1. St Valentine
2. Easter
3. St. Martin
4. Halloween
5. St. Nicholas
6. Christmas
7. The Magi
8. Candlemas
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How long is it since Cupid sent his arrow to your heart? 50 years, 20 years, 10 years, one year? However long it is, do not forget that the celebration of lovers has existed for many, many years. Of course, it has evolved, but St Valentine is always a unique occasion to declare our love to the one who has won our heart, as well as to our friends and our parents. Although today, St Valentine is synonymous with joy and love it must not be forgotten that poor St Valentine gave his life to defend the rights of people who love each other. Valentinus was a Christian priest on whom the Roman Emperor Claudius the second exercised his wrath. He performed secret marriage ceremonies for soldiers. But the Emperor had forbidden these marriages because he thought they were not compatible with the profession of soldier. Claudius ended his activities in an extremely bloodthirsty way: Valentine was thrown into prison, then beheaded on the February 14th (sometime between 268 and 273 AD). While he was waiting for his sentence to be carried out he met his jailer's blind daughter. A friendship developed between them and Valentine restored her sight. Just before he was martyred, he offered the young girl leaves in the shape of a heart with a message "from your Valentine". Later, Valentine was canonised in memory of his sacrifice in the name of love. Two centuries after his death, European Christianity included other pagan rites such as the Festival of Lupercus (synonymous with exuberant rejoicing) which took place on the February 15th as a souvenir of the Roman period. This was the perfect occasion to celebrate fertility. It was recognised by the Catholic Church thanks to the intercession of the Pope who was keen on commemorating it. It was also associated with St Valentine who was called the protector of loving couples. It was only in 1496 that St Valentine officially became the patron saint of lovers on the orders of Pope Alexander the VI. Still today, lovers take
the opportunity of St Valentine's Day to exchange cards and give
gifts such as flowers and chocolates, which are always
synonymous with passion as a token of their love. |
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The background to
the Easter celebrations? Easter was originally a pagan festival, or a festival celebrated by non-believers. To start with Easter was a spring festival in honour of light and springtime: Eastre. Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon in spring. The festival was held to celebrate the renewal of life. This is why symbols of fertility, such as rabbits and eggs, are associated with Easter time. Hence Easter was not originally a religious festival. Later on the festival took on a specific meaning for believers, a meaning that was an extension of the original meaning. The Christian meaning of Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Easter festival is celebrated in almost every country in the world but the festivities differ from one country to another. The people of the United Kingdom celebrate Easter, while the Germans celebrate Ostern. These names refer to Austro, the German goddess of spring. The triumph of light and life is celebrated with the lighting of bonfires during these festivals. Azymous bread and eggs are also an important feature of these different rituals. Where do Easter eggs come from? It all began in Persia and Ancient Egypt. Friends and family members would offer each other decorated eggs at the vernal equinox, which for them marked the beginning of a new year. The egg was regarded as a genuine symbol of fertility, because people thought it was a miracle for a living creature to be able to emerge from such an object. The egg had a much less hormonal meaning for Oriental Christians. For them it represented the tomb Jesus escaped from. They, too, enjoyed colouring their eggs and red was the colour of choice. It was supposed to symbolise the blood of Christ. Consequently, all believers could participate in Christ's resurrection. The practice of hiding eggs is said to be a universal custom. Easter is inextricably linked with eggs. To discover how the egg became a key item of this festival we have to travel far back through the mists of time. Our Germanic ancestors celebrated their spring festivals at this time: the end of winter, the start of the summer months. Consequently, it is only to be expected that they should venerate their spirits by making offerings to the goddess of fertility: Frigga. She was represented by the shape of a bird: