Christmas Stories : What Makes Them So Popular
Christmas Stories are always fascinating, but we hardly try to find out why we have so many stories on Christmas. Elizabeth Harrison’s “Little Gretchen and the Wooden Shoe” or “A Christmas Star” by Katherine Pyle gives some of the religious flavor of Christmas.
What the stories are actually about? These are not always religious. The mystical power of mistletoe has its origin in the legend of Goddess Frigga and her son Balder. The story unfolds a very important Christian theme, the theme of love and well being of all. One cannot really label the connection as “pagan” as the spirit is highly Christian but the Goddess was a mythical persona..
There are fabulous stories relating the birth of Christ which attract the children most. Mario and Pablo, the two poor brothers and sisters decided to decorate the bed of the baby Jesus with weeds as they could not afford expensive gifts for Him. The miracle happened when the weeds turn out to be red star shaped flowers. The legend really does not have the name of the flower in it. The name comes from another story. Dr. Joel Poinsett, the first ambassador to Mexico bought the red star shaped flower to U.S. Thus we get the name from this person. The legend is a fine blending of a myth and a reality.
The legend of candy cone is highly interesting and secular in spirit. One can trace back its origin in Cologne Cathedra where children were not paying attention to choirmaster on a particular day. The choirmaster gave them long, white sugar candy stick in order to keep them quiet. He knew that giving out chocolates and candies in the church was sacrilegious and so he gave them the shapes of shepherd’s cane who went to worship the Christ on the day He was born. Here comes the