Christmas Every Day

From the Greek epiphania, or manifestation. Celebrated in both Eastern and Western churches on January 6, Epiphany marks a number of important appearances or manifestations: the arrival of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, the miracle at Cana and the Feeding of the 5000.

 Its first appearance seems to have been in the second century A.D. among the Basilidean heretics of Alexandria who believed that Jesus did not become divine until his baptism which they claim had taken place on January 6. Though this idea of a late-acquired divinity was rejected by orthodox Christianity, some churches seem to have used the date to celebrate Christ’s earthly birth — an epiphany of a different kind. When in the fourth century Rome adopted December 25 as the day to celebrate the Nativity the Western churches’ Epiphany emphasis shifted to focus on the Magi while in the East strees was placed on the baptism. The period between these two important holy dates became known as the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Epiphany became an official holiday in the Eastern Roman Empire, marked by a ban on chariot racing and attending games in the arena and by ceremonies of blessing the waters. At these ceremonies the emperor would drink the waters three times to the cry of “The emperor drinks!” The blessing of the waters takes place even today in Orthodox denominations. A priest will bless a body of water, either inside, or by a lake, river or sea and the faithful take it home where it will be used to sprinkle on houses, barns and fields to ensure prosperity for the coming year. In some places the priest will throw a cross into the water and divers will race to be the one to recover it.

In the West Epiphany was a day to celebrate the visitation of the Magi or the Three Kings as they became known. Religious services honouring the Magi gradually turned into dramas held outside of the church such as The Play of Herod. As returning Crusaders in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries brought back stories of the fabulous east, fascination with the Magi grew — cities held processions honouring the Kings and carols retelling their journeys were sung. (The remnants of these customs are the Star Boys and their January pilgrimages from door to door.) Epiphany came to be a time all across Europe for popular celebrations marked by eating a cake and gift-giving. 

December 27 is the feast day of Saint John the Evangelist, the son of Zebedee, companion of Jesus and reputed author of the Fourth Gospel. In the Middle Ages the day was marked by a blessing of the wine, derived from the legend that John had drunk poisoned wine and not been harmed.  As Barnaby Googe in the sixteenth century related: Nexte John, the sonne of Zebedee hath his appointed day,/  Who once by cruell tyraunts will, constrayned was they say, Strong poison up to drinke, / therefore the papistes doe beleeve/ That whoso puts their trust in him,/ no poyson them can greeve.

It was also a custom for people to bring wine or cider to the church on December 27 to be blessed and then to take this liquor home to be poured back in the barrels. This “St. John’s Wine” was considered a protection for travellers setting out on a journey or for those near death. Because the gospel of John proclaims Jesus as the light of the world, a German custom allowed children named John or Joan to be the first to light the Advent candle.

December 26 is the feast day of the first martyr of the Christian church, St Stephen. What little we know about him can be found in the Book of Acts where we learn that he had been chosen one of the seven deacons in Jerusalem and that his defence of Christianity resulted in his being stoned to death for blasphemy. Legend, however, has surrounded the protomartyr with a host of stories which link him to Herod’s household at the time of the birth of Jesus, to horses and to the stoning of the tiny wren.

Ever since the tenth century Stephen’s Day has been associated with horses, probably because the season was a time of horse sacrifice in pagan northern Europe and a time of rest from agricultural work for both man and beast. In England it is a time to bleed horses to ensure their health for the coming year. In the sixteenth century Tusser noted:

Yer Christmas be passed,

let Horsse be lett blood,

For many a purpose

it dooth him much good:

The day of St. Steeven,

old fathers did use.

If that do mislike thee,

some other day chuse.

Across Europe December 26 is a time for horses to be fed extra food, raced, decorated, blessed by the priest or ridden in ceremonies honouring their species. This is particulalry true in Sweden where “Staffan Riders” would race from village to village and sing songs in honour of the saint. Some have tried (not very successfully) to explain the connection between horses and St Stephen’s Day by claiming it has stemmed from confusion between the martyr in the Book of Acts and a later saint, Stephen of Corvey, martyred c. 1075, whose feast day June 2. This Stephen was a lover of horses and was said to ride five of them in turn.  When he was murdered his unbroken colt took him home to Norrtalje which became a shrine for horse-healing.

 The water and salt blessed by the priest on St Stephen’s Day would be set aside and used as medicine for horses should they fall ill during the rest of the year or to sprinkle liberally about the barn and yard to bring prosperity. The salt could also be thrown in the fire to avert danger from thunder-storms. In some places the blood drawn from horses on this day was thought to have healing powers. In Poland, the blessing of food for horses led to other peculiar rituals on St Stephen’s Day. In what has been interpreted either as a remnant of pagan fertility rites or a re-enactment of the stoning of Stephen, people would throw the consecrated oats at each other and their animals. Moreover, it was customary on December 26 for boys and girls to throw walnuts at one another.

  St Stephen’s Day is also marked in Ireland and other parts of Britain by hunting a bird considered protected every other the day of the year, the wren, and parading about with its body. Wren Boys used to carry a dead wren on a branch from house to house, and sing an appropriate song which solicited money. Irish Wren Boys are shown in the photo above.

The wren,the wren, the king of all birds,

On St. Stephen’s day was caught in the furze;

Though is body is small, his family is great,

So, if you please, your honour, give us a treat.

On Christmas Day I turned a spit;

I burned my finger; I feel it yet,

Up with the kettle, and down with the pan:

Give us some money to bury the wren.