the one who gave birth to an egg. In the wake of these offerings, the people would gather together for generous meals comprising, eggs, loaves of bread and biscuits cooked with eggs. The origin of all forms of life The egg has long symbolised the origin of all forms of life, so it is not surprising that the egg should be regarded as a symbol of fertility in almost all countries, while being associated with the spring festival. The egg forms the background to a new world in innumerable ancient histories. In India it was even believed that the sky and the Earth emerged from an eggshell. A Japanese story about creation relates that the sky and the Earth were not yet separate from each other in the very beginning. The yolk and the white of an egg is evoked to illustrate this theme. According to this myth, the sky is derived from the light (white) and the Earth from the dark part (yolk) of the egg. Eggs may have originally been a pagan symbol, having no connection at all with Christianity, but they ended up being carefully paralleled in Christian doctrine in the 4th century: the egg was regarded as a white tomb from which life emerged. By the 12th century, the "Benedictio ovorum" had been introduced, authorising the use of eggs on the holy days of Easter. Magical effect The Scottish Presbyterians tended to look askance at eggs, regarding them as a symbol of papal adoration. In other places, eggs were looked upon as beneficial delicacies: they were offered in churches after people had spent weeks in the strict observance of Lent. This ecclesiastic recognition served to accentuate their magical power. Eggs soon became accepted as a charm that had a special effect. Innumerable Easter customs began to appear: collecting eggs, breaking them, hunting for them and eating them in large quantities in the form of loaves of bread and pastries, biscuits and cakes (particularly in the United States and England), marzipan, nougat, sugar, and, of course, chocolate. The remnants of an ancient votive meal are concealed in azymous bread, which also features traces of the Jewish azymous bread. The bakers and confectioners of that time observed ancient customs. They baked azymous bread, egg-based pastries, pasties and egg biscuits. Chocolate makers prepared their chocolate eggs and confectioners their marzipan and nougat in various shapes and sizes. They produced enormous quantities of these items decorated in thousands of different ways. The Easter hare The Netherlands is the odd one out on this score. Easter bunnies are found all over the world, while the Dutch are the only people to use a hare. Still, they are from the same family, are they not? When rabbits used to appear and disappear without any explanation way back in time, people would see an obvious resemblance between the appearances Christ made after his resurrection. The first historical references to the Easter bunny can be traced back to Germany. Documents from the 16th century refer to a rabbit laying red eggs on Good Friday and multicoloured eggs the evening prior to the first day of Easter. Other symbols The Easter bunny may be the unchallenged king of Easter symbols, but other charming creatures also come into the picture. The chick, for example, has been around as long as the egg. The lamb's appearance at around Easter time has been a popular event for centuries now. The lamb + chick + bunny combinations are especially popular. The butterfly is less well-known. The Christians saw a striking parallel between the caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly and Christ's resurrection. The lily also formed part of the Easter festival. This delicate, pure white flower is particularly prominent in the works of art of the ancient Christians. Easter and culinary delights As you may have read, lamb has not always been the first choice. Fortunately for this creature, azymous bread, biscuits and cakes have long been the favourite food items. From the edge of the New World to the depths of Russia, azymous (or unleavened) bread is by far the most popular one. The Russians eat "paska ", the Germans "osterstollen" and the Poles "baba wielancona". Easter celebrations The ancient Christians looked upon Easter as a time for humour. All week long people would be cracking jokes, larking about and roasting large numbers of lambs. There would be singing and dancing late into the night. The people were celebrating the fact that Christ had taken the Devil and Evil down a peg or two. On Easter Monday, the men would wake the women up with a few drops of perfumed water along with the words "may you never wither". The next day the women would wake the men up with perfumed water. The