Martin Luther (1438-1546) in Wittenberg, Germany, wrote often of Advent & Christmas. One of his students wrote of Luther saying: For this is indeed the greatest gift, which far exceeds all else that God has created. Yet we believe so sluggishly, even though the angels proclaim & preach & sing, & their lovely song sums up the whole Christian faith, for “Glory to God in the highest” is the very heart of worship.
Early peoples created Myths, when they could not explain how or why things happened. Traditional historians rely on man's written & drawn records to interpret past progress & myths. Archaeologists' science & artifacts form the basis of our knowledge of prehistorical civilizations, most of which seem to be in Africa, Europe, & Asia. We don't know much about ancient cultures here in North America, but we need to.
Thursday, December 31, 2020
HARK! the Herald Angels sing "Glory to God in the highest."
Melozzo da Forli (Italian Renaissance artist, 1438-1494) Angel
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
The English Puritan assault on Christmas during the 1640s and 1650s
A 1660 English illustration from A Book of Roxburghe Ballads. This particular ballad is The Merry Boys of Christmas or The Milk-Maids New-Years-Gift.
""Mark Stoyle investigates popular resistance to the Puritan assault on Christmas during the 1640s and 1650s...As the year 1645 limped towards its weary close, a war-torn England shivered beneath a thick blanket of snow. A few months earlier, parliament’s New Model Army, led by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, had routed the forces of Charles I at the battle of Naseby. Although that defeat had struck the king’s cause a mortal blow, the royalists still refused to surrender, and the bloody Civil War which had divided the country ever since 1642 continued to rage.
1600s woodcut of Christmas celebration
"Seizing the initiative
"Any lingering hopes on the part of the royalists that popular anger at the abolition of Christmas might somehow transform their military fortunes were soon to be dispelled. During early 1646, Charles I’s remaining field forces melted away almost as fast as the winter snow and by April the game was clearly up for the king. In the closing verse of a contemporary ballad, a gloomy royalist writer suggested that the collapse of the king’s cause had sealed the fate of Christmas itself, remarking: “To conclude, I’ll tell you news that’s right, Christmas was killed at Naseby fight.”
"Pro-Christmas riots
The Vindication of Christmas 1652
Submitted by Emma McFaron
Germany, the Pagan God Oden & the Christmas Tree
The end of December was a perfect time for celebration in most areas of Europe, including Germany. At that time of year, most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter. For many, it was the only time of year when they had a supply of fresh meat. In addition, most wine & beer made during the year was finally fermented & ready for drinking.
In Germany, people honored the pagan god Oden during the mid-winter holiday. Germans were terrified of Oden, as they believed he made nocturnal flights through the sky to observe his people, & then decide who would prosper or perish. Because of his presence, many people chose to stay inside Odin was the Aesir chief god who presided over the Asgard land of gods. The fact was that hardly could anyone rival Oden’s power & reputation. He was among the gods whom the humans worshipped & respected the most. Oden was the god of war, death, poem, & wisdom. His most famous palace in Asgard was where he hosted fallen human warriors. Oden was commonly seen as an old man under a dark cloak with his long & white beard. He took the life of a wanderer who traveled the world to acquire knowledge.
It is generally believed that the first Christmas tree was of German origin dating from the time of St. Boniface, English missionary to Germany in the 8th century. He replaced the sacrifices to the Norse god Odin’s sacred oak—some say it was Thor’s Thunder Oak—with a fir tree adorned in tribute to the Christ child. The legend is told that Boniface found a group of “pagans” preparing to sacrifice a boy near an oak tree near Lower Hesse, Germany. He cut down the oak tree with a single stroke of his ax & stopped the sacrifice. A small fir tree sprang up in place of the oak. He told the pagans that this was the “tree of life” & stood for Christ.
A legend began to circulate in the early Middle Ages that when Jesus was born in the dead of winter, all the trees throughout the world shook off their ice & snow & produced new shoots of green. The medieval Church would decorate outdoor fir trees—known as “paradise trees”—with apples on Christmas Eve, which they called “Adam & Eve Day” & celebrated with a play.
During Renaissance times there are records that trees were being used as symbols for Christians first in the Latvian capital of Riga in 1510. The story goes that it was attended by men wearing black hats in front of the House of Blackheads in the Town Hall Square, who following a ceremony burnt the tree.
Accounts persist that Martin Luther introduced the tree lighted with candles in the mid-16th century in Wittenberg, Germany. Returning to his home after a walk one winter night, the story goes, Luther tried unsuccessfully to describe to his family the beauty of the starry night glittering through the trees. Instead, he went out & cut down a small fir tree & put lighted candles upon it.
In a manuscript dated 1605, a merchant in Strasbourg, Germany wrote that at Christmas they set up fir trees in the parlors & “hang thereon roses cut out of paper of many colors, apples, wafers, spangle-gold & sugar …” Though the selling of Christmas trees is mentioned back to the mid-1500s in Strasbourg, the custom of decorating the trees may have developed from the medieval Paradise Play. This play was a favorite during the Advent season because it ended with the promise of a Savior. The action in the play centered around a fir tree hung with apples.
Reportedly, German immigrants brought the custom to the United States & tree decorating is recorded back to 1747 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. One story tells of Hessian soldiers who fought for George III in the Revolutionary War. As they were keeping Christmas in Trenton, New Jersey around a decorated tree, they left their posts unguarded. George Washington & his troops were hungry & freezing at Valley Forge, but they planned their attack with the knowledge that the Hessians would be celebrating & thus would not be as able to defend themselves.
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
HARK! the Herald Angels sing "Glory to God in the highest."
Melozzo da Forli (Italian Renaissance artist, 1438-1494) Angel from the Vault of the Sacristy of Saint Mark
