Origins of Christmas traditions
Most of what we do every December has been borrowed, blended and reshaped from centuries of different customs. Here's where a few of the big ones actually started.
The evergreen tree
Long before Christianity, evergreen boughs were brought indoors in the depths of winter as a reminder that green life would return. Germany gets credit for the modern decorated tree, a custom that spread to Britain and America in the 1800s.
The stocking by the fire
Legend has it that St. Nicholas dropped gold coins down a chimney, and they landed in stockings hung to dry by the fire. True or not, hanging a stocking became one of the season's most enduring rituals.
The wreath on the door
A circle with no beginning or end, made from evergreen boughs that survive the winter — the wreath has stood for endurance and welcome for longer than anyone can date precisely.
None of these traditions arrived fully formed. They're borrowed, adapted, and passed down — which is exactly what makes them feel like ours.