subtle difference here was that the women were allowed to pour the contents of a bucket over their husbands. The Easter celebrations vary enormously nowadays. They differ quite a lot from one country to another and very often from one religion to another. The way the members of the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrate the first day of Easter is even more outlandish than their forefathers. The Lutheran Churches in Sweden and Norway, conversely, have had to adapt to some of the people's contemporary customs. Most of people go on holiday to the mountains at Easter. Nothing if not innovative, the Lutheran church has built one or two mountain churches on the spot. Why do the bells bring eggs? The idea that the bells bring the eggs is linked to the fact that the bells ring for the last time before Easter on Maundy Thursday. Children are told that the bells have left for Rome and will be returning on Easter morning with their eggs. Why does Easter fall on a different day every year? Easter Sunday is a bit different every year: it can fall as early as 22 March and as late as 25 April. The reason for this is quite straightforward: the Christians calculated the date according to the lunar year rather than the solar one now used for the calendar. The reference point is not the position of the sun but the rising and setting of the full moon. Easter should always fall on the first Sunday following the first full moon, the Bishops of the Catholic Church decided during the Nicaea Council in 325. The church leaders agreed that Easter should be on a Sunday, to make a distinction between the Christian and Jewish religions. During the second Vatican Council, in the 1960s, church officials mooted the idea of having a more set date for Easter, one that was closer to the historical date of Jesus' death, around 10 April. Easter Sunday would then have been celebrated after the second Saturday in the month of April. However, this idea never got off the drawing board: the Catholics, Protestants and Orthodoxes failed to agree on a new rule. What are Christians actually celebrating at Easter? Christians regard Easter as the most important day of the year. The birth of Christ is celebrated during the Christmas festivities, but Easter, the day when the man Christians believe is the son of God was resurrected, is a much older festival. Christmas was not originally celebrated unlike Easter. In the final analysis, Easter Sunday marks the conclusion of an entire week when Jesus was betrayed and sentenced to death after the last supper with his disciples. He died on the Cross on Saturday and on Sunday the rock in front of his tomb was discovered to have rolled away and Christ's body had disappeared: Jesus was not dead, but risen from the dead. He appeared to his disciples a few more times before ascending to Heaven 40 days later, during the Ascension. Why do the French
call Easter "Pâques", the English" Easter" and the Germans "
Östern"? How can a rabbit or hare lay eggs? The tradition of looking for Eastern eggs originates with an old story about fertility: The German goddess Freya had a pet: a hare, which rather than game had belonged to the poultry family in a former life. This is why the hare could lay eggs. At the start of the new year (springtime), Freya would let her hare hide her eggs in the fields so the peasants could be sure of having a bumper harvest. Egg is synonymous with new life However, there are lots more stories involving the egg and spring. The egg has taken on a symbolic meaning in almost all cultures over the centuries. One example is the mythological story of Kronos, the son of the sky god and the earth goddess: Uranos and Gaia. They are said to have created an egg from which emerged the many-headed god Phanes, whereupon the Earth was formed. The exodus from Egypt is celebrated during the Jewish Easter festival. The first two evenings of the eight-day festival are called "seider". A special meal, the "seider" is served then as well as the "matses" (azymous bread), spices, parsley, horseradish and boiled eggs. In this case the boiled egg is also a sign of mourning for the former temple of King Solomon. It is a symbol for an entire meal in commemoration of the second festive offering formerly held in the temple. Tip: The older an egg is the more it floats. In order to check if an egg is fresh place it in a basin full of water. A fresh egg stays on the bottom, whereas one that is three or four weeks old will stand up on the bottom, a six-week old egg will remain "suspended" in the water but if the egg floats, it definitely should not be eaten. |