Martin Luther (1438-1546) in Wittenberg, Germany, wrote often of Advent & Christmas. One of his students wrote of Luther saying: For this is indeed the greatest gift, which far exceeds all else that God has created. Yet we believe so sluggishly, even though the angels proclaim & preach & sing, & their lovely song sums up the whole Christian faith, for “Glory to God in the highest” is the very heart of worship.
Monday, December 28, 2020
Christmas Greenery
Here in Maryland, families begin searching for their Christmas greenery after Thanksgiving. Long before the advent of Christianity, plants & trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. In many countries folks believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, & illness.
Collecting Holly Sprigs in December pub by Robert Sayer in London in 1767
In the Northern hemisphere, many ancient people believed that the sun was a god & that winter came every year because the sun god had grown weak. They celebrated the solstice, because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong & summer would return.
Springs of holly or ivy at the windows & mistletoe above. 1770s Christmas gambolls, mid-18th century, etching published by P. Griffin
The ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk & wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from his weakness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes symbolizing the triumph of life over death.
Greens decorate the room with mistletoe hanging from above. The Young Sweep giving Betty her Christmas Box, 1770-1780
Early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes & temples with evergreen boughs.
Holly on the mantel Published by Carrington Bowles in 1780.
In Northern Europe the Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder.
Sprigs of ivy in the windows & mistletoe above. Settling the Affairs of the Nation, pub by London's Bowles & Carver c 1775.
Decorating one’s house with natural boughs has been a Christmas tradition since Celtic times in England. Boughs of holly with their bright red berries were especially coveted.
Sprigs of holly over the mantle. Christmas Gambols The Wit’s Magazine, London, December 1784
"Heigh ho! sing heigh ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.”
- William Shakespeare, As You Like It
Mistletoe hanging from ceiling. 1790s Christmas Gambols or a Kiss Under the mistletoe Published 22d. Octr. 1794 by Laurie & Whittle, N°.53, Fleet Street, London.
Mistletoe hangs above & sprigs of holly or ivy decorate the lower window panes. 1791 Christmas in the Country, from drawing by Samuel Collings and pub Bentley & Co. in London, January 1, 1791.
1796 The Misteltoe, or, Christmas Gables, London Pub 1 May 1796 by G.T. Stubbs
Mistletoe hangs above1800 Unknown British artist, The mistletoe - A Christmas Tale 1800. Published by Laurie and Whittle, London
Greenery hangs over the table. 1800 Farmer Giles's establishment. Christmas day 1800 Published London
Rope of Greens in the Pastry Shop Window - George Cruikshanks Comic Almanac Excitement outside the pastry cook & confectioners shop window as people view the 12th night cakes
1825 High life below stairs Robert Cruikshank London Pub by G. Tregear 136 Drury Lane
Swags of Greenery decorate the windows of the Pastry Shop for 12th night. The Every-day Book, 1827, Naughty Boys
1837 Bringing home Christmas from The book of Christmas Illustrated by Robert Seymour
Greenery decorates the old family portraits and hangs from the chandelier. 1847 Christmas at home with family & cats Illustrated London News
Greens decorate the archway, the cake, and the boar's head! The Illustrated Times 1857 - The Boar’s Head and Christmas Pie for the Royal Banquet at Windsor Castle
Selling greenery
Preparing for Christmas
Gathering Mistletoe in Normandy
Kissing under the Mistletoe
Gathering Mistletoe
Collecting Holly Sprigs in December pub by Robert Sayer in London in 1767
In the Northern hemisphere, many ancient people believed that the sun was a god & that winter came every year because the sun god had grown weak. They celebrated the solstice, because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong & summer would return.
Springs of holly or ivy at the windows & mistletoe above. 1770s Christmas gambolls, mid-18th century, etching published by P. Griffin
The ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk & wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from his weakness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes symbolizing the triumph of life over death.
Greens decorate the room with mistletoe hanging from above. The Young Sweep giving Betty her Christmas Box, 1770-1780
Early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes & temples with evergreen boughs.
Holly on the mantel Published by Carrington Bowles in 1780.
In Northern Europe the Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder.
Sprigs of ivy in the windows & mistletoe above. Settling the Affairs of the Nation, pub by London's Bowles & Carver c 1775.
Decorating one’s house with natural boughs has been a Christmas tradition since Celtic times in England. Boughs of holly with their bright red berries were especially coveted.
Sprigs of holly over the mantle. Christmas Gambols The Wit’s Magazine, London, December 1784
"Heigh ho! sing heigh ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.”
- William Shakespeare, As You Like It
Mistletoe hanging from ceiling. 1790s Christmas Gambols or a Kiss Under the mistletoe Published 22d. Octr. 1794 by Laurie & Whittle, N°.53, Fleet Street, London.
Mistletoe hangs above & sprigs of holly or ivy decorate the lower window panes. 1791 Christmas in the Country, from drawing by Samuel Collings and pub Bentley & Co. in London, January 1, 1791.
1796 The Misteltoe, or, Christmas Gables, London Pub 1 May 1796 by G.T. Stubbs
Mistletoe hangs above1800 Unknown British artist, The mistletoe - A Christmas Tale 1800. Published by Laurie and Whittle, London
Greenery hangs over the table. 1800 Farmer Giles's establishment. Christmas day 1800 Published London
Rope of Greens in the Pastry Shop Window - George Cruikshanks Comic Almanac Excitement outside the pastry cook & confectioners shop window as people view the 12th night cakes
1825 High life below stairs Robert Cruikshank London Pub by G. Tregear 136 Drury Lane
Swags of Greenery decorate the windows of the Pastry Shop for 12th night. The Every-day Book, 1827, Naughty Boys
1837 Bringing home Christmas from The book of Christmas Illustrated by Robert Seymour
Greenery decorates the old family portraits and hangs from the chandelier. 1847 Christmas at home with family & cats Illustrated London News
Greens decorate the archway, the cake, and the boar's head! The Illustrated Times 1857 - The Boar’s Head and Christmas Pie for the Royal Banquet at Windsor Castle
Selling greenery
Preparing for Christmas
Gathering Mistletoe in Normandy
Kissing under the Mistletoe
Gathering Mistletoe
Images of European Christmas Traditions