Other customs associated with St Stephens’s Day include holming. In Wales holming or holly-beating was the practice for young men to beat each other (or female servants) with holly branches on December 26. In Britain generally December 26 is a day for sporting events and hunting and the day observed as Boxing Day.

John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll and Marquess of Lorne was Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. His wife was Princess Louise, a daughter of Queen Victoria.

If we are to take the caption of this illustration seriously, somewhere in the picture is the viceregal couple. Is he the one waving the chicken or is he holding the wolf skin full of some nasty liquid? Is she crone wrapped up in blankets and peddling apples? Answers on a post-card please.

Here is a photo of the Marquess, to help in your identification.

From the folks at the North American Aerospace Command who track Santa’s progress on Christmas Eve.

Note that his first flight took place on the date of the death of St Nicholas.

A few years ago, my daughter Kate, a professor at Duke University, and I put on our Santa Claus pyjamas and talked about St Nicholas.

In this YouTube video I take a run at Finland and its fiendish plot to steal Santa Claus.

On December 12, the first of the Jólasveinar, the Icelandic Yule Lads, arrives in homes. The first is Stekkjarstaur — Fence Post, Sheep-Cote Clod or Stiff-Legged Sheep Chaser. (His stiff legs come from kneeling on the hard ground to steal the sheep’s milk.) The next is Giljagaur, the Crevice Imp or Gully-Gawk. The smallest is Stúfur, also known as Stumpy or Itty Bitty. Then comes Thvörusleikir, the Spoon Licker, followed by Pottasleikir, Pot Licker, and Askasleikir, Bowl Licker. Hurdarskellir, the Door Slammer is the noisiest of the lads while Skyrgámur, Skyr Gobbler, is partial to the local yoghurt. The crimes of the next two are self-explanatory: Bjúgnakrækir, the Sausage Snatcher and Gluggagægir, the Window Peeper. They are followed by Gattathefur, the Doorway Sniffer, Ketkrókur, the Meat Hook (prone to take to the rafters and steal the meat hanging there to cure) and Kertasnikir, the Candle Beggar. They are all rather ugly and boorish in behaviour, dressed as peasants of centuries ago.

Where once they were feared, and used by parents as a threat to keep children in line during the winter, they are now beloved characters whose arrival is welcomed and who have been woven into the commercial culture, making appearances on radio and television. Children leave out their shoes for them to deposit a treat or small present in the days leading up to Christmas.(Bad kids often receive only a rotten piece of fruit or potato as a sign that they should amend their behaviour.) After December 25 the Lads depart as they came, one by one, until Twelfth Night, January 6, when the Christmas season comes to an end.

From the fascinating Atlas Obscura site cones this account of  west African Christmas.

The Christmas season in Liberia is marked by the sounds of children singing and playing in the streets. Seasonal music plays a large role in cities such as the capital, Monrovia. Mae Azango, a Liberian journalist based there, says that children go from door to door singing Christmas carols and asking for candy. “I mean, the spirit is everywhere,” she says. “It’s an incredibly festive time.”

Azango remembers the year she spent the holidays in the United States, and how she wanted to see a white Christmas for the first time. It didn’t take long for her to miss home. “I missed Liberia so much,” she explains. “I didn’t understand why everyone was locked away in their homes and I couldn’t see anybody on the streets. Where was Old Man Bayka?”

Old Man Bayka—or “Old Man Beggar”—might be considered the opposite of Santa Claus. He’s not necessarily evil, but Old Man Bayka is associated with the “dancing devils,” spirits that come from the world of the Poro, or the “bush,” of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. In a 2015 NPR story about the dancing devils, former Liberian journalist Max Bankole Jarrett associates the figure with secret societies that have always been part of certain ethnic communities in modern Liberia. These dancing devils used to feature in traditional festivals, before the region was colonized in the early 19th century.

The nation of Liberia began to form when the American Colonization Society, an organization of white men, was founded with the goal of resettling freed Black slaves and free people of color (many of them of mixed race) outside the United States. The plan was predicated on the idea that Black people could never integrate with American society, and was opposed by both the Black community and abolitionists. Colonization societies in five different U.S. states merged their holdings to form a single new colony. With this colony—only a few thousand Black Americans emigrated—came Western traditions and celebrations, Christmas among them. All over the world Christmas has incorporated local, pre-Christian beliefs, so the dancing devil now called Old Man Bayka became a holiday fixture.

Unlike Santa Claus, who gives presents, Old Man Bayka goes from house to house asking for money and gifts for himself. In place of shiny boots and a red jacket trimmed with white fur, “Old Man Bayka wears old clothes,” Azango says. “Sometimes he will have a fake beard on and will have a mask on his face.” Old Man Bayka costumes vary. While some wear baggy old clothing and masks, others travel on stilts or are covered in raffia straw. They are always followed by the sounds of traditional drums.

What makes Old Man Bayka such a central part of the holiday season in Liberia is the spirit of community he carries. According to Azango, many masked dancers portraying the figure are originally from the villages in the country’s interior. “These people dress up as Old Man Bayka to dance and raise money to buy toys to share with the children in their villages,” she says. Not only was Old Man Bayka a source of entertainment for city-dwellers, but he also became a resource for those in different socioeconomic circumstances. Giving them money and gifts was a way to share prosperity in the interests of community.

Old Man Bayka’s fusion with Christmas traditions did not take away his quintessentially Liberian character. “This tradition is really unique to this country,” says Azango. “Everywhere Old Man Bayka goes, children and families are following behind, enjoying the dancing and the music.”