1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,840 Speaker 1: Wow, it's amazing how quickly the Christmas season creeps up 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: on us. There's so much to do, gifts, food, parties, decorating. 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:11,760 Speaker 1: But where did all our Christmas traditions come from? Well, 4 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: believe it or not, fifteen hundred years ago, celebrating Christmas 5 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:20,640 Speaker 1: meant drunken parties, bar fights, and sometimes orgies. So what's 6 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: with the Christmas trees? An eggnog? I'm Patty Steele? How 7 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:31,160 Speaker 1: Christmas did a one to eighty? That's next on the backstory. 8 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: The backstory is back. Christmas, at least for the last 9 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: couple hundred years, has been all about children, gifts, food parties, 10 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: decorating the house, and of course the Christmas tree. In fact, 11 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: when you plunge deep into the Christmas season, you probably 12 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:50,880 Speaker 1: have a bunch of traditions you trot out because well 13 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:53,519 Speaker 1: it's just what you've done every year and probably what 14 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,639 Speaker 1: your family did before you, Right, But where did all 15 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: those traditions come from? What we do now is so 16 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:04,759 Speaker 1: not the way the celebration originated. Fifteen hundred years ago, 17 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 1: the Christmas celebration regularly included wild dancing, drunken parties, bar fights, 18 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: and the occasional orgy. Even two hundred and fifty years ago, 19 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: George Washington was sharing his heavily spiked eggnog. Are you surprised, Well, 20 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: let's go back and take a look at how Christmas evolved. 21 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: We all know that Christmas is based on the two 22 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:28,839 Speaker 1: thousand year old story of the birth of Jesus Christ, 23 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: which historians say happened anywhere from two to four BC. 24 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:35,480 Speaker 1: But what did that have to do with Santa Claus, 25 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:39,759 Speaker 1: Christmas trees, stockings, Christmas cards, as well as the aforementioned 26 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,400 Speaker 1: festively spiked egnog, and don't get me started on Black Friday? 27 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 1: And why does it happen on December twenty fifth when 28 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: historians agree Jesus was most likely born sometime between April 29 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: and September, and most likely in four BC. Well, the 30 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 1: celebration of Christmas on December twenty fifth began in the 31 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: fourth century on the tail end of Roman and other 32 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:08,400 Speaker 1: European pagan festivals marking the end of the harvest as 33 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: well as the winter solstice. The Roman emperor Constantine was 34 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:15,919 Speaker 1: the first emperor to convert to Christianity, and he thought 35 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 1: having a Christian holiday at the same time of year 36 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: would weaken those pagan holidays. Well he nailed it. It 37 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: eventually did, but it wasn't till ten thirty eight that 38 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:29,920 Speaker 1: the holiday was given the name Christ's Mass or Christmas. 39 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: In Europe. Right up through medieval times and into the Renaissance, 40 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: it was a twelve days celebration filled with way too 41 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: much drinking, food, gift giving and partying. There were wild, 42 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 1: sometimes erotic dances and plays, which is actually where Shakespeare's 43 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:50,360 Speaker 1: play Twelfth Night originated. Later on, and this sounds fun, 44 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 1: there were crazy Christmas games, including one called hot Cockles, 45 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: where blindfolded victims had to guess who had slapped them 46 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 1: on the butt from behind. If the guests was right, 47 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 1: the slapper became the next victim. Yes, so probably not 48 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:09,239 Speaker 1: a holiday for kids. Queen Elizabeth the First, who ruled 49 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 1: England for forty five years in the fifteen hundreds and 50 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: early sixteen hundreds, was called the Virgin Queen. She never 51 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: married and had no children, but she was actually a 52 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: pretty festive chick. She loved really wild dancing. She was 53 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: a really great dancer, and she loved it so much. 54 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:30,399 Speaker 1: At Christmas she held dance parties in her private dancing 55 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,640 Speaker 1: chamber at one of her castles that would be quite 56 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: the invite. Right. Her Christmas feasts were legendary. She ordered 57 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 1: most of England to have a Christmas goose on the table, 58 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: But at her table there were also roasted swans, peacocks 59 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:48,640 Speaker 1: and suckling pigs, and plenty of wine to wash it 60 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: all down. After that it was off to the dancing chamber. 