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I’ve collected these through the years, so I thought I’d share.
Dried Christmas trees are a serious fire hazard. Not really. Yes, if you had a short in your wires (and most lights these days are made not to do that) and it threw a spark, you could conceivably start a fire if your tree was really, REALLY dry, but the same thing could happen if you had an outlet short out and throw a spark onto your curtains. In other words, it’s not that likely.- Xmas is an attempt to take Christ out of Christmas. Actually, it’s not. X is a common abbreviation for Christ dating back to the 15th century. It has something to do with how Christ is spelled in Greek.
- The suicide rate increases during holidays like Christmas. Turns out that no one has ever proved such a correlation. Good to know! I always thought that was a particularly depressing bit of holiday info.
- Poinsettias are poisonous to humans. Nope! And thank goodness, since I think they’re pretty.
- The Immaculate Conception refers to the virgin birth of Jesus. This is one I didn’t realize was false, since I hear the term thrown around so much. Not being Catholic, I didn’t realize that it actually refers to the dogma that the Virgin Mary was, from conception, free of original sin.
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Photo by André Karwath
Eating turkey makes you drowsy.It might, but no more drowsy than say, eating a hamburger, which also has tryptophan in it.
- The fourth verse of “Twelve Days of Christmas” refers to “calling birds.” Actually, that’s a corruption of the original, which referred to “colly” birds, one term for blackbirds back in the day. If you look up “calling birds” in old books, they don’t appear anywhere. That’s because they’re “colly” birds. Oh, and don’t get me started on the “five golden rings”!
How many of these did you know about? Do you know any others? Are you as happy as I am that suicides do NOT increase at Christmas and that poinsettias aren’t poisonous?
69 Comments on “Seven Myths about Christmas”
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I knew about the Xmas and the colly birds, but you could have fooled me about the rest.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 4:07 am.
I was surprised myself by some of these. I only found out about the Xmas one recently!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:11 pm.
I didn’t know about most if not all of them, especially the suicide one. What I do know is that poinsettias aren’t good for your pets. Sabrina, what is that thing about the 5 gold rings? Please tell me!!!!!! * begs on knees while giving big puss in boots eyes*
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 5:07 am.
Okay, since you begged–the gold rings don’t refer to jewelry. They refer to “ring-necked pheasants,” according to that same source I linked to. All of the stuff involves a feast for Epiphany, which was the last day of Christmas in England in the old days. That’s why there’s so many birds–they’re birds to be eaten.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:13 pm.
Well, most I’ve never heard of. Many people here used real candles on the Christmas tree when I was a kid (my family not, though), so the drier the greater the fire Hazard might even be true. We never use real candles and none of our friends do, so I do not now how widely spread it is nowadays.
I didn’t know what Poinsettias are, I had to look it up. Here they’re calld Weihnachtsstern (Christmas Star) and I never heard of them being poisoneous.
Catholic theology is not my thing, so I do not know about that dogma.
Concerning the suicide rate: I thought it was proven that in Northern Countries (Finnland, Scandinavia) the suicide rate during the dark months is higher than in summer. But that doesn’t refer to Christmas (even though Christmas is around the shortset day/ in the middle of the period without sun).
Eating a lot – which coincides with Christmas quite often – always makes me drowsy, no matte what I eat. We never have turkey for Christmas though, not even the here traditional goose on 25th, since my father doesn’t like it (and nobody in our family misses it).
Incedently we have two names for blackbird too Amsel is the most common, but Schwarzdrossel exists too. But I do not know Twelve days of Christmas.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 5:13 am.
That makes sense about the suicide rate being higher in winter months in general. We need sun!!!
Sylvia, the Twelve Days of Christmas is a popular Christmas carol in England and America.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:15 pm.
I had no idea about any of them except X-mas. I always tempted fate by forgetting to water my tree though, so glad to know it’s a myth. Sylvia is right though, as I’m sure you know, Christmas trees used to have real candles and I’m sure that’s where that one comes from. We always have ham for Christmas dinner and still get sleepy so it must be just eating too much that does it, all the energy rushes to your stomach to deal with all that food I guess. Thanks for posting this, I am glad to know about the suicide rate as well. And I’m dying to know about the five golden rings, PLEASE tell!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 8:03 am.
Oh, yeah, candles would definitely light up a dry tree. But no one uses candles anymore, not here anyway. Do they?
We have ham for Christmas, too!
Okay, since you begged–the gold rings don’t refer to jewelry. They refer to “ring-necked pheasants,” according to that same source I linked to. All of the stuff involves a feast for Epiphany, which was the last day of Christmas in England in the old days. That’s why there’s so many birds–they’re birds to be eaten.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:16 pm.
