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Bonkers Origins Of 32 Holiday Traditions

By:: Timon DJ Spajic; Cracked Writers

October 01, 2021

Bonkers Origins Of 32 Holiday Traditions

Is there anything more comforting than spending a holiday with your loved ones, celebrating in your own unique way? Every family has its own set of traditions that they follow each and every year. Whether it's making the same dish, watching the same movie, or simply gathering around the fireplace, these traditions are what make a holiday feel special. What are your favorite family traditions? The holiday season is a time for family, friends, and fun. It's also a time for traditions. Every family has its own set of traditions that they celebrate each year. Whether it's watching the same movie on Christmas eve or opening gifts on Christmas morning, these traditions are what make the holiday season special.

Do you ever wonder where our favorite holiday traditions come from? Why do we do the things we do during the holidays? Well, it turns out that a lot of our traditions have pretty bonkers origins.

While most holiday traditions seem pretty innocent at first glance, they actually have some pretty wild and bizarre origins stories. Today we'll take a look at 32 such traditions and explain how exactly they became traditions.

Read on to learn more!

32

Advent Calendars Deihnachts Kalender to CRACKED COM In the mid-1800s, German Lutherans made chalk marks on doors to count the days leading up to Christmas. The first printed advent calendar was created in 1908, inspired by the creator's mother's handmade version. — Origins Of 14 Christmas Traditions, Explained

31

Coventry Carol is a carol from the 1500s that references the events of Massacre of the Innocents in the Bible, wherein King Herod orders the killing of infants upon the news of Jesus' birth. Herod the King, in his raging, Charged he hath this day; His men of might, in his own sight All children young, to slay. GRAGKED.COM — Familiar Holidays That Have Dirty Little Secrets

30

Holly is hung for Christmas because it symbolizes Christ's suffering. The sharp leaves represent his crown of thorns, and the red berries represent the blood he shed. In German, holly is even called christdorn - literally, Christ thorn. CRACKED.COM — Familiar Holidays That Have Dirty Little Secrets

29

CRACKED.COM The world's first Christmas card featured underage drinking. The first commercial Christmas card, printed in the UK in 1843, showed three generations of a family drinking wine. Even a little kid is drinking, and an adult woman is holding the kid's glass. This was controversial, according to the UK Postal Museum, but people still bought the cards like crazy, starting a tradition. — Familiar Holidays That Have Dirty Little Secrets

28

CRACKED.COM The Christmas song Do You Hear What I Hear tells the story of the Star of Bethlehem leading the magi to Christ. Produced in 1962, the song's writers intended for the lyrics to also serve as a commentary on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Co-writer Noel Regney once said: In the studio, the producer was listening to the radio to see if we had been obliterated. — Familiar Holidays That Have Dirty Little Secrets

27

THE FIRST FRUITCAKES COME FROM EGYPT, WHERE THEY WERE BURIED ALONGSIDE MUMMIES TO TAKE INTO THE AFTERLIFE. IF ANUBIS HAD WEIGHED HEARTS AGAINST A FRUITCAKE INSTEAD OF A FEATHER, PARADISE WOULD'VE HAD AN 100% ADMITTANCE RATE. CRACKED.COM — Smithsonian Magazine

26

The real St. Nick wasn't so jolly. The Santa legend can be traced back to a 4th century bishop from Asia Minor. Не was persecuted for his Christian faith, but he also fought back. Literally. During the first Council of Nicaea, he punched a man whom he deemed a heretic in the face. CRACKED.COM — Familiar Holidays That Have Dirty Little Secrets

25

Bonkers Origins Of 32 Holiday Traditions — Familiar Holidays That Have Dirty Little Secrets

24

The word mistletoe may be derived from the old German mist, for dung, and tang, for branch. So you're basically kissing under the shit stick. CRACKED.COM — Familiar Holidays That Have Dirty Little Secrets

23

Our Halloween is rooted in the once-held belief that the dead would come back to exact their revenge. It was believed that the souls of the dead wandered the Earth until All Saints' Day. The night before, All Hallows' Eve (i.e. Halloween), these souls had one last chance to even the score with their enemies. To avoid being recognized by the spirits, people would disguise themselves in costumes and masks. CRACKED.COM — Familiar Holidays That Have Dirty Little Secrets

22

BEFORE COCA-COLA TURNED HIM INTO AN OBESE CARTOON, THE IMAGE OF SANTA DREW HEAVILY FROM THE NORSE GOD ODIN. ODIN OFTEN APPEARED AS A WHITE-BEARDED TRAVELER WHO REWARDED THOSE IN HIS FAVOR WITH GIFTS. GUESS AD EXECS WEREN'T AS INTO THE MISSING EYE AND 8-LEGGED HORSE. CRACKED.COM — History Daily

21

Since 1962, the Chicago River has been dyed green every year on St. Patrick's day. However, disodium salt, the green dye used to color the river until 1966, was later determined to have been harmful to the river's ecosystems. Due to rising environmental concerns, vegetable dyes are now used for painting the river green. CRACKED COM — Familiar Holidays That Have Dirty Little Secrets

20

CRACKED.COM WHY DO WE GET ORANGES IN OUR CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS? It's probably because the legend says that the first time St. Nicholas gave a gift, he left each maiden a ball of gold. — 21 Holiday Traditions With Shockingly Bizarre Origins