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3. St. Martin - Martin of Tours The life of St. Martin Martin was born in Sabaria, Hungary, in the year 316, now called Szombathely (Pannonia) in the eastern part of the country. His father was a magistrate in the service of the Roman army. The family relocated to Pavia, Italy, where he spent most of his childhood. Legend has it that he joined the church as a catechumen (or a candidate for baptism), despite his parents' resistance (legend most likely makes a connection here between the evangelical story of the young Jesus aged 12). He enlisted in the Roman army when he was 15 under Emperors Constantine and Julian and joined the cavalry in Gaul (France). According to history, it was during this time that he met a scantily dressed beggar at the gates to the city of Amiens. The beggar asked him for alms according to Christ's will. As he had nothing else with him except his weapon, Martin offered part of his military cloak, which he cut in two with his sword. At that time, half of a soldier's clothes belonged to the emperor and the other half was the soldier's personal property. Christ then appeared to him in a dream wearing the half-cloak. "What you did for the weakest one of my brothers, you did for me". This dream persuaded him that he should become a Christian and be baptised. The ceremony was conducted by the Bishop Hilary of Poitiers. During his time in the army he was increasingly tormented by an inner struggle: whether to devote himself to the service of the Roman emperor as a soldier or concentrate on his Christian calling. In the end, he decided to leave the army. He was baptised at the age of 18 (other sources say 22) and was admitted into the ecclesiastical body of the church. He completed his first work as a priest in the region where his parents lived, in Lombardy, where he proclaimed the Christian faith. He then clashed with the Arians, a Christian movement that maintained the human dimension of Jesus of Nazareth, refuting the divine origin of Christ. Arianism had a large number of followers. Martine refused to renounce his beliefs, so was mistreated on the orders of the Arian bishop of Milan. He then went into hiding as a hermit on the island of Gallinaria (now called Isola d'Albenga) on the Italian Riviera. He was able to return to France in 361 and re-establish contact with Hilary of Poitiers. He also became a hermit there, living in remote region and devoting his life to God. As a result of attracting a great many followers he was able to build the first monastery on French soil, in 361. When St. Lidorius, the bishop of Tours, a city in the western part of France, died in 371 or 372, the Christians and the priest living there asked Martin if he would like to become their bishop. However, he wanted to remain a hermit. Legend has it that Martin was drawn to the city as a result of a trick. Once he reached Tours, he was unable to renounce the episcopate. The people elected Martin as bishop of Tours in 371. He continued to live the life of a monk. He founded a monastery in Tours in 375 and worked with his followers in spreading the Christian religion in France. He continued to live his monastic life as a bishop and acted as a major proclaimer of the faith. He founded several monasteries, including the one in Marmoutier. He had the pagan sanctuaries destroyed, while being tireless in his efforts to denounce the heresies of the time. He was already regarded as a saint during his lifetime, while several miracles were attributed to him. He died in Candes at the age of 81 during a mission on 8 November 397. He was buried in Tours on 11 November, his current feast day. He may not have died a martyr like so many of his predecessors, but he was immediately regarded as sacred by all of the people. Several miracles occurred around his grave and one century later king Clovis named him as the patron saint of France. Thousands of churches in France have been dedicated to him, including the famous St. Martin Basilica in Tours. His reputation also extends northwards, particularly in Flanders and the Netherlands, along with a part of Germany, which used to belong to France. Several St. Martin parishes are found in Flanders, spread throughout the region, mainly in the villages, of course, whose names refer to St. Martin. Examples are Sint-Martens-Bodegem, Sint-Martens-Latem, Sint-Martens-Leerne, Sint-Martens-Lennik, and Sint-Martens-Voeren. The word "chapel" is also derived from a relic of St. Martin's. A cape is "cappa" in Latin
and the diminutive of this word (it was in fact only part of the
cape) is called "cappella" in Middle Latin. This term gradually
started to be used to refer to the tent where the cape was kept.
