What People Are Getting Wrong This Week: These Common Christmas Myths
Happy holidays and all that. In honor of this most special time of the year, I’m taking a look at the most common myths and misconceptions about Christmas. I busted a ton of myths about Jesus a few weeks ago, then went secular and finally revealed the truth about Santa. So this week, I’m taking an overview of seasonal misinformation, both religious and secular.
Religious Christmas Myths
Jesus was born in a stable
The Gospels do not specify precisely where Jesus was born, other than “Bethlehem.” This is how Luke 2:4-7 is traditionally translated: “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. » But this is not entirely correct, because it turns out that the Greek word καταλυμα (kataluma) does not mean “inn”. It means something closer to “spare room”, and since the holy family was in Bethlehem because that’s where Joseph was from, it seems more likely that they were crashing at a friend’s or relative’s house, all the rooms upstairs were occupied, so they were sleeping downstairs, where people kept the animals – hence the manger. The stable idea probably stuck because it’s visually simple and works well for nativity scenes, and it’s consistent with the point of the story: Jesus was born into humble circumstances.
Three wise men witnessed the birth of Jesus
The Gospel of Matthew says that King Herod told an unknown number of “wise men” (or wise men) to go to Bethlehem, because a star appeared announcing the birth of the Messiah. So they went looking for him to bring him gifts. We don’t know how many of these wise men went to Bethlehem or how long it took them to get there, but Matthew 2:11 says they visited a House. The Bible says they brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh, so at least that part is accurate.
To call it “Christmas” is to try to erase “Christ” from “Christmas”.
It’s strange, but many Christians think that the use of “Christmas” is part of the ongoing secular war against Christmas, but that is not the case. In the Greek New Testament, the word for Christ is “ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ”. The use of XP or X to indicate Christ dates back to the early Christians writing in Greek, and it was also used in English writing. Something like Christmas (Xp̄es mæsse) was written as early as 1100 AD to indicate “the mass of Christ” or Christmas. This was centuries before secular Christmas even existed.
Secular Christmas Myths
“Jingle Bells” is a Christmas song
“Jingle Bells” isn’t a Christmas song, technically. Although it is probably the song most widely associated with the holiday, there is no mention of Christmas in the lyrics. It’s just a song about how much fun it is to ride a one-horse open sleigh. (Another common misconception about “Jingle Bells” is that it was written for Thanksgiving. That’s not true either.)
Like many stories, “Jingle Bells” is more disturbing than you might think. It was written by James Pierpont and first performed at a minstrel show in 1857. Sleigh driving is a great song subject, so there was a whole subgenre of minstrel songs about it, some more racist than others, and “Jingle Bells” is the one that survived.
Other Christmas songs that do not mention the holiday include “Let It Snow”, “Winter Wonderland”, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”, “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, “Home for the Holidays” and “Frosty the Snowman”. Technically, none of these songs are Christmas songs if you use the strictest definition of “Christmas song”, but on the other hand, they are songs that everyone sings at Christmas, and they are usually about winter fun, holidays and so on, so there is a strong argument that they are in fact are Christmas songs. This is the kind of thing you can decide for yourself.
What do you think of it so far?
Boxing Day is for wrapping the presents you’re going to bring home
December 26 is called “Boxing Day,” and many people think it gets its name because it’s the day we wrap up unwanted presents and take them back to the store. But the holiday originated in England and it was a day when the rich gave their servants a day off and a box of goodies, and/or simply gave gifts or donations to the unfortunate locals.
Mrs. Claus’ first name
We know Mr. Claus’s first name is “Santa Claus,” but what about his wife? It turns out she doesn’t have a first name. Santa’s source, Saint Nicholas, was a Catholic bishop, so he didn’t have a wife. The collective unconscious has provided details about Santa as a mythical figure (the house at the North Pole, the worker elves, etc.), but no one ever gave Mrs. Claus a name that stuck.
However, here are some attempts: in the 1985 film Santa Claus: the movie Mrs. Claus’s name is “Anya.” Her name is “Margaret” in the 2011 film Arthur Christmas. Her name is “Carol” in the Santa Claus films (but in this mythology, she will be replaced upon her death). These are all isolated cases, but there is one name of Mrs. Claus that is supported by some data: Jessica.
It appears that the creators of the 1970s stop-motion film Santa Claus is coming to town called the character Mrs. Claus “Jessica”, although she is not called that in the film. Ryan Reynolds called Mrs. Claus “Jessica” on Instagram. More importantly, this random little girl in 1974 said Mrs. Claus’ name was Jessica, so I’m going with that one.
