Know Your Christmas Traditions



By Nate Webster IMH

            Each Christmas people everywhere engage in dozens if not hundreds of different traditions. From drinking eggnog, to the mistletoe, to socks over the fire place and much, much, more. But how many of us actually know the origins of these timeless traditions? Learning about the history of traditions can be incredibly fun. It reminds us that we are apart of a very long and wonderful history of people celebrating the holidays. So lets look into the origins of three popular traditions.

Eggnog:
Many of us drink eggnog, and can’t resist its thick eggy goodness, but if we are honest, it is a strange drink. There are very few drinks similar to it, so where does this random eggnog drink come from. Well according to Elizabeth Dias of Time Magazine, “While culinary historians debate its exact lineage, most agree eggnog originated from the early medieval Britain “posset,” a hot, milky, ale-like drink. By the 13th century, monks were known to drink a posset with eggs and figs. Milk, eggs, and sherry were foods of the wealthy, so eggnog was often used in toasts to prosperity and good health.
            Eggnog became tied to the holidays when the drink hopped the pond in the 1700s. American colonies were full of farms—and chickens and cows—and cheaper rum, a soon-signature ingredient. Mexico adopted the very eggnog varietal “rompope,” and Puerto Rico enjoys the “coquito,” which adds coconut milk. The English name’s etymology however remains a mystery. Some say “nog” comes from “noggin,” meaning a wooden cup, or “grog,” a strong beer. By the late 18th century, the combined term “eggnog” stuck.”

Mistletoe:
            The mistletoe is a funny and endearing tradition around the holidays. Mostly enjoyed by those already in a relationship, it is also occasionally enjoyed by those who are interested in one another and would like to smooch. In truth the missletoe is quite a random tradition among the many others we celebrate around Christmas, so where did it come from? Rob Dunn of Smithsonian gives three sources, but I’ll only be mentioning one, “Druids who viewed the mistletoe as magical and hung it above their doors for luck. Others say it is hung for fertility…. The modern story of mistletoe is one of kisses. As Washington Irving wrote in the 1800s, “young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under [mistletoe], plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases.”

Stockings:
            Stockings like eggnog and mistletoes are unique and random in their own way. Why socks over the fireplace for Santa to place all the smaller gifts into? Just keep the elf’s work simple and wrap everything! Well according to Emily Spivack of Smithsonian, “The most popular legend about why stockings are hung at Christmas goes something like this:  A recently widowed man and father of three girls was having a tough time making ends meet. Even though his daughters were beautiful, he worried that their impoverished status would make it impossible for them to marry. St. Nicholas was wandering through the town where the man lived and heard villagers discussing that family’s plight. He wanted to help but knew the man would refuse any kind of charity directly. Instead, one night, he slid down the chimney of the family’s house and filled the girls’ recently laundered stockings, which happened to be drying by the fire, with gold coins. And then he disappeared. The girls awoke in the morning, overjoyed upon discovering the bounty. Because of St. Nick’s generosity, the daughters were now eligible to wed and their father could rest easy that they wouldn’t fall into lonely despair.”

I hope your Christmas season is filled with Merry and Cheer and maybe start your own tradition this year. Traditions help us remember and connect with the joy of holidays past. They allow us to connect with all the times we celebrated and all the times to come!

Nate Webster is a Mental Health Intern at the Life Works Group in Winter Park, Florida. He works with young people between 12 and 35 and specializes specifically in Millennials and families with teenagers.




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