By the 7th century, any small house of prayer that was not a
parish church was called a "capella". By the 16th century, royal personages were accustomed to inviting singers and musicians to their castles during religious festivities: they were also an "orchestre" ("kappel" in Dutch). Musicians subsequently passed the word onto laypeople, an example is the French "chef d'orchestre" (conductor or " kapelmeester " in Dutch). |
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Halloween began as an ancient Celtic ceremony called Sawhain, held on the evening of 1 November. The Halloween festival appeared between 500 and 1000 BC and is supposed to have been the Celtic "New Year". These people regarded 1 November as the Sawhain (pronounced: Saw-En), meaning "the end of summer" This day was a special one marking the end of the previous year and the start of the new one. Dead people were supposed to return to earth. Some people believe the spirits wanted to inhabit a body, which is why fires were extinguished inside homes and fires were lit outside to chase away the spirits. What form the celebrations
took during the festivities is still shrouded in mystery but one
thing is certain: they were held to celebrate the end of the
fertile year and the start of winter. Once the cereals and fruit
had been harvested, prior to the onset of winter, any surplus
animals were slaughtered. This is why the month of November was
called blodmonath in old Anglo-Saxon literature or slachmaent in
Middle Dutch. The final fruit had to be picked before the
Sawhain festival, as anything hanging on the bushes after that
date was intended for the spirits. Two bonfires were lit during
the festivities. This period was devoted to the commemoration of
the dead. This formed part of the worship of the Celtic
ancestors and may therefore have been less restrained than
contemporary commemorations. Halloween is now celebrated on 31 October in EU, while the special offers start early in October and last until the first week of November. The items of food associated with this special day were: carrots, apples, special types of bread... and of course sweets for the children! This festival has become a major commercial event in the United States and is becoming increasingly popular in other parts of the world. Why a pumpkin? The Halloween pumpkin frequently used today hails from the United States. The various light spirits were celebrated in Europe with hollowed out beets and turnips. Children would cut faces into these vegetables and parade them proudly through the village in the evening. Irish immigrants in the United States replaced the European turnips with pumpkins, as these were much more common. The name of the hollowed out beet is derived from Anglo-Saxon folklore: "Jack-o'-lantern". |
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1. Who is St. Nicholas? The Vatican cannot tell us.
The character of St.
Nicholas draws its inspiration from Nicholas of Myra, also known
as Nicholas of Bari. He was born in Patara, a Lycian city, in
the south-western part of Asia Minor (a region now known as the
Asian region of Turkey) between 250 and 270 AD.
Legends abound about his
life and deeds. It is said that on the day he was born, he stood
up in his bath. As he grew older he would shun merrymaking in
favour of attending church. According to legend, St.
Nicholas succeeded in bringing three children back to life after
a butcher, from whom they had sought refuge, waited until they
were fast asleep, then cut them into tiny pieces before placing
them in a salting tub. A story truly becomes
popular when the characters are given a face. Of all the
illustrations that are available of St. Nicholas, the ones that
have had the biggest impact on the feast of St. Nicholas in its
present form are those appearing in Jan Schenkman's books.
In1845 this teacher living in Amsterdam wrote the first book
about St. Nicholas, featuring the saint and his companion Black
Peter.
St. Nicholas is
accompanied by a rough character with a dark face carrying a
cane. In 1885, Nast decided the
whereabouts of Father Christmas' official residence should be
the North Pole: he drew two children looking at a map of the
world, tracing his journey from the North Pole to the United
States. |
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Christmas and its mysteries Christmas is not only the
celebration of joy and hope for Christians. For all men and
women of good will in our Western world, the birth of Christ
marks a capital date for History: the beginning of the Christian
era, the chronological base of the events which have followed
one another over twenty centuries. Why 25 December? It was only in the middle of the 4th century (yes that century again!) that Christmas became an official festival of the liturgical calendar. Previously, the Church had considered Christ's date of birth date to be 6 January, i.e. 18 April. For lack of precision, it finally opted for 25 December, that is to say the day after the winter solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. No other date could better symbolise the coming of a "God of Light", the conqueror of the darkness of sin, of a god who rose like the sun to illuminate the whole of the world with hope. Moreover, our current "Christmas Eve" parties are simply a relic of the Pagan Saturnalia, kinds of carnivals with large banquets that the ancient Romans dedicated, from 17 to 23 December, to their god Saturn. Noel or Nativity? The actual name of
Christmas or Noel, to designate the Nativity Festival, seems
clearly to have been used only five centuries after the event.
