English Christmas Ghosts and Winter Tales

by Donna Hatch
www.donnahatch.com

An odd Christmas custom that dates back centuries is telling scary ghost stories. Have you noticed in the popular Christmas Song, "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" the verse that says: "Tales of the glories and scary ghost stories of Christmases long, long ago" and wondered over it?

Telling ghost stories is an age-old tradition that many claim cropped up in the Victorian Era, including the traditional Christmas story, A Christmas Carol. However, this custom dates farther back than that.

Washington Irving penned a novel in 1819 called  The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. The hero in the story visits friends in an English country house during Christmas season in a section entitled Old Christmas. While visiting Bracebridge Hall, our hero basks in the hospitality of the squire and a traditional English Christmas, which includes telling scary "winter tales." Winter tales have long included tales of ghosts, witches, monsters, and other creatures of darkness.

In A Natural History of Ghosts: 500 Years of Hunting for Proof the author, Roger Clarke, tells of a popular story claiming that shepherds saw ghostly civil war soldiers battling in the skies just before Christmas 1642.

Even earlier,  the Bard, William Shakespeare penned a collection of scary stories entitled Winter Tales." This romance weaves a tale of tangled identities and apparent death and revival. This suggests that telling weird or bizarre stories whilst gathered around a winter's evening fire was a wide-spread tradition long before the Bard's time.

A predecessor of Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe wrote a play entitled The Jew of Malta  in 1589 in which a character Barnabus states:

Now I remember those old women's words,
Who in my wealth would tell me winter's tales,
And speak of spirits and ghosts that glide by night

Since traditions such as this have roots in pagan practices dating back to medieval times, I assume winter tales including ghost stories have been a Christmas tradition since the days of cloak and dagger. But at the very least, the practice of telling ghost stories at Christmas has been in practice since the 1500s.

However, I’m happy that telling ghost stories, except for watching the movie or reading the book, A Christmas Carol, is no longer a major part of American Christmas customs. Can you imagine getting a child to bed who is both excited about presents and frightened of ghosts? Now that is scary!

Still, this practice of telling ghost stories is a plot point that works well for my Christmas novel, A Christmas Secret.

Holly has two Christmas wishes this year; to finally earn her mother’s approval by gaining the notice of a handsome earl with an impeccable reputation, and learn the identity of the stranger who gave her a heart-shattering kiss…even if that stranger is the resident Christmas ghost.

Christmas Secrets released November 9, 2017 and you can download it and read it instantly here
 on Kindle!







Sources:
http://www.hypnogoria.com/html/ghoststoriesforchristmas.html

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/705363363/Telling-ghost-stories-is-a-lost-tradition-on-Christmas-Eve.html

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/dec/23/ghost-stories-victorians-spookily-good

http://theconversation.com/why-ghosts-haunt-england-at-christmas-but-steer-clear-of-america-34629

https://www.gothichorrorstories.com/classic-gothic-ghost-stories/christmas-ghost-stories-the-ghost-of-christmas-past-goes-further-back-than-you-might-realize-2/

The Origin of Hanging Stockings at Christmas

The origin of hanging stockings by the fire for Santa Claus, or St. Nicholas, to fill is difficult to pinpoint. Like so many traditions, the true origin can be traced back to more than one source, all based on folklore and legend with so many variations, we may never know how it all really started. But there are some fun stories.

Possibly as far back as the Third Century A.D., there was a happy family whose father was either a nobleman or a merchant, depending on who tells the story. Anyway, the mother of this family died, leaving the father so distraught that he absentmindedly made some poor investments which ultimately led to the family's ruin. The family had to leave their comfortable home and move to a humble cottage where his three daughters (have you noticed three seems to be a preferred number for stories?) took over all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and other household chores. The father worried his daughters would never marry well without a dowry to offer a new husband. This painted a bleak picture of their futures.

Into this sad tales steps a kindly bishop named Nicholas. He had a particular sympathy for the downtrodden and a pure love toward children. Nicholas had been traveling, teaching people about God and bringing hope, and sometimes gifts of food or money, to those who needed them. Nicholas stumbled upon the plight of this man and his daughters and was moved by compassion. According to some accounts, Nicholas waited until the family slept, slipped down the chimney, and placed a bag of coins on the fireplace mantle. As Nicholas climbed back up the chimney, the bag of coins tipped over, rolled off the mantle and fell into one of the stockings that the daughters had left along with other laundry drying by the fireplace. In the morning, when the family arose, they found the bag of coins. They rejoiced, for now they had enough money for the eldest daughter's dowry. She promised to marry a good man and take care of her father in his old age.

Duringt this time, Nicholas covertly peeked into the window. When he saw the joy and hope he'd brought to the family, he returned the following night, bringing another bag of coins. This second bag of coins provided a dowry for the second daughter.

The third night, the father, suspecting their unknown benefactor would return again, waited up for him. When Nicholas arrived with the third bag of coins, the father fell down at the feet of the bishop and thanked him for his generosity. This bishop later became sainted for this and many other acts of charity. We know him today as Saint Nicholas.

Some accounts say Nicholas came in through the door instead of down the chimney; others say he tossed the coins in through the window, either with accurate enough aim for the coins to land in one of the hanging stockings, or with bad enough aim that they fell off the mantle, which was his original target, and into a stocking. The stories also vary in that some claim he visited the family only once and others that he came three times. It is also suggested that the bag of coins was actually a large golden ball. This may have prompted the custom of children getting oranges in their stockings, in remembrance of that golden ball, or perhaps of the ball-shaped bag of coins.

