Bûche de Nöel, gingerbread, wreaths, and advent calendars are just a few of those wonderful things that make December so special. Most of the holiday customs in America derive from Europe and a few have some interesting stories that may surprise you.
On the evening of December 5, children in Europe and the north and eastern side of France leave their shoes out at night hoping to wake up and find some sweets and treats waiting for them.
Saint Nicholas was an actual person and the basis for the modern-day Santa Claus who was born on March 15, 270 in Lycia. The 3rd-century saint was devoted to the church from a very early age and lived a life of selfless giving. When his parents died he gave all the money they had away helping those that had nothing.
Nicholas learned of a man who had three daughters but had lost all of his money. Without a dowry, they were destined to a life of prostitution. To keep his identity secret Nicholas walked by in the dark of night and dropped a small bag of gold coins in their open window. The oldest daughter was married shortly after when she had the much-needed dowry. Nicholas returned two more times, allowing each of the daughters to marry.
Scenes of the life of Saint Nicolas de Bari by Ambrogio Lorenzetti 1332
Musée du Louvre & Uffizi Florence
However, the most famous of all stories is a slightly gruesome one, but with a happy ending. Three boys were lost in the woods and after days without food, they wandered into the door of a butcher. He promised to give them food if they came in, but had a dastardly plan in mind. Killing the three boys he stuffed them into a barrel of salt and planned to sell them off as pork later. Nicholas found out and arrived in time to revive the boys and save them.
That butcher is known now as Père Foutteard, often seen in images of the saint holding switches for the bad kids. Sounds much worse than the threat of the Elf on the Shelf to me.
Nicholas died on December 6, 343 and today he is the patron saint of children and prostitutes, which is very fitting from the legend of his life.
Today you will find children leaving their shoes to wake up to find an orange and some chocolate coins and treats.
Saint Nicholas of course morphed into Father Christmas in England and Santa Claus in the US, all derived from the kind man who delivered gifts to those who needed them. Come this Saturday night, start a new little tradition, and leave your shoes out, after all, we could all use a nice little treat these days.
Let’s start with that centerpiece of the season, the Christmas tree. Dating back to the 16th century the first tree was set up in front of the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg, at the time it was part of Germany but now it’s France so we can say the lovely Christmas tree is French. The original trees were decorated with edible items like dried fruit, a far cry from our popcorn garland. Originally the tree was set up for the solstice on that darkest day of the year, and like many of those European rituals, they morphed into Christmas celebrations. The triangle shape of the tree represents the holy trinity and that star you place on the top represents Bethlehem. For those of you that add an angel looking over you, it is the angel of the nativity.
The evergreen bows of the trees and wreaths represent eternal life as the bows are always green, a sure sign of hope in these dark months. The greenery used also has symbolic meanings, Laurel for victory over prosecution. Pine and holly for immortality and Cedar for strength and healing, Holly symbolizes the crown of thorns and one legend even says the True Cross was made from the wood of a Holly tree. Add some pinecones or seeds for life and resurrection.
The wreath has a much longer history and first began as what some may imagine as a crown. Back in the Etruscan times of Southern Europe, it was the wreath of laurel leaves that was all the rage. We all know the images of Julius Caesar and Napoleon sporting their golden laurel crowns on their heads and those crowns would eventually become the harvest wreaths hung in the homes across Europe. Constructed of elements from their crop it was a way for the family to pay tribute to the prosperity of their harvest. However, we still aren’t to the fragrant wreath you hang on your front door yet.
Advent Wreath in Eglise Saint Sulpice December 10. 2023
In the 16th century Minister Johann Wichern, a pastor who would visit the children at the local mission came up with an idea to help solve the age-old question “How many days to Christmas”. Wichern used an old wagon wheel and covered it with evergreen bows and twenty-four candles. On each evening one of the smaller candles was lit and on Sunday one of the larger white candles.
This was also the birth of the advent calendar, then known as the advent wreath which many families in Europe still do every Sunday night. The Advent Wreath goes back to the Middle Ages. Each candle for the week represents 1000 years, adding up to 4000 years since the birth of Adam & Eve. The 3 purple candles for the first three weeks represent Prayer, penance, and good work. The final week is a pink rejoicing the faithful. Eventually, the Roman Catholics adopted the idea in the 1920’s with each of the four candles representing a moment in the biblical story of the season.
Today we know advent calendars as everything from the inexpensive cardboard filled with chocolate to the expensive ones filled with Bonne Maman jam or a special Christian Louboutin treasure to open each day. My grandmother always had an advent calendar and I still buy them each year, it’s just as much fun today opening a little door to find a little treat.
Now for some sweet stuff. Gingerbread may be one of the oldest of all the holiday traditions and dates back to the year 992 when an Armenian monk brought the treat to France. Near the town of Pithiviers just south of the Ile de France where he would spend the rest of his life teaching other monks how to make the early version of gingerbread. In the 13th century, the German Franconia monks created a version called Lebkuchen. It can be soft and almost cake-like and also harder cookies which my grandmother always made. Later in the 17th century they actually made a law that only certified bakers could make the spicy cookies, with a small clause that let anyone make them for Christmas.
The gingerbread house itself also originated in Germany and was first seen in the 1800’s and was inspired by the age-old tale of Hansel and Gretel. The Grimm’s fairy tale of children in an edible house inspired a baker to create one out of Lebkuchen.
One of my favorite stories might be the legend of the Bûche de Nöel. The cake that looks like a log actually started out that way. Back in the 11th century, the solstice was a night of celebration. Once we have reached that shortest day of the year each day after we get a sliver of added light counting the days to spring. To celebrate, many of the families cut a log from their dormant fruit trees, bathed it in wine or cognac, and decorated it with evergreen, ivy, and pinecones. They would burn it after the sun went down to celebrate the upcoming spring filled with wishes for a productive season.
The log would sometimes burn for days and into the new year, which added extra luck. The ashes were saved and they added a level of protection to the home and would also be used in medicine. As the years passed, the larger fireplaces became smaller and smaller and families no longer held the yearly celebration. In the early 17th century, the log itself became a cake. A delicious genoise cake that is rolled and filled with pastry cream, frosting, or jam and rolled. The cake is decorated and covered with marzipan or meringue mushrooms and decoration, still resembling the log from long ago. Why wait for Christmas this year, make one of these and enjoy it on the night of the solstice, December 21.