Christmas TraditionsChristmas traditions are what make Christmas Christmas. From the tree to the lights to the very songs we sing there is so much about that holiday that makes it unique and special. But Christmas is so old that many don’t understand why sacred traditions of the season are important or what they mean. That is what we hope to solve with these features of Christmas tradition on My Merry Christmas. Why do we use red and green at Christmas? What is the significance of the Christmas pickle? Who invented eggnog and why? Why do we drag a tree in from the woods and put it up all season? Each tradition of Christmas had a beginning somewhere. It is our job to tell those stories and to help make the traditions of Christmas more clear to those who celebrate it.

Tinsel
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The Real History of Tinsel

The word “tinsel” is believed to come from an old French word, “estincele”, which means “spark”. Indeed, a browse through media history reveals that tinsel was related to anything shiny – from military uniforms to décor. It…
Mistletoe
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The Rise and Fall of Mistletoe as a Christmas Tradition

Mistletoe is perhaps the most backwards of Christmas traditions. Most today associate mistletoe with a Christmas kiss – something that happens now rarely, if spontaneously – and only if mistletoe is included in festive activities (it rarely…
Christmas Card Exchange
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How Christmas Cards Have Evolved

The tradition of Christmas cards is a story of constant change and stubborn longevity. For generations experts and the media have predicted Christmas cards would slowly die as a tradition. Instead Christmas cards have persisted as a tradition…
Light and Christmas
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Light and Christmas

Light as a theme of Christmas dates back to the very beginnings of recorded history. As with many elements of Christmas it is a mixture of reverent worship, pagan tradition and spiritual symbolism that give light its lasting impact on Christmas. In…
Christmas Cards
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Christmas Cards Remain a Durable Tradition

Many assume that with the rise of the Internet and the explosion of social media that older forms of communication have faded away. Indeed, letter writing, telegrams, and “dispatches” of the days of yore are now somewhat relic in nature…
Christmas Ornament
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The Real History of Christmas Ornaments

The humble Christmas ornament rarely gets much thought for its significance and purpose. For many the Christmas ornament is merely decorative, a simple environmental adornment of the season. Most can look at an ornament and see it as nothing…
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History of Christmas in July

The modern image of Christmas is locked in as a season covered in snow, ice and frosty images of evergreens. Ironically, the actual setting for Christmas should take place in the dry desert heat. Christ, after all, was not born on December…
Christmas Traditions
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My Private Christmas

The presents are all unwrapped. Santa’s stockings are emptied. Signs of yet another great Christmas celebration are everywhere. And my husband and children are asleep. The lights on the tree still shine and this is my time for my private Christmas.…
Retro Christmas
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History of the Tradition of Elves

Lost in the romance, fantasy and some would say mystery and myth of Christmas is the concept of elves. Most folks today think of Santa’s helpers, often in the form of little people, who work at the North Pole busily making toys for good…
Christmas Cards
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10 Ways to Make Your Christmas Card Unique This Year

We all tend to see the same Christmas cards year after year — a Christmas greeting in traditional red and green, perhaps with a festive family photo. But what if you tried something new and different this year? From cheap Christmas cards with…
Santa's wink
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The History and the Mystery of Santa’s Wink

Santa’s wink is missing. British fans of Christmas are taking to social media to vent over a change in Coca Cola’s traditional Christmas commercial that shows Santa handing a bottle of Coke to a little boy and then winking at him. That…
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History of Christmas Greetings

Lazy historians typically date the advent of Christmas cards to the 1840s, a time when postal services in modern western societies were well established and became more affordable. The truth is that the sending of holiday greetings is centuries…
Christmas ghost stories

The Christmas Tradition of Ghost Stories

The “spooky season” of Halloween has more connection to Christmas than many people realize. It comes in the form of the Christmas ghost story. In the end, both holidays at their core are a celebration of life over death, of explorations…
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History of the Christmas Countdown

The anticipation of Christmas is considered by many one of the great joys of the season. These days there are websites and social media groups dedicated to counting down days to Christmas and cable television channels have adopted a countdown…
Christmas Stories
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Christmas Trains

For more than a century trains were the center piece of mass transportation. This time in culture also saw the rise of the industrial revolution and, as well, the media-driven mass popularity of the secular Christmas. The real connection…