OK, I never would have guessed that. I like golden shiny rings myself, I’ve had pheasant and it wasn’t my thing. It makes sense that it was all geared toward a feast though, it would be one heck of a party!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 3:12 pm.
I just read a study from an insurance company that 12% of the households use real candles on a Christmas Tree. That is quite a lot.
Posted on December 11, 2012 at 1:05 pm.
Knew about colly birds (learned the song at school) and the immaculate conception (from being a practicing Catholic). By the way, according to the Catholic calender, the day of Mary’s immaculate conception was 2 days ago on December 8. So that little tidbit was really timely
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 8:15 am.
Thanks for the info! I had no idea. You can tell *I* wasn’t raised Catholic!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:17 pm.
3, 6 and 7 are new info for me. Now I have to know the five golds rings story. You telling or should I google it?
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 8:25 am.
See the above!!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:17 pm.
I thought poinsettas were poisonous to animals. Not sure if that one’s right either. Otherwise I didn’t know any of those. And I’d like to hear about the five golden rings too.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 8:26 am.
From what I read, they’re not terribly poisonous for animals. And see above for the five golden rings!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 8:39 pm.
Pointsettias are not deadly for pets. according to the aspca, if they do eat some, they will get an upset stomach,diarrhea and vomit. which is not good, but it won’t kill them.
when i lived in Trinidad, out front path was lined with huge Pointsettia bushes. it was lovely!
I knew the one about Vigin Mary ( severely lapsed Catholic here)
The story of The 12 Days of Christmas song was a way for Catholics to secretly observe, when the religion was banned
” The partridge in the pear tree represents Him because that bird is willing to sacrifice its life if necessary to protect its young by feigning injury to draw away predators.
The two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments
The three French hens stood for faith, hope, and love.
The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The five golden rings rerepresented the first five books of the Old Testament, which describe man’s fall into sin and the great love of God in sending a Savior.
The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit—–Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit—–Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience [Forbearance], Goodness [Kindness], Mildness, Fidelity, Modesty, Continency [Chastity].
The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful Apostles.
The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in The Apostles’ Creed.”
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 9:10 am.
..and one time, my dad thought it would be a smart idea to have a tree topper angel that was a smoke detector. IT shorted and caught on fire. my mom had a great laugh that year! the tree didn’t burn at all.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 9:13 am.
Kathy,
THAT is an awesome story! I love that the tree didn’t burn at all.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 10:01 am.
Hilarious!!!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 10:18 am.
OMG, that’s hilarious!!!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:22 pm.
That’s awesome!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 1:23 pm.
This was fascinating. Thanks so much for sharing this.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 10:02 am.
Okay, y’all, don’t hate me, but that’s a myth, too. Sorry.
Here’s a link on Snopes if you want to check it out: http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/music/12days.asp
It makes a good story, though!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:22 pm.
Glad you posted that, I was going to refer to snopes as well.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:57 pm.
seriously? huh.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 4:26 pm.
I knew 1,4 and 6.
I have always heard that Poinsettias are poisonous to animals, but I have always had the plants and animals and I have never had a cat or dog sick off of them. I wonder if it’s true?
My daughter asked me yesterday why people say Xmas sometimes. I wasn’t sure of the answer, but now I know and will share that information with her.
I am off to search for the 5 golden rings!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 9:13 am.
From what I’ve read, an animal or human would have to eat a ton of it and then they might vomit. But it wouldn’t kill them.
See my answer to Kelly for the Five Golden Rings!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:25 pm.
With number 1 I always thought it was the candles and light shorts that caused increased fire risk. That the tree was just convenient fuel. Knew number two as well. The rest are happy news to me. Can’t remember any myths offhand myself.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 9:51 am.
I grew up hearing number two said as a truth, so it was news to me that it was false!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:26 pm.
I knew some of them ,but I am thrilled to find out poinsettias are not poisonous!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 10:18 am.
I know! Me, too. Not that I would ever eat one. On snopes, they said that a guy used to eat them to demonstrate they’re not poisonous, but he said they were the nastiest tasting things ever. Maybe that’s how the myth got started!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:27 pm.
Ok. If someone, or a pet, ate a lot of poinsettias then we could talk about damage. Otherwise no, a bite here and there won’t hurt!
I didn’t know many of those, so thank you for enlightening me! I always figured the suicide thing to be true because it is very easy to see people more depressed during this time of the year.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 10:29 am.
Yes, from what I gather–it would take a LOT of poinsettia to have a reaction and even then it wouldn’t kill you.
I know–I was happy to see that the suicide thing wasn’t true.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:30 pm.
I did know a few of them: “X-mas”, Immaculate Conception, and poinsettias.
