Christmas gifts under the tree

The day of Christmas, its fir tree, its presents.

In most of our industrialized countries, the Christmas celebration is the one presents, under a fir tree.

Originally, this period of the soltice of winter (around December 21st) was at the beginning of our êre a day of celebration of the maternity and the reproduction. It is for the 6th century that the Church decided to place arbitrarily the naisance of the Christ on December 25th, and to make a substitution party.
Nowadays, it became at first a party of the children with them toys, what looks like completely a return in a unconscious way, towards these parties of a new soltice.

In the following photos, 2 Christmas, under the decorated fir tree, without Christ Child's crib and without religious feeling.

An article on Christmas of the ' Picturesque store ' of 1850

The CHRISTMASS - Christmas celebration.

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It was different once. Religious feasts gathered all the classes. The expansive cheerfulness shone with faces of the laborer, the apprentice, the employee, the clerk, to those of the bosses, with superiors ; the same laughter burst at the same time in the eye of the servant and in that of master. On the same ground where the noisy clog beat of rustic entrechats, the ermine and the satin drew graceful mazes of the dance ; from everywhere were exchanged the wishes of joyful Christmas ; the hospitable banquet reserved crumbs ; the place around the blazing yule log (the yule of Christmass, as we name it in England) was offered abroad ! To spread his happiness, it is to increase him ; whyever so much close and the hand and its heart ?

England still keeps some low souvenirs of these days when an abbot of the Nonsense, a king of the Feast, led a merry troop of mixed masks, singing and celebrating Christmas; where, under merry disguises, servants, children, workers, came without shame to tighten the money box of Christmas to the queen of the party, and to ask for generosity of enjoyment, cheerfulness, to laugh, charity of pleasures ; these days when Henri II ( 1170 ) was of use to table his son, king of the feast, and brought him, in the noise of trumpets, the dish of honor, a head of wild boar which, crowned with laurel and with rosemary, buried its tremendous defenses in the flowery apple or the golden orange; these days when hundred and thirty of the most powerful citizens of London, dressed in suits and in fantastic titles, king, queen, Ministers, chosen by the Madness, the galloping riders of the cardboard couriers, sounding brass bands, shaking torches, ran to Kennington, to the meeting of the small son of Edward Ier, all gather in the same enjoyment, all singing Christmas !

A song of the thirteenth century stays in us, to remember of these enjoyments where everything got involved, the languages as the rows. The pilgrimages, the conquests and the wars brought thesemergers of peoples, the Providence having sorted out any things so that often of the evil results the good.

Now even, in England, Christmas is a time of merger. The presents which to us give themselves to the first New Year's Day, are exchanged, at our neighbors, the day of the birth of the Rescuer. It is the time of banquets and wide and joyful hospitality by all the island. On all sides fireplaces smoke ; the ovens of the bakers abound in meats brought by of modest arrange ; the least rich cook their delight of Christmas there: brooches turn ; streetlights, torches, Chinese lanterns, candles, burst at night foggy; from midnight, the servants, the suppliers of the big houses go, by singing, present the box of Christmass where will fall New Year's gifts.

Former practices - the Queen of the Christmass (Christmas celebration in England)

Children, bring the money box ;
That with cherubs lowers(goes down) the laughter there.
Long live Christmas !
Wine, bread and salt !
Long live Christmas !

Merry Christmass opens purses, moves closer to hearts. Ah! That all the people manage to understand that the one of which we relieve the poverty can see in you a benefactor, but that we become the brother only of those whose enjoyments we share !

See also, on the same theme and in the same series :
- St Nicholas' Day and Christmas markets (2012)
- Christmas in lights (2013)