U3A HISTORY GROUP (From Warrington Guardian)

U3A HISTORY GROUP

THE SPEAKER at the group's December meeting, held in the Masonic Hall on Thursday, December 9, was Raymond Rush who gave an entertaining talk on 'Christmas Customs and Traditions'.

He started by saying that Jesus was not born on December 25, as the shepherds would not have been in the field minding their sheep at that time of year. The date was introduced in Roman times at the end of the Feast of Saturnalia which lasted for seven days from December 19 and was the only time of year when Christians could be sure that the Romans would not persecute them.

He then explained about the holly tree, its prickles represent Christ's Crown of Thorns, and red berries, the blood of Christ. Fairies were supposed to live in the holly tree, hence the fairy on the top of the Christmas Tree. Fairies turn into hobgoblins after 12 days, so the tradition of the 12 days of Christmas was born.

The Christmas tree was introduced to England by Prince Albert and was an old German tradition. Baubles were hung up in ancient times to deflect witches. The paper crown, often found in crackers, was worn by 'The Lord of Misrule' and crackers themselves originated as bonbons at the Paris Exhibition and were introduced to this country by Tom Smith who also put the 'bang' in them to boost sales.

As for mince pies, these started as pies filled with old mutton minced to make it more chewable, and the meat was eventually phased out in favour of dried fruit and raisins brought back by the Crusaders from the Holy Land. They used to be baked in an oval dish to represent the manger.

Father Christmas originated in Turkey, with St Nicholas who gave gifts of gold to three daughters to prevent them being sold into slavery. These bags of gold are still visible today in the pawnbroker's sign.

The last tradition concerned the burning of the largest log you could find at Christmas, the tradition being that you stayed on holiday until it finished burning. This was known as the back-log. When you went back to work you then had to clear the 'backlog' and so another of our expressions was born.

The next meeting, on Thursday, January 13, will feature a talk by Peter Watson on Popular Beliefs and Superstitions. New members are welcome. Ring 823662 for details.