Posted on : 15th December 2010
A superstitious belief is an irrational belief usually founded on ignorance or fear. Consequently the notion, act or ritual derived from such a belief is a superstition. Such a belief is never based on reason, it may be in continuity since decades or centuries past because nobody ever questioned the credibility or the basis of such a belief. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. The reason for so many superstitious beliefs being relative to Christmas is that many of its traditions have a pagan origin. The term "Pagan" is used to refer to ancient polytheistic religions. Therefore, all religions other than Christianity, Judaism and Islam are pagan in nature. Therefore, pagan influence here means influence of cultures not having a Christian basis. Christianity has imbibed traditions which do not originally belong to it, thus it is a religion with innumerable folk beliefs and superstitions.

We need to understand that many of the Christmas traditions and symbols have their basis in superstition. We will share some of these superstitious beliefs of Christmas related to divinations and predictions for the future.

Origin of Christmas
In ancient times, people would gather together around central hearths because it would become cold and inhospitable outside and loud celebrations were a way of showing the evil spirits that there were many human beings gathered at one place. To further protect each other from the evil forces charms and rituals developed in this fabric of celebrations. The significance of the date 21st of December known as the winter solistice was that it was considered a particularly vulnerable time for the evil spirits to pass through to our world and claim human victims.

Decorating our Homes
We decorate our homes with greens, from Christmas tree to holly to mistletoe. Evergreens are the symbols of long lasting and renewed life and therefore used to decorate our homes on Christmas. Though our ancestors also used ivy, rosemary, bay, laurel and anything which was still green in the winter months where Christmas was being celebrated. The tradition of not erecting the Christmas tree and not decorating before Christmas Eve is to not anger the evil forces that a celebration is is going to happen. Holly is used for its protective powers against witches and lightning. Holly is supposed to be masculine in nature and Ivy feminine, that leads to their being united at Christmastime celebrations.Mistletoe is also supposed to have protective powers against witches, lightning, poison, whooping cough, epilepsy and infertility. This is precisely the reason that dried mistletoe is kept hanging in homes the whole year. Kissing under the misteltoe, berry plucking, keeping a sprig of mistletoe are customs relative to mistletoe, it being a symbol of fertility. Christmas tree, holly and Ivy should be disposed off after Christmas, evergreens brought home from the church though, are considered to be lucky and should be hung in the house all year to bring good fortune.

It being one of the most widely celebrated festivals all over the world, people of various cultures have their own adaptations when it comes to celebrating Christmas. Therefore, the subject related to Christmas superstitions is very vast. We will continue with more on Christmas beliefs and superstitions in the coming articles.