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Christmas has many traditions in different countries around the world. Some of the more well known in the Western world include hanging stockings on the fireplace, putting lights outside, telling children that Santa is on his way, and many others, including foods and drinks such as Eggnog. Where did many of these traditions come from? The story, for some, is they derived from periods long before Christmas began, but for other traditions they are more recent.

Perhaps among the best known traditions for many of us is Santa Claus, or Father Christmas in some countries. Santa Claus is likely based on the historical figure of Saint Nicholas, which is thus another name for Santa Claus, who was a bishop well known for giving gifts in the 4th century in Myra. However, other traditions and elements likely influenced how he is depicted. This includes traveling in the sky by being pulled by reindeer. This tradition may have come from the belief in the god Wodan, an important Norse/Germanic god, who would ride in the sky during the period of Yule, which is a period similar to Christmas. The god also had a long white beard, similar to Santa. In 1809, Washington Irving's <i>History of New York</i> merged different traditions of the English Father Christmas and Dutch <i>Sinterklaas</i> to give us Santa Claus. What made modern Santa Claus was the 1821 poem that is now know to us as 'The Night Before Christmas,' which characterizes the figure, describes his reindeer, and gives the story of him dispersing presents to children (Figure 1).<ref>For more on Santa Claus and his origins, see: Urban, C. W. (2011).<i> Nicholas: the fantastic origin of Santa Claus</i>. Booklocker.com, Inc. </ref>

Christmas lights derive from the use of candle lights on Christmas trees, which was popular among Germany families as early as the 18th century, although in pre-Christian traditions decorating trees was also done. Initially, lights were candles and it was only in the late 19th century (1890s) that the first Christmas trees with electrical lights were used, with Grover Cleveland being the first president to light an electric Christmas tree in the White House. However, Christmas lights began to spread outside of the tree by the 1940s and 1950s, as the production of lights became cheaper and new forms of lights were experimented with. Initially decorations focused on mantles and edges of houses, but soon this spread to other areas.<ref>For more on Christmas lights, see: Iwamasa, R. T., & Fay, P. (2006). <i>The history of the Christmas figural light bulb: a companion guide to antique Christmas figural light bulbs (1st ed)</i>. Midland, Mich: RTI Pub. </ref>

Putting stockings on a fireplace could have begun as early as Saint Nicholas' time, in the 4th century, but the stories are uncertain, where he is said to have hung presents on stockings for people. However, in the early 19th century in Europe, children increasingly began to use their socks to hang their presents in. Soon people began to create special Christmas stockings or socks that would then be used to place presents within.<ref>For more on the tradition of using Christmas stockings, see: Johnes, M. (2016). <i>Christmas and the British: a modern history</i>. London ; New York: Bloomsbury Academic, An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, pg. 92.</ref>

The origin of eggnog is unclear but the best records indicate that English aristocracy or wealthy land owners would drink a drink similar to eggnog, which contained milk, eggs, and sherry during the time of Christmas to celebrate prosperity in the previous year and the years to come. Eggnog had ingredients that were well beyond the means of most people so the drink was meant to be a toast to prosperity by the wealthy. In the US colonies, it began to become popular during the 18th century when wine and other liquors were taxed, but rum was not. Thus, rum began to be a popular alcoholic addition to the egg and milk mix.<ref>For more on eggnog, see: Staib, W., Yun, M., & Wolkow, D. (2013). <i>A sweet taste of history: more than 100 elegant dessert recipes from America’s earliest days</i>. Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press, an imprint of Globe Pequot Press.</ref>

Christmas pudding likely started its origin as a savory food in England in the Medieval period that included stuffing the meat and pudding into a stomach of a sheep used to wrap the finished product. In the 18th century, plum began to be used to help make it a sweet dish to be made before Christmas and then served on Christmas day. It may have become popularised in Christmas as King George I was described as requesting a pudding made for Christmas and the use of a plum pudding during that time helped associated the pudding with Christmas in subsequent years.<ref>For more on Christmas pudding, see: Ysewijn, R. (2016). <i>Pride and pudding</i>. Murdoch Books.</ref>

Mulled wines are popular in many European countries around Christmas, including Glühwein in Germany. The Romans brought wine with them in much of Europe and this tradition influenced Medieval cultures that began to brew spices within their wines. They also heated wines during winter to keep people warm and with Christmas being in a cold month, the use of mulled wines began to be associated as Christmas drinks in Medieval cultures at least by the 14th century.<ref>For more on mulled wines, see: Da Silva, Z. S. (2017). <i>The herb in history, mysteries and crafts</i>. Cambridge Scholars Publishing</ref>

The Yule Lads is a popular story that may derive from ancient folklore in Iceland and northern Europe. The story tells of either fun-loving or sometimes mischievous young men who go around pulling pranks on people. In the 1930s, the Yule Lads were made popular again as part of the Christmas time tradition in Iceland and pulling pranks around Christmas have been associated with the Yule Lads.<ref>For more on Yule Lads, see: Herman, H. (2015). <i>The legend of the Icelandic Yule Lads</i>. Outskirts Press.</ref>

The Christmas period is a fascinating time of many different traditions and practices, some we hold in common with many others while others are specific to certain countries and cultures. Many traditions have pre-Christian roots, but others are either modernized or fully developed during Medieval or later periods. Christmas has long inspired creativity and fun, often this is seen as welcome relief in cold and dark countries during the winter season.