19

The Christmas Tree The traditional Christmas tree, the evergreen fir, has actually been used for winter festivals for thousands of years. The first time Fir trees were used as Christmas trees was in Europe about 1000 years ago, and at the beginning they were usually hung upside down from the celling. CRACKED.COM — 21 Holiday Traditions With Shockingly Bizarre Origins

18

EVER WONDERED ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CHIMNEY AS THE ENTRANCE OF CHOICE FOR JOLLY OLD SAINT NICK? CHIMNEYS WERE CONSIDERED A GATEWAY TO THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD, USED BY WITCHES & OTHER, LESS JOLLY CREATURES. CRACKED.COM — MentalFloss

17

Hattoween costumes were meant to be scary enough to frighten ghosts. In the ancient Celtic precursor of modern Halloween, people dressed as witches, ghosts, and goblins to avoid being possessed by them. However, shortly after Irish immigrants brought Halloween to America, efforts to remove frightening or grotesque elements from Halloween made costumes less scary and more festive. CRACKED.COM — 21 Holiday Traditions With Shockingly Bizarre Origins

16

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town was written by a man mourning his brother Beeds by HAVEN GILLESPIE Quic L FRED COOTS James Gillespie quickly wrote the song in order to travel to his brother's funeral. The song became a big success, which was unfortunate for Gillespie who couldn't listen to the song without remembering the inspiration behind the song: memories of waiting for Santa with his late brother. CRACKED.COM — 5 Beloved Holiday Traditions That Started Out Crazy Dark

15

Charles, Duke of Orléans wrote the first Valentine's letter in 1417 while under a 25 year imprisonment. Не wrote to his wife: I am already sick of love, my very gentle Valentine. CRACKED.COM — 21 Holiday Traditions With Shockingly Bizarre Origins

14

Playing Dreidel on Hanukkah might seem like a lot of fun, but the origin of the game is really dark. a د When Greeks ruled Syria, they outlawed the study of Torah. Young Jews had to learn it in secret, but even that wasn't too safe. If caught, the children pretended to play Dreidel to disguise their illegal religion studies. CRACKED.COM — 21 Holiday Traditions With Shockingly Bizarre Origins

13

During Mexico's Day of the Dead, women often dress up as a skeletal figure dressed in Western attire. It is known as 'La Catrina', and it originated from a caricature made by Jose Guadalupe Posadas in 1910 to mock rich Mexican people who ditch their Mexican culture in favor of Western culture. CRACKED.COM — 21 Holiday Traditions With Shockingly Bizarre Origins

12

Gingerbread Houses CRACKED.COM Queen Elizabeth I is credited with the idea of decorating gingerbread men, but gingerbread houses originated in 16th century Germany. They were either directly inspired or popularized by the story of Hansel and Gretel. — PBS

11

Baby New Year originated from the Greek god of fertility and wine Dionysus, who was NEW YEAR believed to be reborn each year. — 21 Holiday Traditions With Shockingly Bizarre Origins

10

In the colonial New England, Christmas was un-American The Puritans that populated the New England colonies frowned on Christmas celebrations since they didn't believe the Bible told us to celebrate it, even briefly outlawing it in the 17th century. CRACKED.COM — New York Times

9

The author of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer used the money to pay off his late wife's cancer bills by Robert L. May was a copywriter at a department store. Не was tasked to come up with a kid's book to give out to customers for free and created Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Since he was work-for-hire, May didn't receive any money for his incredibly famous character until he managed to convince the head of the department store to sign off the licensing to him, 8 years later. CRACKED.COM — Snopes

8

Santa's Reindeer CRACKED COM The Night Before Christmas in 1822 kick-started the lore. But, in 1926, businessman Carl Lomen, tried to mass-market reindeer meat by working with Macy's to create a parade featuring Santa and his (tasty) reindeer. — CNN

7

The first Christmas movie was made in 1898 The silent film Santa Claus is only a minute long, but was very advanced for its time. It used special effects to show parallel action and to create the illusion of a disappearing Santa. CRACKED.COM — BFI

6

Christmas carols were traditionally about being drunk The first (English) written mention of carols were in 1426, but it wasn't until the Victorian era that Christmas carols started being associated with the church over the pub. So if you really want to honor the tradition, get wasted and join in at karaoke at a bar. CRACKED.COM — BBC

5

Hiding Christmas Pickles CRACKED COM This tradition likely started as marketing gimmick. Woolworths made up stories about German customs to sell the imported vegetable ornament in the late 1800s. — Atlas Obscura

4

The first Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was decorated in trash Workers pooled their money in 1931 to spring for the 20-foot, unlit tree decorated with tin cans and garlands (made by workers' families). CRACKED.COM — Rockefeller Center

3

Nativity Scenes CRACKED.COM St. Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first nativity scene in 1223. Не set up a manger with a live OX and donkey while he preached to villagers about Jesus. — Slate

2

The President's annual turkey pardon has its roots in the coverage of the Iran-Contra scandal. President Reagan started talking about pardoning turkeys in 1987, as a way to dodge questions about pardoning those involved in the Iran-Contra scandal. His successor, George H.W. Bush, turned turkey pardoning into an annual tradition. CRACKED.COM — 21 Holiday Traditions With Shockingly Bizarre Origins

1

Saying Merry Christmas s merry Christory CRACKED.COM The phrase dates back at least to London, 1534, in a letter between Henry VIII's chief minister and a bishop. It became more prevalent with the 1843 publication of A Christmas Carol. — Wonderopolis

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