61 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 1: So all this celebration, dancing, and feasting was Christmas in 62 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: Europe for hundreds of years, right up through the seventeen hundreds. 63 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: But it's a whole different scene once we get to 64 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: colonial America. In the early days, there were literally no 65 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: holidays here, no Christmas, no Easter or anything else. It 66 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:16,320 Speaker 1: was a stuffy conservative place. In fact, in New England, 67 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 1: where the Puritans called the Shots, celebrating Christmas was illegal 68 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,280 Speaker 1: for decades. I guess they were referencing the wild drinking 69 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 1: and lude dancing when they made that edict. In Massachusetts, 70 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:31,600 Speaker 1: they had a law called penalty for keeping Christmas. You 71 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: would be fined if you celebrated because they said festivals 72 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 1: dishonored God and were offensive. They felt they were only 73 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:43,799 Speaker 1: for commoners. Wow, excuse us now. That early Puritan attitude 74 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:47,800 Speaker 1: eventually began to ease but Christmas still wasn't a family 75 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 1: or kid centric celebration. It actually became a big time 76 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: for weddings. Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson got married 77 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 1: during the Christmas season, and George Washington allegedly introduced his 78 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:03,680 Speaker 1: famous spiked eggnog during the late seventeen hundreds. It was 79 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:09,279 Speaker 1: definitely a party drink. The recipe calls for brandy, rum, whiskey, sherry, sugar, 80 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: lots of eggs, cream, milk, and nutmeg. That's going to 81 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: get the party started. But as we get into the 82 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 1: eighteen hundreds, things change in America a lot. Christmas is 83 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: no longer illegal, but early on in the century it 84 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:26,160 Speaker 1: still isn't about family or kids are giving presents. There 85 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,279 Speaker 1: are no Christmas trees, no cards, no Santa Claus, no 86 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:32,720 Speaker 1: kissing under the mistletoe. It's similar to what had been 87 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:36,039 Speaker 1: going on in Europe for centuries. There were some really 88 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: raucous sort of street festivals, almost similar to marti Gras, 89 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: lots of drinking, brawling, vandalism, even public sex. In fact, 90 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:48,119 Speaker 1: a Christmas celebration in New York City in eighteen twenty 91 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: eight got so violent it led to the formation of 92 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:56,040 Speaker 1: the city's first professional police force. So as we approach 93 00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 1: the eighteen thirties, England's Queen Victoria, along with Evangelical Protestants 94 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 1: in New York, decided Christmas needs to be a shorter, 95 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:09,279 Speaker 1: more refined, more family centric celebration now. At the same time, 96 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: Christmas trees, which were first popular in Germany, became a 97 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: thing decorated with ornaments and candles with gifts piled underneath. 98 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: Before that, greenery in the form of wreaths and garlands 99 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:24,840 Speaker 1: was popular since in the midst of winter it symbolized 100 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:29,280 Speaker 1: eternal life, but the trees here were new. Also helping 101 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:33,479 Speaker 1: to invent our modern day Christmas was Washington Irving, the 102 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 1: author who wrote Rip van Winkle and the Legend of 103 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,839 Speaker 1: Sleepy Hollow. He also, by the way, came up with 104 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,360 Speaker 1: the story that Columbus discovered the earth was round, another 105 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,479 Speaker 1: construct to promote America. But most importantly for this story 106 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: at least, Irving was pretty much the inventor of Santa Claus. 107 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: In his book The History of New York, Irving speaks 108 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: of the Dutch saint Nicholas riding his wagon over the 109 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:01,840 Speaker 1: tree tops bringing presents to children. Then in eighteen twenty two, 110 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: the author Clement Clark Moore gave us the first definitive 111 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 1: description of the Santa Claus that we know today. His poem, 112 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:13,240 Speaker 1: written for his own children, begins with the words twas 113 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: the night before Christmas, and all through the house not 114 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. He turned 115 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:24,120 Speaker 1: Saint Nicholas into jolly Santa Claus, a plump, sweet guy 116 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 1: with a slave full of toys and eight flying reindeer. 