20 Day Countdown to Christmas Series

Santa Claus as we know him today

Seeing as we are knee deep into the season, I thought it might be fun to run a series of blog entries about traditional Christmas practices and stories.  So I'm calling this series "the 20 day countdown to Christmas".  The majority of the blog entries over the next few weeks will likely contain historical references to poems, practices, songs and other elements of my favorite holiday - Christmas. 

Growing up in a fairly traditional Anglo-Saxon-American home, my parents incorporated many of the Christmas traditions of the old world with a subtle mix of the new.  Americans are known for their ability to supersize holidays in a way that goes well beyond the simple and the quaint - and my experience as a child growing up in suburbia was no different.  I was fortunate enough as a youngster to be able to experience a typical middle class upbringing where there was no shortage of the blessings that usually accompany a typical middle class Christmas holiday.  This include Church observances to Christmas Caroling to Sitting on Santa's lap to the traditional Christmas Feast.

Of course that being said, I also enjoy reading about early Christmas practices that evolved over the last several centuries; many which have either disappeared into the world of Christmas folklore, or for some - remain part of their everyday tradition. Now as a parent raising young ones, I choose to attempt to incorporate some of the old traditional practices in some small way into my family's own Christmas rituals, so they won't be merely lost to ancient history, and so that my children will have grown up with these experiences.  You would say that my children are both cursed and blessed to have a father who is a historian!

I should also say that I don't pretend to be the authority on Christmas history or traditions. I know only what I've experienced and/or read and seen.  I hope that some folks stumbling upon these writings will comment on their own practices and traditions, and add color to my musings. 

Of course, reflecting on the traditions we observed as kids - during a better, more innocent age - and watching and listening to our parents and grandparents is quite a contrast to our experiences today living in the modern age of political correctness where Christmas seems to either be under fire, or is being forced to share the stage with other ambiguous religions and new non-traditional practices. 

So I dedicate the next several blog entries to those interested in keeping alive the traditional magic of Christmas and all that it encompasses.  I hope that what I impart, you might share with your kids, friends and family as we work to keep Christmas alive in its more traditional, unapologetic, unafraid form.  Or if nothing else, spark your interest in exploring Christmas in its pure, rudimentary form.


The original article can be found at Random Selection located at http://www.randsel.blogspot.com/