Posted on 12/12/2012 4:56:40 PM PST by KevinDavis
The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals (parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehistoryofchristmas.com ...
ah, no. The history of winter celebrations may go back 4,000 years but Christmas does not.
You’re going to catch a lot of flak over the very first sentence of your essay, and justifiably so.
And to you! I love the history of Christmas. I actually have a nice A & E show on that and also the “Biography” of Santa Claus.
Parents should never worry about their children wondering if Santa is real. St. Nicholas WAS a real person, he is in the historical record and although “Santa Claus” has sort of morphed into a mythical figure it is beyond dispute that the origins of this benevolent figure are an actual, real, Christian bishop.
So, you know, there aren’t any elves or reindeer at the North Pole, but why sweat the small stuff?
Merry Christmas!!
What or when and why did the tradition of putting lights on the exterior of houses and bushes begin?
Candles were originally used on Christmas trees and later electric lights were used (for safety). I just can’t figure out why the exterior lights could have been started.
That is a good question.. I think it started in the mid to late 80’s.. I’m not sure...
bump
It was not Christmas before Christ
My mother gets nostalgic about the old fashioned lights with big bulbs and bright colors of her childhood. That and the bubble lights, those were electric too. She was born in 1932.
She actually found reproduction bubble lights. I don't think I get it, lol. Guess you had to have been there.
I’d never heard of this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Osborne_Family_Spectacle_of_Dancing_Lights
But when I saw it @ Disney last month, I was blown away.
Hanging lights outdoors dates back to at least 1950 which is the earliest year I can remember.
Like I said I don’t remember, but after Christmas Vacation it seemed to take off.
Everything used to have a meaning, symbol or represented something. We have traditions while do not know the origins.
I have a whole bunch of those big bulb colored lights from my grandma’s collection. She never threw anything out. LOL. I dare not use them.
I had to search what bubble lights are. Very interesting. If I were a kid, I’d get into trouble for wanting to spin them!
I do miss the candles on the Christmas tree. We’d light the candles and just sit there for a while watching them in a darkened room. It was so peaceful and soothing. Us kids had to sit quietly.
Here's a site filled with nothing but the history of electric Christmas Tree lights. The link is to 1930 - 1940, since that would have been my mother's early childhood, there's one of the earlier weatherproofed outdoor light sets on this page, but the stunner is the solid glass art deco light up stars, those are awesome.
http://www.oldchristmastreelights.com/1930_1940_2.htm
If you want to look at other time periods, click the index link at the top right of the page.
Bubble lights in the form of a candle were my favorite lights for the tree. It took them several minutes to warm up and begin to bubble but it was worth the wait.
We used to put bubble lights on our Christmas tree in the 1950’s and early 1960’s.
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