Christmas History, Symbols and more

The wreath is traditionally hung on the front door of homes during the winter festivities and it has pagan significance as well as Christian.

During the Middle Ages the red berries of hollies were thought to have the power of keeping witches away from homes and the evergreen boughs were thought to chase away evil spirits. Furthermore, the wreath was used to celebrate the god Bacchus who wore a circular ivy crown.

The wreath is typically laced with red ribbons which express festivity and the evergreen leaves represent the everlasting life promised to those who are faithful to Jesus Christ. The circular shape of the wreath symbolizes the crown of thorns that was places on His head by the Romans who ridiculed him for claiming to be the "King of Jews.

It is claimed that bells were rung for a full hour to ward off evil spirits on the eve of Christ's birth and at midnight their pitch changed to joyous. Traditionally, bells were tolled to announce a death and these Christmas bells announce the death of the Devil and all evil spirits who are repelled by the noise.

The Nativity scene represents the manger in which Baby Jesus was laid after his birth in a stable in Bethlehem. After receiving permission from the Pope, Francis of Assisi built the first Nativity scene for Christmas of 1224 in a cave outside the town of Greccio in Italy. This Nativity was a live scene that retold the story of the original Nativity as Francis recited the Gospel and delivered a sermon.

The evergreen leaves of the holly symbolize eternal life while the red berries represent drops of His blood on the cross. Its thorny leaves bring to mind the crown of thorns places on His head by the Roman soldiers who tormented Him.

Poinsettias are indigenous to Mexico and legend has it that it became the Mexican Christmas flower when a poor peasant girl wanted to bring a gift to the Virgin Mary on Christmas Eve. As this girl had nothing to give, an angel told her to pick some weeds but those weeds that she picked turned miraculously to bright scarlet flowers.

Poinsettias got their name from Joel R. Poinsett who, from 1825 to 1829, was the first US ambassador to Mexico and sent specimens of this plant back to the United States where they thrived.

One legend says that Yule logs served as fuel for the sun; therefore they symbolized the sun's light, warmth and revitalizing power. Another legend claims that "Yule" refers to the ale drunk a long time ago.

Yule logs were put into fireplaces to burn for at least twelve hours but there were strict rules about their use. They could not be purchased but must have been received as gifts; they must come from a tree that was grown on one's own property; they must be kindled with fragments of previous year's logs and their fire must never be allowed to go out on its own.

The exchanging of gifts dates back to an ancient Roman custom of celebrating Saturnalia, their pagan festivity. When Christians adopted that gift-giving custom, they claimed that it represents the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh that the Magi carried from the East when they came to pay homage to the newborn Jesus Christ.

The Christmas Rose is native to the mountains of Central Europe and is also grown in England. Unlike most other roses which bloom in the summer, the Christmas Rose blooms only in the winter.

A legend tells about a shepherdess who saw the three wise men bearing gifts for the New Born King and she broke down in tears because she had nothing to give Him. An angel took pity on her and turned the snow at her feel to lovely white flowers tipped with pink which were ultimately named the Christmas Rose.

There are many colors associated with Christmas but the most prevalent among them are red, green, white and gold.

- Red symbolizes festivity and excitement as well as fire, blood and charity.
- Green symbolizes nature, youth and the hope for eternal life.
- White symbolizes light, purity, joy and glory.
- Gold symbolizes sunlight and radiance.

Do Santa's Christmas reindeer really exist? Santa's Christmas reindeer are every bit as real as Santa Claus himself is. Do you believe in Santa Clause? Then you must believe in his reindeer or your Christmas presents will never get delivered.

As for any other reindeer, they are very real indeed and they are also known as caribou in the wildernesses of the North American continent. Reindeer are deer which lived and roamed freely in large herds in the arctic, subarctic as well as in the Holarctic regions. Historically, reindeer had a vast range that spanned over various continents across the world. They were found in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe which included Russia, Mongolia and northern China, Greenland, Scotland, Ireland, Alaska, Canada and in the northernmost states of the United States from Washington to Maine. Archeologists have uncovered evidence of reindeer habitats as far south as Nevada and Tennessee in the United States and Spain in Europe which date back to the late Pleistocene era from 1.8 million to 10,000 years ago.

In the more recent times of history, reindeer have vanished from many parts of the world and most particularly from the southern regions. Whereas wild reindeer are still found in large populations in Russian Siberia, Greenland, Alaska and Canada; the domesticated variety of reindeer are mostly seen in northern parts of the Scandinavian countries (particularly Norway) and Russia. Furthermore, reindeer had been brought into Iceland in the 18th century by travelers and they are still found there in abundance today. In the 20th century a few Norwegian reindeer were imported into South Georgia, a South Atlantic island where they have formed two distinct colonies that are separated by impassable glaciers. Likewise, reindeer have been introduced in small numbers in a number of other northern regions and approximately 4,000 of them had been instituted into the French subarctic archipelago of the Kerguelen Islands.

The antlers or horns of all reindeer are shed and grown afresh every year under a thin layer of fur that is called velvet which, in time, is cast off as the antlers or horns grow to their full size and maturity. To keep reindeer warm in their very frigid environments, their coats have two layers of fur: the lower layers are dense wool while the outer layers consist of thin hollow stands of hair that are filled with air. Reindeer eat mostly vegetation that is digested by their four-chambered stomachs.

Unlike Santa's reindeer which are relatively small and slim, wild and domesticated reindeer are relatively large and weigh up to 700 pounds. Although wild and domesticated reindeer have very special noses which can warm the incoming air before it reaches their lungs, none of their noses are red and glowing as Rudolph's is. Because their hooves adapt to the seasons and to differing terrains, wild and domesticated reindeer can prance and dance and dash and frolic and jump just like Santa's reindeer can. But sorry, wild and domesticated reindeer do not have the magic that Santa's reindeer have so they cannot fly, although I am sure that they would love to.

Reindeer, for the most part do not have individual name but their species have names such as:

* The Tundra reindeer include Arctic Reindeer, Peary Caribou, Svalbard Reindeer, Mountain Wild Reindeer, Porcupine Caribou, Grant's Caribou and Barren Ground Caribou.
* The Woodland reindeer include Finnish Forest Reindeer, Woodland Caribou, Queen Charlotte Islands Caribou

Each one of Santa's Christmas reindeer were lucky enough to have been named by Major Henry Livingston, Jr. in 1807 when he wrote a children's story called "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas." In 1823 Clement Clarke Moore revised this story, slightly altered some of the reindeers' names and the entire children's story became very popular under its new name: "'Twas the Night before Christmas.'" The current names for Santa's reindeer are: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer joined the other eight reindeer when he was brought in from a poem that was written by Robert May in 1939.

So, do Santa's reindeer really exist? They do if you believe in them!