117 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: He also chose December twenty fourth, Christmas Eve as the 118 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 1: knight Santa brought toys to children by dropping down their 119 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 1: chimneys and tucking presents into stockings hung on the mantle. 120 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 1: He borrowed all of those traditions from various European legends. 121 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:47,240 Speaker 1: Funny enough, someone published the poem without telling him, and 122 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: he claimed he was embarrassed by it. Moore didn't actually 123 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: publish it under his own name until eighteen forty four, 124 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 1: over twenty years later. Finally, in eighteen sixty three, the 125 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:03,120 Speaker 1: political cartoonist Thomas Nast gave us the visual image of 126 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: the Santa Claus we know today, although it wasn't until 127 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:09,320 Speaker 1: the eighteen eighties. Somebody dressed him in a red suit nast, 128 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:12,440 Speaker 1: though gave us his chubby cheeks and fluffy white beard. 129 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: With a twinkling smile. He drew Santa Claus arriving at 130 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 1: a camp of Union soldiers in his slag, bringing a 131 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:23,320 Speaker 1: little joy to the guys. During the Civil War. As 132 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: Christmas began to commercialize, a store in Massachusetts introduced the 133 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 1: first department store, Santa in the eighteen eighties, and soon 134 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:36,080 Speaker 1: every big store had to have one. By the nineteen thirties, 135 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: the Coca Cola Company refined Santa's look into what we 136 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:44,200 Speaker 1: see today. As for other traditions, Christmas cards arrived in 137 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:47,839 Speaker 1: eighteen forty three, but they didn't actually catch on until 138 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:50,679 Speaker 1: the beginning of the twentieth century, and most of the 139 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 1: Christmas carols we know have only been around since the 140 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:57,320 Speaker 1: early to mid eighteen hundreds. Finally, back to one of 141 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:01,080 Speaker 1: our favorite traditions, that eggnog, which has a bit longer 142 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 1: history than just George Washington's concoction. It first appeared in 143 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:09,880 Speaker 1: medieval times, made with hot curdled milk and wine oh yuck. 144 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 1: But it got really popular in America when George and 145 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,239 Speaker 1: other colonists made it with eggs, cream and all that booze. 146 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: In fact, George Washington's recipe and his words said, stir 147 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 1: the cream and milk with a dozen tablespoons of sugar 148 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:29,520 Speaker 1: and a dozen eggs with all that liquor, mix well 149 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:34,000 Speaker 1: and leave in a cool place, tasting frequently. Now I'm 150 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:38,000 Speaker 1: with George on that one. So despite two thousand years 151 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:41,679 Speaker 1: of religious belief, Christmas as we know it is mostly 152 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: less than two hundred years old. We realize that traditions 153 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 1: aren't carved in stone, and they mostly aren't permanent. We 154 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:52,520 Speaker 1: invent them. They're an outgrowth of what we feel, and 155 00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:55,559 Speaker 1: that joy is what we actually pass on to the future. 156 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 1: That's the real tradition. So have a wonderful holiday season. 157 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: Hope you're enjoying The Backstory with Patty Steele. Please leave 158 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 1: a review and follow or subscribe for free to get 159 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:10,960 Speaker 1: new episodes delivered automatically, and feel free to dm me 160 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:12,560 Speaker 1: if you have a story you'd like me to cover. 161 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. 162 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:24,880 Speaker 1: I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, 163 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 1: the Elvis Durand Group and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer 164 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: is Doug Fraser, our writer Jake Kushner. We have new 165 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,840 Speaker 1: episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out 166 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:39,480 Speaker 1: to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram 167 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:42,520 Speaker 1: at real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. 168 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the 169 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 1: pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.