The Birth of Christmas Traditions | Suttons and Robertsons

The Birth of Christmas Traditions

Dec 10, 2020 | Jewellery

At the end of a difficult year, we have seen trees in windows, lights on poles houses earlier than normal. A lot of us know that many traditions like this come from the Royals, other countries even early films, radio tv. Many traditions evolve, becoming more popular embedded in our culture.

In our homes, we have a pine or cedar tree with lights decorations such as tinsel a star on the top. On Christmas day, we unwrap presents eat a roast dinner. Here are some of the reasons.

Cedar Trees

While many people think the idea of having a Cedar tree in our homes comes from Prince Albert in the 1840’s, there is evidence that Queen Charlotte brought this to Britain in 1800. When she grew up, it was already a tradition to set up a yew branch in your home at Christmas. Martin Luther, the religious reformer is said to have invented the tradition while he was trying to replicate the stars in the forest at night.

Dr John Watkins, one of Queen Charlotte’s biographers who attended her party provides us with a vivid description of this captivating tree ‘from the branches of which hung bunches of sweetmeats, almonds raisins in papers, fruits toys, most tastefully arranged; the whole illuminated by small wax candles’. He adds that ‘after the company had walked around admired the tree, each child obtained a portion of the sweets it bore, together with a toy, then all returned home quite delighted’. [1]

Prince Albert can certainly be credited with creating this tradition as he appeared in many popular magazines during the 1850s.

Ugly Christmas Sweaters

In 2002, ugly Christmas sweater day launched it showed the ugly jumper was part of Christmas. Still, I, if no one else wonders where did it start? Was it the badly knitted jumper from grandmother? Or from TV Film?


It seems like it has been entirely based on films:

  • Chevy Chase – National Lampoons
  • Macaulay Culkin – Home Alone
  • Colin Firth – Bridget Jones Diary
  • Ryan Gosling – Lars the Real Girl
  • Tim Allen – The Santa Claus 1,2,3

St. Nicholas – Santa Claus

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth travelled to the countryside to help the poor sick.

Over the course of many years, Nicholas’s popularity spread he became known as the protector of children sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6.

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