90 Days of Christmas: Day 76, The Traditions Of Old

     There comes a point when people simply don't engage within the Christmas festivities, and that alone is a reason why some people struggle to get into the Christmas spirit. Have you ever thought about what exactly makes the Christmas season? Now a days it seems to be very different then the ones we hear about within the classic songs that are played on the radio. Burl Ives, Andy Williams, and Johnny Mathis all sing about things of Christmas, but they all seem somewhat distant. In the song A Holly Jolly Christmas, Burl Ives sings about saying hello to friends you know and everyone you meet. Yes, we say hello to our friends when we see them walking to streets or within a store. But do you just randomly say hello to some random stranger? Maybe a simple smile and head nod? Or perhaps better yet, has someone ever done so to you? I believe that saying hello to random strangers and wishing them a Merry Christmas is something that could easily brighten their day! How many hang up mistletoe, or offer up a cup of cheer to others? Now mistletoe is used as a fancy decoration, or a center piece, almost like a poinsettia. Now the actual history of the mistletoe is very interesting to say the least, as it was used in Christmas as a symbol of the evergreen within a house, never to touch the ground, and well as holding ties into a belief of divine love and fertility, hence the whole kissing under it was born. As for a cup of cheer (Tea), was a way of saying to sit back and relax. Now a days, a cup of cheer could be eggnog, coffee, tea, or anything else that may be relaxing at Christmas.

     Now Andy Williams sings about a few more old time traditions of Christmas, some of which seem a bit off. Scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of the Christmas' long ago is the line he uses. Now this is a very old tradition, one of which started back in the old Victorian times. When you would get a group of people together around a fire on Christmas eve, they would tell ghost stories. It was in fact a tradition that sparked Charles Dickens to write A Christmas Carol. In fact, there were plenty of books like A Christmas Carol that were written for the purpose of telling them on Christmas Eve. We also have a song by Johnny Mathis, We Need a Little Christmas, where he more or less sings about decking the halls. Decking the halls is just simply decorating your house for Christmas. He explains in the song why he needs to decorate early, and get things going. All of things that he explains is a good way to help raise your Christmas spirit. 

    So all of this is to say that you should go and give these songs a listen to this week, as well as to find your very own traditions for this up coming Christmas season!