
Miracle on 34th Street
was released in 1947—in the summer! The studio decided more people went to the movies in the summer than at Christmas. The posters featured Maureen O’Hara and John Payne and a distinct lack of anything Christmassy.
Previews showed studio executives trying to decide how to pitch this wonderful film to the public. Through a series of “chance” encounters with real-life film stars, they come to the conclusion that the movie has everything and will appeal to everyone. The words blazoned across the screen declare it to be “Hilarious! Romantic! Delightful! Charming! Tender! Exciting! Yes, and groovy! No kidding … it’s a good picture!”
Why?
Valentine Davies had achieved some success as a screenwriter before World War II. He developed the story for
Miracle on 34th Street
during the hostilities and pitched it after the war. He wrote it up as a novel as it was being adapted into a screenplay.
Davies had two children and like most parents would undoubtedly have had to answer the question “Does Santa Claus really exist?” His story helped answer that question for parents ever since!
Perhaps Davies had heard of the time in “Olde England” when Father Christmas was put “on tryall for inciting good people to drunkenness, gluttony, gaming and other licentious behaviour.” He was acquitted of all charges!
24
Mistletoe
Who?
The Celts of prehistoric Europe were perhaps the first to find a use for mistletoe, although their uses were more practical than romantic. Pliny the Elder, the Roman philosopher and naturalist, wrote that the Celts used the plants as an antidote to poison and to increase the fertility of their cattle.
Mistletoe also featured in Scandinavian mythology, being the one living thing that could be used to kill the god Baldur, the son of Odin and brother of Thor. Baldur was so loved by everyone (except his slayer, his half-brother Loki) that the mistletoe’s leaves hang their heads and weep because of their part in his death.
What?
Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows on, and out of, a variety of trees. Birds eat the plant and then drop the seeds on the branches of other trees. The seeds stick to the branches and grow there.
The growth of the mistletoe does affect the host plant, and too much mistletoe can kill a tree, but this particular parasite has been granted a special dispensation.
Mistletoe has been classified as an “ecological keystone species,” meaning that an inordinate number of plants or creatures depend on it or benefit from it. Thanks to its association with Christmas decoration, it has also acquired a degree of cultural importance.
Where?
Mistletoe (
Viscus album
) once grew wild all across northern Europe, but these days it is mainly grown commercially for the Christmas market. It seems to prefer apple trees as a host.
Viscus album
does not grow naturally in North America, but “Eastern” Mistletoe does. The only differences the casual observer would notice are that Eastern Mistletoe has shorter leaves and more berries.
As for where the mistletoe should be hung amidst the Christmas decorations, well, doorways seem to be a favorite place, and there is always a good chance of a man and woman meeting there, but it really depends on who has the mistletoe and whom they wish to kiss.
When?
The uses of mistletoe date back to the days when people lived more closely with nature and depended on wild plants more than we do now. It would undoubtedly have been noticed and thought special when the leaves fell from the trees in the fall but the mistletoe stayed green.
Pliny the Elder recorded its medicinal use among the Celts in the first century AD, but it had undoubtedly been used for centuries before that.
Washington Irving wrote about the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe in 1802.
Mistletoe should be hung with the rest of the Christmas
When?
The original
Miracle on 34th Street
was released in 1947—in the summer! The studio decided more people went to the movies in the summer than at Christmas. The posters featured Maureen O’Hara and John Payne and a distinct lack of anything Christmassy.
Previews showed studio executives trying to decide how to pitch this wonderful film to the public. Through a series of “chance” encounters with real-life film stars, they come to the conclusion that the movie has everything and will appeal to everyone. The words blazoned across the screen declare it to be “Hilarious! Romantic! Delightful! Charming! Tender! Exciting! Yes, and groovy! No kidding … it’s a good picture!”
Why?
Valentine Davies had achieved some success as a screenwriter before World War II. He developed the story for
Miracle on 34th Street
during the hostilities and pitched it after the war. He wrote it up as a novel as it was being adapted into a screenplay.
Davies had two children and like most parents would undoubtedly have had to answer the question “Does Santa Claus really exist?” His story helped answer that question for parents ever since!
Perhaps Davies had heard of the time in “Olde England” when Father Christmas was put “on tryall for inciting good people to drunkenness, gluttony, gaming and other licentious behaviour.” He was acquitted of all charges!
24
Mistletoe
Who?
The Celts of prehistoric Europe were perhaps the first to find a use for mistletoe, although their uses were more practical than romantic. Pliny the Elder, the Roman philosopher and naturalist, wrote that the Celts used the plants as an antidote to poison and to increase the fertility of their cattle.
Mistletoe also featured in Scandinavian mythology, being the one living thing that could be used to kill the god Baldur, the son of Odin and brother of Thor. Baldur was so loved by everyone (except his slayer, his half-brother Loki) that the mistletoe’s leaves hang their heads and weep because of their part in his death.
What?
Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows on, and out of, a variety of trees. Birds eat the plant and then drop the seeds on the branches of other trees. The seeds stick to the branches and grow there.
The growth of the mistletoe does affect the host plant, and too much mistletoe can kill a tree, but this particular parasite has been granted a special dispensation.
Mistletoe has been classified as an “ecological keystone species,” meaning that an inordinate number of plants or creatures depend on it or benefit from it. Thanks to its association with Christmas decoration, it has also acquired a degree of cultural importance.
Where?
Mistletoe (
Viscus album
) once grew wild all across northern Europe, but these days it is mainly grown commercially for the Christmas market. It seems to prefer apple trees as a host.
Viscus album
does not grow naturally in North America, but “Eastern” Mistletoe does. The only differences the casual observer would notice are that Eastern Mistletoe has shorter leaves and more berries.
As for where the mistletoe should be hung amidst the Christmas decorations, well, doorways seem to be a favorite place, and there is always a good chance of a man and woman meeting there, but it really depends on who has the mistletoe and whom they wish to kiss.
When?
The uses of mistletoe date back to the days when people lived more closely with nature and depended on wild plants more than we do now. It would undoubtedly have been noticed and thought special when the leaves fell from the trees in the fall but the mistletoe stayed green.
Pliny the Elder recorded its medicinal use among the Celts in the first century AD, but it had undoubtedly been used for centuries before that.
Washington Irving wrote about the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe in 1802.
Mistletoe should be hung with the rest of the Christmas
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