As it turns out, we found out about the poinsettias when my 18 month old niece made her best attempt to make one her afternoon snack last year. Way not cool….but not deadly, thanks goodness!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 10:51 am.
They say they’re really nasty-tasting. I’m surprised she even wanted to eat it!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:31 pm.
I think the thing about dry Christmas trees refers to real candles on the tree? I know people who only do real candles, as in FIRE on the tree. Of course, that’s why they use an artificial tree.
I had no idea about Colly Birds!! Fascinating!! I always thought it was calling birds and that it meant they were singing.
I am thrilled to know that there are not more suicides during the holidays. That always depressed me hugely.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 11:51 am.
It depressed me, too! So I was pleased by that one. And I think it might be as Sylvia postulates above–that there are more suicides IN WINTER. Which makes sense, actually. It’s a dreary time, so if you’re prone to depression, you’d certainly be more depressed then.
I’ve seen claims that lights on a tree are problematic, but you’re right, it probably comes from using candles. You KNOW people who use candles on a tree? I don’t know anyone.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:44 pm.
Or if you have a Seasonal Disorder..SAD… which is helped by additional sunlight or some sort of special light, but I don’t know which kind..
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 3:49 pm.
My husband has that. He does much better if we can get out in the light.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 4:03 pm.
Hi Sabrina!
We often joked about it when we were young, when some girls who would get pregnant out of wedlock would say they didn’t know how it happened because they “didn’t do anything” hahaha….
I wish for you to have a wonderful “Xmas” hehehe…. and an awesome New Years.
Now to the list, I think I knew most of them, the one that I didn’t know about was the one about the turkey. But all of the others I did know.
BTW I was raised Catholic so I knew very well about the Immaculate Conception
Hugs and blessings to you and all the goddesses <3
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:39 pm.
Thanks, Delia!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:45 pm.
Hey, Jeffries, turkey always makes me drowsy. But ah, I think it’s probably because of the amount I eat. I’m a turkey pig, aka ‘a turpiggy.’ Heh!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 12:50 pm.
It’s funny, because I don’t like turkey all that much. I’d rather chicken any day.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 2:49 pm.
I had heard some of these, but not all. I love me some random facts and mythbusting!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 1:00 pm.
I know–it’s my favorite!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 2:49 pm.
Well, in a related sort of story, it was truly funny watching the news media go nuts over the Pope’s newest book about the Christmas story – they are all suggesting that, oh, look, the Pope’s trying to change or destroy Christmas, type of thing.
The thing is, what he wrote is really nothing new – most of us always knew that what we think of as the details of the birth of Jesus (it happened in December, snow around, he was born in what we call the year 0), were always wrong. The Pope is just pointing it out again.
Just must have been a really slow news weekend for them a couple of weekends ago.
Lois
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 1:04 pm.
I can’t believe anyone would dispute that! It’s pretty well-documented. Sheesh!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 2:50 pm.
The 12 days of Christmas was a way to communicate the story of Jesus – it was great for the conversion and secrecy in the 16th century.
From Catholic.net
With this as a background we can see the need for secrecy and deception. “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was written to educate the faithful in the doctrines of the faith and yet not be obvious to the persecutors. The numbers are simply a mnemonic to help Catholics remember some basic facts. Recall the words of the song. “On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: twelve lords a leaping, eleven pipers piping, ten ladies dancing, nine drummers drumming, eight maids a milking, seven swans a swimming, six geese a laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.”
“The Twelve Days of Christmas” celebrates the official Christmas season which starts liturgically on Christmas Day and ends twelve days later on the Feast of the Epiphany. “My true love” refers to God, “me” is the individual Catholic. The “twelve lords a leaping” are the twelve basic beliefs of the Catholic Church as outlined in the Apostles Creed. The “eleven pipers piping” are the eleven Apostles who remained faithful after the treachery of Judas. The “ten ladies dancing” are the Ten Commandments. The “nine drummers drumming” are the nine choirs of angels which in those days of class distinction were thought important. The “eight maids a milking” are the Eight Beatitudes. The “seven swans a swimming” are the Seven Sacraments. The “six geese a laying” are the Six Commandments of the Church or the six days of creation. The “five golden rings” are the first five books of the Old Testament called the Torah which are generally considered the most sacred and important of all the Old Testament. The “four calling birds” are the Four Gospels. The “three French hens” are the Three Persons in God or the three gifts of the Wise Men. The “two turtle doves” represent the two natures in Jesus: human and divine or the two Testaments, Old and New. The “partridge” is the piece de resistance, Jesus himself, and the “pear tree” is the Cross.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 1:13 pm.
Sorry, Carla, but that’s a myth, too, though it does make a lovely story.
Here’s a link on Snopes if you want to check it out: http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/music/12days.asp
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 2:51 pm.
