By Pat Dial
In this Season of Christmas, we see a great number of Christmas symbols but most young people are not aware of their meanings. This is especially true of the throngs of consumers who shop in the downtown stores or attend the many social functions where there are Christmas trees and other decorations.

We will give you the meanings of some of the most usual symbols:-We often see “Christmas” spelled “Xmas” but always pronounced “Christmas”. The reason for this is that the Greek letter pronounced “Chi” represents “Christ” and “Chi” closely resembles an X in Roman script. Accordingly, the X in Xmas represents “Christ”; thus we pronounce it “Christmas and not X-mas.

The colours which are used in Christmas decorations are mostly green, gold, red and blue. The greens are found in the Fir (Christmas trees), holly and mistletoe. The gold, red and blue are found in the other decorations. Green has been inherited from the pre-Christian religions of northern Europe in which the Fir tree, holly and mistletoe were used to represent the Deity and as symbols of prosperity, protection and good luck. Gold represented the Sun and Light and were part of worship of all the ancient religions such as Hinduism. This colour were adopted by the Christian religion and given a Christian meaning as was Red which represented the blood of Jesus and blue which was associated with Jesus’ mother Mary. Blue also represented the sky and Heaven.

25th December was a symbol of Jesus’ birth day. Jesus was not born on 25th December, but 25th December was chosen by the Church in the fourth century to celebrate Jesus’ birth anniversary. The reason for the choice of 25th December was that 23rd December, the Winter Solstice, was the shortest day in the year. After the 23rd, the days gradually became brighter and longer since the Sun became more prominent. 25th December corresponded with the Roman festival of Saturnalia and the Teutonic (northern European) festival of Yule, both of which marked the Winter Solstice. 25th December, Christmas, thus removed any conflicts with Saturnalia and Yule of the older religions and absorbed many of their customs and symbols.

One of the most ubiquitous symbols of Christmas is Father Christmas or Santa Claus. Santa Claus derives from Saint Nicholas who was a Greek bishop of the city of Myra in Asia Minor in the fourth century. St. Nicholas was famous for his love and care of children, his generosity and freely giving gifts, especially to children. There are many stories of his miracles and his goodness. He became a legend over the centuries and representations of him dressed in his mitre and red bishop’s robes gradually evolved into the present Santa Claus. America played the major role in the creation of the modern Santa Claus. His reindeer and sleigh full of gifts developed simultaneously since one of St Nicholas’ attributes was that he could fly.

The coloured and golden balls which decorate Christmas trees and other places in homes represent the balls of gold which St. Nicholas threw into the home of a young woman who needed a dowry so that she could be married. And the stockings were among the favourite places he placed children’s gifts.
The poinsettia flower with its large red floppy petals and its green leaves is used in Christmas decorations both as bunches of flowers and as pictoral representations. It is one of the favourites on Christmas cards. It blooms at Christmastime.

There are two versions of how the flower received its name: the first is that it was named after the French nobleman dePoincy who explored the West Indies in the 17th century and the other is that it was named after the 19th century American Poinsett who brought it from Mexico to the US.
The Christmas Star which is usually of silver is very widely used in decorations. It represents the Star of Bethlehem which guided the Magi, the three Wise Men, to the place Jesus was born so that they could give him the gifts they had brought. Not to overstep the size limit of this article, we will mention only two other symbols: The red and white Candy Cane is found in all Christmas confectionery assortments and is a favourite of children.

The curved handle of the cane represents the shepherds’ crook or staff since the shepherds were present on the night of Jesus’ birth. If the cane is turned downwards, it becomes a J representing Jesus.
The other symbol is the silver bell. From medaeval times the biggest bell in the churches was rung to welcome the birth of Jesus and in the 19th century carolers walked with small bells to enliven their singing. The silver bell in addition to being part of decorations. is celebrated in some of the most loved Christmas songs.