Jan Havicksz. Steen (Dutch artist, c 1626-1679). Feast of St Nicholas 1665
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (Austrian artist, 1793-1865) A traveling family of beggars is rewarded by poor peasants on Christmas Eve 1834
Carlton Alfred Smith (English artist, 1853-1946), Christmas Eve
Franz Ignaz Pollinger (Austrian artist) First Christmas Tree in Ried 1848

Joseph Clarke (English-born artist, 1844-1890) Christmas Morning

George Bernard O’Neil (Irish artist, 1828-1917) Hanging the Mistletoe 1892




William Ewart Lockhart (Scottish artist, 1846-1900) Old Father Christmas

Albert Chevallier Tayler (British painter, 1862-1925) The Christmas Tree 1911
Gustave Brion (French Realist Painter, 1824-1877) Christmas Singers detail 1856
Franz Krüger (German painter, 1797-1857), Father & Son Picking Christmas Tree
Franz Skarbina (German artist, 1849-1910) The Christmas Market in Berlin 1892
Zinaida Yevgenyevna Serebriakova (Russian artist, 1884-1967) Katya in Blue Dress by Christmas Tree 1922
Frederick Daniel Hardy (English artist, 1827-1911) The Christmas Hamper 1874
Fetching Home the Christmas Dinner. From The London Illustrated News, Christmas Supplement. 1848.
Heinrich Ferdinand Werner (German artist, 1867-1928) The Christmas Tree 1909Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (Austrian artist, 1793-1865), Christmas Morning 1844
Hildebrandt Ferdinant Theodor (German painter, 1804–1874) Children Anticipating the Christmas Feast 1840
Joseph Clark (British artist, 1834-1926) A Christmas Dole 1800s
Callcott Horsley (English artist,1817-1903), Under the Mistletoe 1865
Lovis Corinth (German painter, 1858-1925) Distributing Christmas Presents 1913
Augusto Giacometti (Swiss artist, 1877-1947) Christmas 1939
Unknown French artist, Women and Children around the Christmas Tree c 1890
Anders Zorn, (Swedish artist, 1860–1920) Christmas Morning Service 1908
Franz Cižek (Austrian artist, 1865-1946) Santa with Toys 1910-20
Alois Hänisch (Austrian artist, 1866-1937) Christmas Spirit 1921
Jozsef Rippl-Ronai (Hungarian, 1861-1927) Christmas 1903-4
Jozsef Rippl-Ronai (Hungarian artist, 1861-1927) Christmas 1910
Eugen Kirchner (German artist, 1865-1938) Christmas Eve 1927
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