Tonight is the night that Christians traditionally celebrate the arrival of the Wise Men bringing gifts to the Christ child. This day has also been celebrated in the mountains as "Old Christmas." This carries back to the switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian one. Being mostly Protestant, many of the rural residents refused to honor the decree made by the Pope which altered the date of Christmas by eleven days. (As of 2012, due to the calendar, what used to be "Old Christmas" on the 6th, is now technically Old Christmas eve because the Julian calendar gained a day every 130 years.)
Even after residents adjusted to and accepted the new calendar, the traditions remained and many still celebrated Christmas in the new year since it helped to separate the holiday from the increasing secular and commercial excess.
Along with the pioneers who settled among the Appalachian Mountains came a host of strange holiday superstitions, mostly thanks to the Scotch-Irish and English settlers. Many of the stories refer to events that occur at midnight and involve nature-- roosters crowing, horses switching which side they lie on or talking, bees buzzing, barn animals kneeling and facing East, cattle kneeling and lowing, the Christmas Rose blooming, water turning to blood.
In the book, Grandfather Tales: American-English Folk Tales the story of Old Christmas Eve includes a Mummer's Play where they sing "The Cherry Tree Carol."
Even after residents adjusted to and accepted the new calendar, the traditions remained and many still celebrated Christmas in the new year since it helped to separate the holiday from the increasing secular and commercial excess.
Along with the pioneers who settled among the Appalachian Mountains came a host of strange holiday superstitions, mostly thanks to the Scotch-Irish and English settlers. Many of the stories refer to events that occur at midnight and involve nature-- roosters crowing, horses switching which side they lie on or talking, bees buzzing, barn animals kneeling and facing East, cattle kneeling and lowing, the Christmas Rose blooming, water turning to blood.
In the book, Grandfather Tales: American-English Folk Tales the story of Old Christmas Eve includes a Mummer's Play where they sing "The Cherry Tree Carol."
I hope everyone made merry throughout the holiday season-- but tomorrow is the last chance this holiday to celebrate Christmas Morning!
--heidi.
--heidi.
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