Converted after his victory of Tolbiac in 490, King Clovis was
baptised at Rheims by Saint Remi, with 3,000 warriors, precisely
on 25 December. On that day the Frankish nation was born to
Christian civilisation. The soldiers celebrated this memorable
event with a vigorous cry of "Noel" which meant "dies natalis"
or "day of birth". The nativity scene If the reproduction of the small stable with its wooden or plastic characters and animals clearly appears to have been initiated by Saint Francis of Assisi, the great lover of animals, the tradition of Christmas trees dates from only the 14th century and has a less orthodox origin. Why a tree at Christmas? It is a legacy of the
Pagan festivals of light. At the time of Europe's
conversion to Christianity, the birth of Jesus - whose real date
of birth is still unknown - was commemorated at the time when
Northern Europe celebrated the Winter solstice, whereas in the
South people celebrated the birth of Mithras the Sun-God. These
winter festivals celebrated the victory of light over darkness,
the Sol Invictus (the undefeated sun). In Northern Europe, the
Germans celebrated the victory of life over the death of winter
by decorating their homes with evergreen plants such as
mistletoe, holly, juniper and ivy. The tradition of making
Christmas crowns with their branches comes therefore from the
Germans. |
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There is no mention in the Bible of the "three kings" Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, it refers solely to the "Magi" without any names but a full-blown culture has nonetheless sprung up around the Epiphany. The processions and
mystery plays in the churches commemorated the generous gifts of
myrrh, incense and gold. Come 6 January, the nuns and monks
would distribute bread to the underprivileged members of the
community. For several centuries, the
Epiphany was the Feast of poor people. The Magi would go from
door to door singing a song, struggling to earn a bite to eat or
better still a small sum of money for their trouble. After all,
the Magi did shower the infant Jesus with gifts. The begging
songs could be performed on the 13th day after Christmas : on 6
January. One of the common features
of the carolling kings would be the star they would be twirling
to make it revolve. Some even moved about on a rocking horse or
a bear. A pot covered with a pig's bladder, known as a rubbed
drum, or an instrument cut into clog would be used to accompany
the songs. Dewit jokes that the "quality of the music no doubt
left a lot to be desired but this was a minor consideration. The
groups would make quite a din and the begging singers were
mainly intent on attracting attention so as to make as much as
money as they could in the shortest time possible". |
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8. Candlemas, origins and traditions Candlemas, which first became a Christian festival in 472, is celebrated every year on 2 February. It derives its name from the "candles" or the blessed candles carried during the procession in honour of the presentation of baby Jesus in the temple and the purification of the Blessed Virgin. The pilgrims who flocked to Rome on this occasion led the Pope to organise the distribution of waffles and galettes. But before becoming a Marian festival (in honour of the Virgin Mary), Candlemas, also called the "Festival of Light", was a pagan festival. The Romans celebrated, around 5 February, Lupercus, the god of the wilds and fertility. The Celts celebrated Imbolc on 1st February. This rite, in honour of the goddess Brigid, celebrated purification and fertility at the end of winter. Peasants carried torches through the fields praying the goddess to purify the land before the sowing period. In the 5th century, Pope Gelasius 1st associated this pagan rite of the "festival of candles" with the presentation of Jesus in the temple and the purification of the Virgin. From that time on, for this festival which became the "Festival of Light", candles were lit throughout the house and blessed candles were brought into the home to protect it and the upcoming harvestings. The survival of a distant myth relating to the solar wheel apparently also explains the custom of pancakes (or round doughnuts, in the south of France), which are traditionally made at that time of the year. Various kinds of galettes or pancakes are found in all civilisations of the Old and New World, whether made from wheat flour, rice flour, cornflour or other cereals. It was in the 12th century
that the crusaders brought buckwheat from Asia. The acid soils
of Brittany were particularly propitious for the development of
this cereal plant. |