At Christmas we enjoy making chocolate-covered cherries and caramel popcorn, sometimes even chocolate fudge. No
time to make homemade fudge? (Extravagant amounts of almonds, cashews, caramel and toffee!)
Page 5 of Christmas Symbols & Traditions
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At Christmas we enjoy making chocolate-covered cherries and caramel popcorn, sometimes even chocolate fudge. No
time to make homemade fudge? (Extravagant amounts of almonds, cashews, caramel and toffee!)
Page 5 of Christmas Symbols & Traditions
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Gifts: Christ is the "Gift of God" to the
World. The Wise Men came bearing gifts to the baby Jesus.
Through the ages people have given, on the birthday of Christ, gifts to
those they love, in honor of the Wise Men, the first gift bearers in the
Christian era. In the Middle Ages, children would receive
"bundle gifts." One gift was a reward, one was useful and
the third was for discipline. So a child received not only what they
wanted, but also what they needed. Today we should start this
tradition again. We could give a book for discipline, a toy as a
reward, and clothes as something useful. The gifts must all be
wrapped individually, then tied together with a bow or string.
Gingerbread: Many families have certain holiday
traditions that are honored every Christmas. For our family, we try to
make a gingerbread house and gingerbread cookies. This is one tradition
children can actually do on their own, or with very little supervision. It
is quite fun to make a gingerbread house. For a kit: 
Goats: The earliest gifts to Swedish children were
goats made of straw. They are still important as Christmas
decorations.
Harps: The harp is played at dawn
services in Wales on Christmas Day.
Holly: This plant grows in some form or another in
almost every country. It is used for festival decorations for
centuries. In connection with Christmas, it has come to represent
the crown of thorns worn by Christ when he was crucified, the red of the
berries representing his blood. Originally holly was used in
celebrating the Festival of Saturnalia. This was the Roman holiday
in honor of Saturn, god of the harvest and branches of holly were given as
emblems of friendship. Red is the symbol for the
blood of kinship, the bonding of family, and the act of
charity. Green is the symbol of nature and eternal
life. Hang Holly before you hang the mistletoe and never take down
holly before the eve of January 5th. Some traditions say not to bring
flowering holly into the house or say you should not step on holly berries
or burn green holly leaves. Some European legends say a sprig
of holly hanging on the bedpost will bring you sweet dreams. 
Horn: This is a Danish
custom. Just as the sun is rising on Christmas the trumpeters play
four hymns, one for each corner of the earth.
Hot Chocolate: Don't forget the marshmallows. See 
Lanterns: These are in several European countries to
light the trail to church for the Christmas Mass. They are usually
polished especially for the service. In the Orient, lanterns are
used to light the churches for the services. In America candles are
often used in candelabras. For me it is symbolic of Christ lighting
the way to heaven or being the light of the world. 
