Many villages had a large central bell in the middle of town. When an important occasion arrived, such as Christmas, villagers would ring the bell. It became commonplace for children to ring bells in celebration of Christmas. Most families had bells back then, and since they were known to be a celebratory sound, most parents didn’t mind their children making a ruckus with their constant bell ringing during the holiday.

Now, people hang bells on their front doors so they’ll ring out cheerfully to announce visiting guests, and children the world over know that Santa’s reindeer wear bells so he can locate them in bad weather or darkness of night. Many popular Christmas carols such as Jingle Bells are a staple song during the holiday season. We also traditionally ring in the New Year with bells as well.

Today church bells ring throughout the world on Christmas Eve, not to drive off evil spirits, but to welcome in the spirit of Christmas with joyful noise.  In Scandinavia, bells signal the end of work and the beginning of celebration. People in England recognize the tolling of the devil’s knell as the sound that welcomes the birth of Christ, where in Italy and Spain, it signals the beginning of Midnight Mass.

It’s highly likely that egg nog originated in Europe, although some believe it originated in the original American colonies who added rum. Therefore it’s not strictly just a holiday drink, but more of winter time drink. However, it is mostly served during both Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Modern eggnog typically consists of milk, eggs, and sugar mixed together and may be served with or without added spirits. Other ingredients include spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, or allspice, and frequently the substitution of cream for some portion of the milk, making a much richer drink. Whiskey, rum, brandy, or cognac can be added to eggnog.

Originally served warm, egg nog has been served cold and without alcohol since the mid 1960s, both of which are significant departures from its historical origins. It’s even available in a soy-based formula for those with dairy allergies or who are vegan.

Egg nog has long been the drink of choice to toast the holiday season. So hoist a cup and have a happy holiday season!

The candy cane dates back over 300 years and was originally a straight, hard, and all-white candy stick. Around the seventeenth century, Christians in Europe began to adopt the use of Christmas trees as part of their Christmas celebrations. They made special decorations for their trees from foods like cookies and sugar stick candy. The first historical reference to the familiar cane shape goes dates as far back as 1670 when the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany, bent the sugar sticks into canes to represent a shepherd’s staff, then handed them out to children during nativity services. This custom of handing out candy canes during Christmas services spread throughout Europe and later to America.

The peppermint candy with red stripes first appeared in the mid-19th century in the Swedish town of Granna, and striped candy canes in the early 20th century. The first historical reference to the candy cane being in America goes back to 1847, when August Imgard, a German immigrant, decorated the Christmas tree in his Ohio home with candy canes. It’s not clear who came up with the idea of striping candy canes, but it’s known that Christmas cards prior to the year 1900 showed only all-white candy canes, where Christmas cards after 1900 showed illustrations of striped candy canes.

It’s about that same time that candy makers began adding peppermint and wintergreen flavors to their candy canes, which grew to become traditional favorite flavors.

In the 1950’s a Catholic priest named Gregory Keller invented a machine to automate candy cane production.

[ad#co-2]

A Christmas carol is a song or hymn whose lyrics are about Christmas or the winter season. They are traditionally sung in the period before and during Christmas. The tradition of Christmas carols hails back as far as the thirteenth century, although carols were originally communal songs sung during celebrations like harvest tide as well as Christmas. Christmas carols and caroling in the old world was a mix of singing and dancing and was practiced for all festivals throughout the year.

When Christmas was firmly established to be celebrated on December 25, many of the existing songs were sung on that day and new ones written to celebrate Christmas.  St. Francis of Assisi was instrumental in making the Christmas celebration one for the people instead of just for the clergy.  He created large nativity scenes outside of his church and translated many of the Christmas carols from Latin into languages spoken by the average person and encouraged them to sing these songs to express their joy during the Christmas season. This practice of singing Christmas songs outside of the church near the nativity scenes spread throughout Europe and it was a natural next step for these Christmas carolers to start walking through the neighborhoods around the churches sharing their festive songs. 

But why are they called carols instead of songs? A popular urban legend was that they were named after a little girl named Carol Poles who disappeared in 1888 in the Whitechaple district of London. According to the legend, the little girl was reported missing around Christmas and many people went searching for her at night. Due to fears concerning Jack the Ripper, the group would sing Christmas carols upon knocking in order to declare their good intentions.

And even in today’s changing world, caroling is a Christmas tradition many people still hold dear.

[ad#co-2]