A Stockingful of Scottish Christmas Traditions
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December 2018 Volume 9, Issue 12 A stockingful of Scottish Christmas traditions The Scotsman | December 20, 2005 SCOTTISH Christmas traditions are – to say the least – a little on the patchy side. There are some great pagan ideas, first-rate medieval treats, but then there is a huge yawning chasm, a Christmas- free zone until the middle of the 20th century until it all came back into fashion. The reason for this dearth of Christmas cheer is that Scotland in the mid-16th century had its very own Grinch. Yes, just like the character in Dr Seuss's book who stole Christmas, John Knox and the newly reformed Church of Scotland cancelled the festive season. They forbade anyone to celebrate this erstwhile season of goodwill, hounded those who broke the embargo and cast a gloomy Decem- ber shadow that stretched down through the centuries. But we canny Scots, unwilling to forego a good party, simply moved the traditions a week along. From this came the Scottish emphasis on Hogmanay. Christmas was not recognised as a public holi- day in Scotland until 1958 and up until then people continued to work, saving their fun until New Year's Eve. So simply put, if you want a traditional Scottish Christmas then get up as usual, go into work as normal, return home to a bowl of soup and an early night! But that wouldn't be much fun. So we've trawled the distant past to find out what Scots would have been doing long, long ago, to give you some tips on how to celebrate a guid Scottish Christmas. A Pagan Christmas Back in the days of yore, when druids and pagans inhabited this bonny land the festival they cele- brated at this time of year marked the winter solstice. This is the longest night of the year and signi- fies the depth of winter. We don't know exactly what our ancestors believed, but it is reasonable to think that this festival was held to propitiate the Gods and ask for a return of the sun. To help in this they took greenery into the house, as a symbol of life in the deep dark nights. Mistle- toe, revered by the druids for its fertility properties, was cut from the sacred oak tree. It isn't hard to extrapolate from this our own habit of kissing under the branches. To banish the dark, the pagans brought fire into the house. At some point this time of year became known as Yule and during the festival a Yule log was gathered. Unlike our chocolate confection, this log was specially chosen and lit using tinder from the old fire. Charred remains of this fire would be © Clan MacFarlane Worldwide, Inc., 2018 Volume 9 Issue 12 1 used to protect the house throughout the year. Popular woods for this log included holly, oak, willow or birch. It is the pagans too who have been credited with the early tradition of decorating a tree. It is thought that they hung shapes from an evergreen brought into the house to symbolise life. Celts The Celts knew Christmas as Nollaig Beag – Little Christmas. By now, the celebrations were firmly embedded in the birth of Christ, yet the pagan traditions can clearly be seen incorporated into the season. They burned the Cailleach – a log with the face of an old woman carved into it that was sup- posed to take away any lingering bad luck. The Celts also lit candles at Christmastime to light the way for any strangers. In Scotland the custom was known as Oidche Choinnle, or Night of Candles, and these were placed in windows to guide the Holy Family on their way. Medieval By now Christmas represented a real hodgepodge of ancient and Christian practices. Chief amongst the traditions was the preparation of mincemeat pies. Anyone anticipating today's fruit and spice pastry would be in for a shock, as then the mince pie contained meat, fruit, spices, indeed anything that came to hand. This would be baked up in a huge wheel to feed neighbours and visitors. By 1583 the Scot's Church forbade bakers from preparing these pies. Anyone found baking them would be punished, or as more often happened, encouraged to inform on the customers who ordered them. In order to fox the Church, mincemeat pies became smaller and easier to hide. Cuts to Edinburgh’s marketing budget puts ‘tourism industry at risk’ It was not just Scotland that banned Christmas. England too suffered endless Decembers bereft of celebration. But whilst Scot- land rigorously maintained its bah-humbug attitude, England allowed the celebrations to creep back in sooner. Christmas as we begin to recognise it today really came from the Victorians when Prince Albert, the German consort, imported many rituals from Germany into the celebrations. But it would be no hardship to replace some of these latter-day European customs with some more ancient ones from our own country. Remember as you prepare your shortbread round, that this sig- nifies the old Sun Cakes that represented