8
votes
What is the connection between Asherah and the custom of Christmas Trees?
There is no historical connection.
The cultures that worshiped Asherah were mostly destroyed when the Babylonians invaded the kingdom of Judah and took a large portion of the populace as captives. ...
- 217
7
votes
Accepted
Why do we kiss under the mistletoe?
The mistletoe kissing Christmas tradition as we know it seems to have its origin in the 18th century England.
Kissing under sprigs of mistletoe is a well-known holiday tradition, but this little ...
- 2,863
6
votes
What is the origin of the story that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole?
Complicated
Well, it definitely doesn't claim to be folklore at all, it was just in a book by Thomas Nast.
(Linked full size image is over 7 MiB; Wikimedia Commons page; image is in the public domain)...
- 6,718
4
votes
Accepted
Why do Ethiopians play gena on Christmas?
What are the origins of the Ethiopian Christmas day game of Gena?
It is Ethiopian tradition that the country was converted to Christianity during the time of the Apostles. We see in Acts 8: 26-40 ...
- 2,863
3
votes
Accepted
Why are poinsettias associated with Christmas?
Poinsettias didn't arrive in the United States until 1825. The National Poinsettia Day is celebrated on Dec. 12 in the US, honoring both the plant and the man who brought it to America [source: ...
- 2,863
3
votes
What is the link between Odin and Santa Claus?
One of the original holidays that was merged together to create the modern Christmas is Yule (in Scandinavian languages, Christmas is still called "jul" or "jól"); this was apparently celebrated ...
- 6,037
3
votes
Accepted
How did Santa Claus appear in this world?
There are two streams of narrative in the Santa Claus story, and thus two "appearances".
The first, of course, is the historical. Not exactly on-topic here, but you can research the historical figure,...
- 623
2
votes
Accepted
What is the origin of a common Christmas tree quotation concerning an old Babylonish fable about an evergreen tree?
This question has now been answered:
quote identification — Literature Stack Exchange
TL;DR:
… those who attribute the quotation to Walsh are misattributing and/or misquoting.
The direct quotation ...
- 250
1
vote
Are There Pagan Roots of Christmas Traditions?
Well, from what I remember, it was because of the winter solstice, and getting new followers. That's what I remember....
The beginning of the article I'm about to talk about, mentions saturnalia, a ...
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