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To kiss under the mistletoe tosuspended stockings, it may seemClassic Christmas Traditions are as old as the holidays itself. And if some rituals go back centuries, others are in fact relatively recent developments. Thanks to some poets, illustrators, entrepreneurs and famous brands, the image of Santa Claus and theChristmas customs have become more defined in the last 100 years, to shape it in the celebration we know and love today. To learn more aboutChristmas of more recent historyHere are the surprising scandals of some of the most familiar Christmas traditions!

A number of influences on theModern Christmas tree. Evergreens had been used in the winter festivals dating from the time of the ancient Romans, according toStory. They decorated their homes and temples with crowns and branches for Saturnalia, a six-day festival celebrating the Agricultural God Saturn. Trees have become particularly popular later in Germany as a holiday symbol.

Then, in the 19th century, it became more common to decorate branches with ornaments and tinsel. It was partly thanks to a1848 Sketch in theLondon news illustrated ofQueen Victoria andPrince Albert Around a tree at the Castle of Windsor, which draws the attention of the Americans and Europeans who wanted to follow theRoyal Trendsters. AsWilliam D. Crump explains inThe Christmas EncyclopediaAt the turn of the twentieth century, "one in five family in the United States has worn a Christmas tree; by 1930, the custom was almost universal." In fact, the firstChristmas tree of the Rockefeller Center Was placed in New York in 1931, followed by 100 feet 100 feet history in 1948, depending on history.

One of the main reasons it took time for Christmas trees to attach to the United States, it was difficult to find a tree unless you live near a forest or a wooded area. But everything started to change in 1851, whenMark Carr, a recorder living in the mountains of Catskill, read on the growing interest of trees. 1878New York Daily Tribune article, as cited byThe New York Times, Carr transported a high stacked oxef sled with "young fir and sapintes in New York. He set up a shop in theNow-deceased Washington Market and sold quickly. Thus, the lot of modern Christmas is born!

Originally, Christmas trees have been decorated with household items such as apples and cookies, then paper ornaments and dolls in the early 19th century, according to history. By the 1880s, retailers likeF. WOWORWORTH and its five-year-old stores and tenGlass ornaments popularized, often from German factories where they have been manufactured by hand. Illuminate the trees, the candles were the option tasted for decades, despite the fact that they would often because fire.

At the turn of the twentieth century, small lanterns and glass balls that can maintain candles have become more widely available. Electric Christmas lights (first invented throughThomas Edison associateEdward Johnson) would follow a combination in 1900.

It may seem likeRed and green have always symbolized ChristmasBut it was actually recently that they became the defined colors. According toBeelle Eckstut, co-author ofSecret language of colorIt was due to Holly and Coca-Cola. The first goes back to the celebrations of the winter solstice of Romans. "Holly is associated with the crown of thorns of Jesus," she saidNPR. "These beautiful bright red berries and these deep green leaves are the exact colors we [picture] when you think of Christmas."

Initially, a wide range of colors appeared on Victorian Christmas cards (Santa itself would wear blue dresses, gold and even green) Then a massive marketing push of Coca-Cola in 1931 changed everything:adsFeatures a red and white Santa Claus at the center, helping to confirm the now classic Christmas colors. "It solidified in our collective imaginations Red Dresses Santa with green fir and Holly and Poinsettia we already had in our minds," said Eckstut. "This particular shade of red and green Christmas has come to mean."

Although Coca-Cola deserves some recognition for the red and green Christmas colors of the official, it is not exactly accurate to give the single credit society (as many things to do) to invent the Santa Claus modern. The figure we know today came across a number of important influences from the early 19th century.

In 1823Clement Clarke Moore published his poem "A Visit from St. Nicolas" (better known as the" 'Twas the Night Before Christmas"), Which has forged parts play Santa Claus with his benevolent and religious aspects, and gave him many identifiable traits,his reindeer its round cut. But it wasThomas Nast, Popular illustratorHarper weeklyin the mid 1800s, which helpedCreate the image of man jolly making toys in his workshop. Then, according to theLos Angeles Times, Successors Nast asNorman Rockwell, Put the finishing touches on the figure while marketers, including Coca-Cola, helped the icon to become more deeply Enne of American culture.

But before Moore or Nast or RockwellWashington Irving's satiricalA New York Story, Published in 1809, one of the first referencesSaint Nicolas in the USA. He describes "Jolly among the trees, or on the roofs of houses and building great gifts of his pants pocket and dropping them into the chimneys of his favorites."

In 1823, " 'twas the night of Moore" before Christmas "has cited the idea of ​​Santa Claus with a sleigh with the verses:" When what to my eyes asking me appear / but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny Rein-deer / with a little old driver / driver with a small living if fast / I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick. "

In the Netherlands, Dutch children have longstuffed their hooves with hay and carrots, Leaving shoes outside the home on the day of Saint-Nicolas (6 December). According toSmithsonianMagazine, the story goes that Santa takes the food for his reindeer and replace coins or small treats for children to discover the next morning.

This idea was eventually transferred to the United States in the form of low farce. In 1823, Moore wrote how the Jolly Saint "fills all the stockings; then turned with a jerk / and jetame his finger aside of his nose / and giving head head, the chimney he rose." But using low really took off in the late 19th century as "a variety of storage designed for receiving Christmas gifts" was introduced, according to a 1883 article inThe New York Times. They were larger and more decorative than something a person would really, whichmakes much more festive fireplace and ensure the tradition continue.

The act ofwalk house to house to spread the holiday joy returns at least the fifteenth century as "Wassailers" would visit different houses, wishing well. However, it was not until the 19th century that singing songs becoming part of holiday fun with those of Victorian England merging traditional church sing with Christian folk music, accordingTime.

"At that time, it was far from a Christmas tradition of festivals like the day of May were also deemed worthy of caroling," according to the magazine. "In the 19th century, such as Christmas has become commercialized and popular, publishers have begun to expand anthologies of Carols, many of them old songs, also circulating in the larvae wide."

Many children todaySend letters to Santa ClausBut this was not always the case. The correspondence began in earnest SantaTo Children. He would write them, encouraging them to behave and describe how they were naughty or nice last year, accordingTime.

Soon, children started writing, place their fireplace and once the postal service became more widespread, through mail. Newspapers would publish and respond letters, as well as local charities before the post officepossibly intervened In the first half of the 1900s and took responsibility.

For centuries, the GUI has been associated with fertility and vitality, because it even flourishes during the coldest seasons. "Just how it made it that the sacred grass jump to the holiday decoration remains in the discussion, but the embrace tradition seems to have taken first on the servants in England before spreading to the middle classes", according toStory. The revealing of holidays will pick a unique bay of the mistletoe, kissing each time the berries were parties. A better known tradition was that men would be "allowed" to Smoooch a woman standing under the mistletoe. It should go without saying, however,that if you are celebrating the party this season, you would be wise to keep your lips yourself.