the sun's rays shining out. As you bite into your mincemeat pies imagine the twitching noses of the church workers as they attempted to sniff out bakers cooking up this treat. Gather mistletoe and marvel at its midwinter beauty; whittle your granny's face onto a Yuletide log. And remember that from as far back as anyone can remember Yuletide, Christmas or whatever you choose to call it, has been about family, friends and giving thanks together. Source: https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/a-stockingful-of-scottish-christmas-traditions-1- 466112 © Clan MacFarlane Worldwide, Inc., 2018 Volume 9 Issue 12 2 Celtic Christmas Customs Celtic Life International | December 22, 2018 According to the longstanding theory, the origins of Christmas stems from pagan winter festivals. One main reason early Christians were able to spread their religion across Europe so quickly came from their willingness to embrace celebrations prevalent among regional populations. One such example is the Celtic ‘Alban Arthuan,’ a Druidic festival that took place around December 21st, the Winter Solstice. This traditional fire festival celebrated the re -birth of the Sun. Although a celebration of the Son’s birth replaced that of the Sun’s, a number of Christ- mas-tide traditions – including those the ancient Celts practiced – remain today. As we look at the Celtic nations, it is interesting to note some similarities among Christmas traditions that cross geographic boundaries. They include, for example: Holly (a symbol of rebirth among Pagan Celts, but also of hospi- tality—it was believed fairies sought shelter inside the evergreen leaves to escape the cold); Mistletoe (believed to have healing powers so strong that it warded off evil spirits, cured illness- es and even facilitated a truce between enemies); fire and light (most notably the Yule log or candles placed in win- dows to light the way for strangers and symbolically welcoming Mary and Joseph); and door-to-door processions, from wassail- ing to Wren Hunts. Each of the seven nations possesses its own variations of Celtic Christmas customs. Surrounding cultures and local identify shape these practices as well. SCOTLAND Christmas was not officially recognized in Scotland for nearly four centuries. The Puri- tan English Parliament banned Christmas in 1647 and it did not become a recognized public holiday in Scotland until 1958. However, according to Andrew Halliday, in his 1833 piece Christmas in Scotland, Scots were not discouraged from celebrating Christmas. Halliday wrote, “We remember it stat- ed in a popular periodical, one Christmas season not long ago, that Christmas -day was not kept at all in Scotland. Such is not the case; the Scots do keep Christmas -day, and in the same kindly Christian spirit that we do, though the Presbyterian austerity of their church does not acknowledge it as a religious festival.” Halliday’s 19th century account went on to describe festive sowens (sweetened oat gru- el) ceremonies, “beggars” (actually “strapping fellows”) singing yule song, dances and card parties and children’s teetotum games. Despite Puritan rule, some long-time Christmas traditions are preserved. These include © Clan MacFarlane Worldwide, Inc., 2018 Volume 9 Issue 12 3 burning the Cailleach (a piece of wood carved to look like an old woman ’s face or the Spirit of Winter) to start the new year fresh; or on Christmas Eve burning rowan tree branches to signify the resolution of any disputes. The Celtic tradition of placing can- dles in windows was also done in Scotland to welcome “first footers” (strangers, bearing a small gift) into the home. Traditional dishes also continue to be featured at Christmas lunch and throughout the holidays, including Cock-a-Leekie soup, smoked salm- on, beef or duck, Clootie dumplings, black buns, sun cakes, Christmas pudding and Crannachan. Because Christmas was not an offi- cial holiday until the late ‘50s it is no surprise that today, for some Scots, Hogmanay (New Year’s Eve) is the most important event of the season. Arguably, locals ring in the new year with much more gusto than any oth- er place on the planet. IRELAND A fall-time cleanup was a common practice in Irish homes to prepare for Christmas. Women looked after cleaning the interior, while men took care of the outdoors, including whitewashing all exterior surfaces. Then holly, grown wild in Ireland, was spread throughout the house with cheer. Contemporary Ireland also highlights this clean -up rit- ual; on ce complete, fresh Christmas linens are taken out of storage. Other customs include the Bloc na Nollaig or Christ- mas Block (the Irish version of the Yule log), candles in the window (perhaps one for each family member), and leading up to Christmas, “Calling the Waites,” where musicians would wake up townspeople through serenades and shouting out the morning hour.