The time of Christmas is very special to all of us. We love to hang stockings over the windows or the fireplace and send gifts and cards to our family. These are some traditions and gestures being carried out for centuries. These are the very common ways of celebrating Christmas. However, the pandemic has changed a lot of things over the last two years. It has been either smaller gatherings or online shopping that people could do.
But since the world has turned into a new phase of its existence and we have become uncertain about how to carry forward with normal life, this is the perfect tie to recapitulate some of the old-fashioned Christmas celebrations.
Old-fashioned Christmas includes telling ghost stories
If you’ve read ‘A Christmas Carol’ you would relate to the concept of telling ghost stories during Christmas time. Hauntings and spooky tales were two very integral parts of the Christmas holiday apart from the lights and parties. If you read the book you’ll see how the author explains about this hallowed tradition to Smithsonian magazine. He further talks about customs in centuries when families will tell tales of monsters and spooks.
Having Christmas goose is an old-fashioned Christmas tradition
Haven’t you noticed the mentions about geese in the very popular nursery rhyme that goes like “Christmas Is coming, the geese are getting fat”? This is because the big goose used to be the special dish of Christmas. It is just like a turkey being the main dish during thanksgiving. But with time the practice of eating the whole goose has gone away and people mostly prefer ham or turkey these days.
If you find this concept interesting there is no problem in mixing things up while celebrating a festival. If you think an entire goose will be too big for your party, you can have it later.
One of the old-fashioned Christmas traditions is keeping oranges in stockings
In the older times, people had a practice of keeping orange inside the stockings. The concept behind this act was people used to think that citrus is one gift that all families could afford. In the interiors of western countries, some people still practice this custom but it is still less common.
Celebrating the twelfth night is one of the old-fashioned Christmas traditions
There is a practice of celebrating Epiphany in early January by a lot of Christians. Epiphany is the day when the Christians believe that the Three Wise Men accepted the fact that Jesus was the son of God. So, the twelfth night is Epiphany Eve which is very much an English tradition and not practiced in other areas like the U.K.
Old Fashioned Christmas includes smoking bishop
When we talk about old-fashioned Christmas traditions, we must not skip the smoking bishop. This term has nothing to do with any religious act or something like that. Smoking Bishop is a particular kind of mulled wine which is a combination of port wine, red wine, and tons of spices.
Old-fashioned Christmas includes sitting by a real fireplace
Although modern technology has made life easier and cozier, nothing beats real fireplaces. One of the traditional ways of celebrating Christmas is to sit by the real fireplace, take a sip of wine and chat with friends and family.
Summary
We love to hang stockings over the windows or the fireplace and send gifts and cards to our family during Christmas. These are some traditions and gestures being carried out for centuries. These are the very common ways of celebrating Christmas. However, the pandemic has changed a lot of things over the last two years. Hauntings and spooky tales were two very integral parts of the Christmas holiday apart from the lights and parties. In the older times, people had a practice of keeping orange inside the stockings. The concept behind this act was people used to think that citrus is one gift that all families could afford. There is a practice of celebrating Epiphany in early January by a lot of Christians. Epiphany is the day when the Christians believe that the Three Wise Men accepted the fact that Jesus was the son of God.
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