I never got my head around the bit about “original sin”. Surely there can’t be any sins these days that are really original. I mean, I would have thought that most of them must have been done by somebody before.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 1:16 pm.
LOL! I don’t think they mean it that way–I think they mean “original” in terms of “the first,” but still . . .
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 2:52 pm.
I knew a few of those, but some are really eye openers. And it’s wonderful news regarding the suicide info as that was a depressing thought.
Wonder how the 12 days of Christmas came about….?
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 1:29 pm.
Do you mean the song or the cultural practice? The practice dates back to Medieval (and possibly earlier): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Days_of_Christmas
The song is at least 200 years old and probably originally French: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Days_of_Christmas_(song)
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 2:57 pm.
Hmm, many of these I knew, but colly birds is new to me.
According to a show on the Syfy channel, the Twelve Days of Christmas is a memory device created by the Mayans to help the chosen one to prevent the earth from ending. I can’t say how it worked out since I changed the channel after 5-10 minutes.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 1:29 pm.
LOL! Now that’s a new one. Hadn’t hear that one.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 2:57 pm.
I did not know 1 and 3 were myths and this is the first I’m hearing of 7. When you think about it, Christmas in December is a myth. Historians calculate Jesus was born closer to summer than in the winter.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 1:33 pm.
That’s true!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 2:57 pm.
Sabrina, what a fun post! I learned something, too. I knew about the X in Xmas and the poinsettia. The rest was news to me.
I love poinsettias. We’ve refrained from getting one the last few years out of concern that the leaves would drop on the floor and possibly poison the dog, but I had no idea whether they were poisonous for humans.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 2:23 pm.
Apparently they’re not even that poisonous for animals. So get one!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 2:58 pm.
Poinsettias are poisonous to dogs, though, right?
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 2:36 pm.
Even pets have to eat a lot to make them sick. Unless your house is full of them Moose should be alright!
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 2:56 pm.
What Kelly said.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 2:58 pm.
I knew the Immaculate Conception one. I made me some points with a prof in a grad art history course when I explained an entire book on the subject had it wrong.
I would not mind learning the real original words of the 12 days of Christmas, besides the colly birds. Lots of it makes no sense to me.
I did not know about the poinsettas, although I had heard more often that they are poisonous for pets. As for the suicides, that has been repeated so often! Every year that are those articles about depression around the holidays that repeat it. I wonder where and how it started.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 2:59 pm.
I think the suicide/depression one started perhaps with real studies about depression and suicide in winter. Then it just got attributed to Christmas.
Poinsettias aren’t really that poisonous for pets, either, apparently.
The thing about colly birds links to an article that explained that it’s really related to the feast of Epiphany (which comes at the end of the 12 days). All the birds are for the feast, the leaping lords are typical dancers for entertainment in the medieval feasts (think Morris dancers, I guess), the pipers are piping as entertainment, and several items are food (the five golden rings are for ring-necked pheasants, supposedly).
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 4:12 pm.
It sounds like the people who wrote those songs knew how to party. “Deck the Halls with boughs of holly/Don we now our gay apparel”. Yeah, lets get dressed up, eat pheasant, and whatever other birds we have, and don’t forget the figgy pudding. Then we can go around signing after we drink the Wassail. (There were both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions of Wassail–most were probably hot mead, according to Wikipedia).
I knew poinsettias weren’t poisonous, but don’t they look like they should be? All those deep red blooms just say “say away!”
I don’t put angels on top of trees. Why? All the archangels are guys–Michael, Gabriel, Aerial, Urial, et al. Some are rather violent. The Victorian women angels that we have today seem historically inaccurate, so I avoid the topic by using a star. Everyone can agree that stars exist.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 5:47 pm.
There are still lots of cultures where the 12 days of Christmas are taken as a serious time for feasting and making merry, i.e. imbibing. *G* I wish I lived in one, ha ha.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 6:12 pm.
I did know poinsettias aren’t bad for humans, but they are bad for kitties.
I think I knew about the 4th day of christmas.
What takes Christ out of Christmas is not going to church for it and not offering loving support to your fellow man. Spell it however you want.
The others I may or may not have heard, but they’re really interesting to hear again.
Did you know that our modern day version of Santa comes from the Coca Cola Advertising of the 1920′s?
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 7:07 pm.
Actually, Pesky, that’s only partly true. Twas the Night Before Christmas established that image (his belly like a bowl full of jelly, etc.) in 1823, when it was first published, and there are pics earlier than the Coke ads. See http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/santa/cocacola.asp
I know, I’m a geek know-it-all, aren’t I? Feel free to roll your eyes at me.
Posted on December 10, 2012 at 8:48 pm.