In Norse folklore, a god named Odin, who rode a mighty horse named Sleipnir, visited children's houses on Christmas Eve. If the children left their boots filled with hay, sugar, or carrots for Sleipnir, Odin left candy and gifts for the children to thank them.

The Dutch have a similar tradition. As far back as 16th Century Holland, Sinterklaas arrived by ship and rode a white horse (or a reindeer, again depending on who you believe). The children left a treat for him near the hearth and placed their shoes called clogs by the fireplace filled with hay and carrots for his horse (or reindeer). Sinterklaas left treats in the children's shoes.

Eventually, legends and customs merged, changing the custom of hanging stockings instead of boots or shoes.

In the famous poem " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" the Christmas stocking is mentioned twice. Near the very beginning of the poem, it says, “The stockings were hung by the chimney with care” and, again, near the end: “He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And filled all the stockings then turned with a jerk."

So this Christmas, when you hang your stockings, spare a thought for a kindly bishop who helped those in need.

In my short Christmas story, there aren't stockings or gifts under a tree, but two lovers torn apart by war and heartache, get the best gift ever...a second chance.

A CHRISTMAS REUNION, the Gift of a Second Chance, pictured to the left, is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Wild Rose Press, and everywhere digital books are sold.

Or, if you're in the mood for a collection of short historical stories, all by different authors including yours truly, and which take place during the winter (some take place during Christmas), try A TIMELESS ROMANCE ANTHOLOGY: Winter Collection pictured to the right. In my short romantic tale,  A Winter’s Knight  a young lady’s fascination with a murdering earl and his dark castle lands her in the heart of an ancient and terrible  secret.  It  will  take  more  than a Christmas kiss underneath the mistletoe to break the curse and find a happily ever after.This collection is available in both print and ebook on Amazon.

Sources for blog post:
http://www.livescience.com/32906-hang-stockings-for-christmas.html

http://www.smithsonianmag.co 
http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/legend_christmas_stocking.htm

m/arts-culture/the-legend-of-the-christmas-stocking-160854441/?no-ist

christmas

http://www.hellokids.com/c_18999/reading-and-learning/stories-for-children/christmas-stories/legend-of-the-christmas-stocking?pos=1#1ZeLjd51rG2Rxqo2.99

The Origin of the Yule Log

The Yule Log, like many Christmas traditions, originated as a pagan ritual and was later adopted by Christian religions.

The burning a Yule Log likely started thousands of years ago, most likely in Northern Europe as a winter festival. One account claims it began as a Norse “Feast of the Dead” where people honored Odon, also called Jolnir, who was both the god of Death, and of Intoxication and ecstacy. Each region apparently had its own custom. One Scandinavian Solstice festival was known as Jule which was pronounced Yule. Families would tromp out into the forest, cut down a huge tree and drag it home, often singing songs to petition the god or gods to bless them and their crops with fertility. They sometimes sprinkled it with beer or wine of cider, adorned it with holly or evergreens or flowers, and then set afire. If it was too big for the hearth, they let it hang out into the room! Most cultures seemed to view the Yule log as providing a magical protection over those who burned it.

Some traditions tried to keep the fire burning all year. Others, for 12 days, which may have been the start of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Also, keeping a piece of the log and using it to light next year’s Yule log appears to have been a fairly universal tradition.

Each area of Europe had their own take on a Yule log, and today is no exception. In France, they make an edible Yule Log, douse it with liquor and set it afire. Others use a small log and use it as a table centerpiece.

Society seems to crave tradition, which, I think, is a good thing. It’s fun to pass traditions on to the next genera-tion. It sort of helps bind families together. I suspect each region or country will continue to honor similar cultural and religious rituals.

Christmas Quiz

How much do you know about Christmas? I thought I knew quite a bit, but I found this fun quiz by Rachel Rager, (http://cedarfortauthors.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-quiz.html) and I just had to pass it along. I hope you enjoy it!

1. Two hundred years before the birth of Christ, the s used mistletoe to celebrate the coming of winter. What did they believe it did?
A. It had healing powers.
B. It warded off evil spirits.
C. It helped the winter to be less sever.

2. Where did the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe begin?
A. The red of the berries symbolizes love.
B. The Scandinavians associated mistletoe with their of love, Frigga.
C. Eating the berries gives the euphoric feeling of being in love.

3. Poinsettias are native to what country?
A. England.
B. Mexico.
C. Italy.

4. In the 1800's, the poinsettia was believed to be symbolic of what?
A. The star of Bethlehem.
B. The mother, Mary.
C. The birth of Jesus Christ.

5. From what country did the Christmas tree originate?
A. France.
B. England.
C. Germany.


6. Where was St. Nicolas, the first Santa Clause, born?
A. Italy.
B. Turkey.
C. Belgium.

7. What is the original belief behind the Yule Log?
A. It is believed to burn away the last year's evil.
B. It is believed to warm the Christ child when he comes.
C. It is believed to welcome all to its warmth and beauty.


8. What were the first Christmas tree decorations?
A. Candles.
B. Cookies and candies.
C. Flowers and fruit.

Some of those were pretty tricky, huh? I toyed with the idea of not posting the answers for a few days to encourage you to come back, but decided since that would have annoyed me, it would probably annoy you, too. So, I'll play fair and give you the answers. Here they are:

1. A
2. B
3. B
4. A
5. C
6. B
7. A
8. C

How’d you do? Hope this was fun for you! Merry Christmas!