The Magic of Christmas

Kevin Coolidge



Our American Christmas has become bright and shiny. Certain attitudes, practices, and beliefs have been trimmed away. It’s the nature of tradition. Some customs survive for centuries and others perish almost as soon as they are born, but if you aren’t afraid, I can show you a deeper, darker season.

It’s a popular belief that Christmas as we know it is essentially a Pagan celebration. It’s true that there are many pagan traditions that have become cherished Christmas favorites, but it’s only a fragment of the story. Some of the creatures introduced in The Old Magic of Christmas written by Linda Raedisch are certainly heathen, while others are from the imagination of Christian minds. The majority are a weird twisting of the two.

If I mention elves, you may think of friendly little creatures in Santa’s workshop, but the elves in this book have no interest in crafting toys. They have, however, always been a part of Christmas, even if their feast was held in October. According to many traditions, it is best to keep on the good side of these mysterious creatures, and that might mean gifts of milk, blood, or even gold.

Today’s children know to start behaving in early December, or they may not receive that one special present. The closer the 25th comes, the lesser the threat of an empty, or coal filled stocking. The truth is that there is little fear in the twenty-first century American Christmas.

Fear has a face for Czech children. It looks like an upright goat, but has the face and hands of a man. His foot-long scarlet tongue prevents you for mistaking him for either. It’s the demon Cert*. In one hand he carries a birch switch, and in the other an empty basket. Naughty children face the possibility of being carried off to Hell.

If you lived in Iceland, you could receive a visit from Jolakottur, the “Yule Cat” This Christmas Cat would begin his prowl in the autumn when everyone was supposed to be involved in the hard work of preparing for the harsh winter. This included spinning and knitting wool that had been shorn in the spring and weaving new garments for everyone in the household.

Anyone who didn’t pitch in would not get their yearly payment of new clothes at Christmas. If you were walking with holes in your trousers on Christmas Day, it marked you as a tasty meal for the Yule Cat. It’s probably not a coincidence that Icelanders put in more overtime than most Europeans.

Enjoy your fancy and modern Christmas, but before you rush headlong into Christmas morning, you might want to approach your stocking with a little extra care. Maybe take a little time to admire the wrapping paper, and the carefully placed bow that lies beneath the sparkling tree.

Was the gift last touched by elves? Does it still pulse with magic? Did you remember to leave milk and cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer**? And what about the old man in red? Just how can he still be so jolly and alive after two thousand years???

*Cert is also known as Krampus in Germany and Austria. What can I say, he’s a demon. He gets around.

** You are not going to believe this, but the origin of Santa’s reindeer is Sleipnir, the offspring of Loki from when he had shape-shifted into a mare and impregnated. He did gift this eight-legged, bastard, war stead to Odin. So, everything turned out great…

Light a candle? Or Curse the darkness? Email me at from_my_shelf@yahoo.com and let me know. Miss a column? The past is revealed at http://frommyshelf.blogspot.com Hobo, the bookstore cat, wishes all his readers a very, merry Christmas and cat filled New Year, but not Yule Cats, because that’s scary…