Christmas Traditions

'Why do we put a tree in our homes ?'

One night, Martin Luther went into a forest of evergreen trees. The trees looked so nice with the stars in the sky shining onto them that he decided to put a tree indoors, and he used candles to replace the stars that he had seen.

By Jade

'Why do we leave out a mince pie and a sherry?'

This tradition dates back to the time that trees were decorated in the house with bits of food. To keep any pets and rats and mice away from the tree, and to make sure they did nit nibble the food on the tree, a seperate supply of food was placed in the room - most often near a fire, or chimney. As the tradition of placing food on the tree was replaced with decorations, the need for keeping a plate of food by the fire was not needed. It remained though, and now we leave a mince pie and glass of sherry for Santa to eat during all his work.

'Why is Santa called Santa?'

Santa Claus is called Santa Claus because Dutch people called St. Nicholas Sinterklass. Over time his name has slowly changed to become Santa Claus.

By Bianca

'Why do we hang up a stocking by the fire?'

At Christmas we hang up a stocking by the fire because we hope that we might get gold and presents because Saint Nicholas once climbed on the roof of a house and dropped a bag of gold down the chimney and it dropped into a stocking hanging by the fire to dry.

By Sophie.

'Why does Santa always use the chimney, and not a door?'

The tradition of Santa coming down the chimney started with St. Nicholas. He did not like being known as a being generous, so gave money anonymously. He helped a young girl who could not afford to marry by dropping a bag of gold coins down the chimney where it landed in a stocking.

By Chelsie