Рождественские игры, традиции и обычаи.
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CHRISTMAS GAMES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS

Where Do They Come From?

1. Christmas (Middle English cristmass, Old English Cristes maessa) is a hybrid word derived from Latin Christus literally meaning "the annointed one" and Old English maesse borrowed from Latin meaning literally "dismissal" which came to mean "mass, festival", because of the allusion to the words "ite, missa est" - "go, the congregation is dismissed," the words used at the conclusion of the service (Skeat, 1963).

2. The Twelve Days of Christmas is a period from December 25 to January 6. Before the 5th century, there was no consensus as to when the Nativity of Jesus Christ should come in Calendar - whether on January 6 or December 25th.

Syrians and Armenians clang to January 6. Juvenal introduced the feast of December 25. In    Britain, December 25 was a festival long before the conversion to Christianity. The three wise men are believed to have brought the first gifts to the Christ Child in the manger on January 6, Epiphany (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

There "used to be the custom to eat one mince pie2 on each of the twelve days of Christmas. That way you'd have good luck for all the months of the year".

Twelfth Night-January 5-was once surrounded by customs and legends. A Twelfth Night Cake was always baked, with a bean and a pea inside. Whoever found the bean was named King of the Revels; the pea proclaimed the Queen. A Twelfth Night Cake is still served in the green room of Drury Lane Theatre in London. Attendants wearing powdered wigs and 18th century livery carry in the cake, courtesy of Robert Baddeley, a chef turned actor. He died in 1784, leaving 100 pounds sterling to be invested each year in his memory.

Twelfth Night marks the end of the Christmas season in Britain and all the Christmas decorations must be removed unless so families will have bad luck, and goblins might get in and make a mess (Christmas in Britain, 1978, 43).

3. Hoodman blind is an old name of the game presently known as "Blind man's Buff" or "Blind man's Bluff". In this game, one person is blindfolded and tries to catch and identify one of the others, who, on their part, push him about, and make sport with him. It can be comparable to Russian "zhmurki" ("жмурки") (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1945).

4. Shoe the Wild Mare is a childish Christmas game known since 1609. There are three possible sources of the game. The first one is described as follows: "Shoeing the wild mare … was a diversion among our ancestors more particularly intended for the young, and...the Wild Mare was simply a youth so called, who was allowed a certain start, and who was pursued by his companions with the object of being shoed [sic], if he did not succeed in outstripping them" (Avedone, Sutton-Smith, 1971)

According to the second version, Shoeing the Wild Mare may go back to the Gaelic game of the same title, but it was played differently: "A beam is suspended from the roof by two ropes of about equal length, and high enough from the ground to prevent anyone astride [the beam] touching the floor with his feet. The feat consisted in keeping [one's] seat on this white mare without touching the ropes. When [the game] is called "shoeing the mare" the rider is supposed to be the smith, and has a piece of wood in his hand to drive in the nail of the shoes, striking the lower part of the beam four times eight blows. He who could complete the shoeing of the horse without being thrown off was of course a master of smith craft" (ibid.)

The third possible source is the game Seesaw in which a plank is balanced at the middle with two players alternatively riding up and down while seated at opposite ends. (Oxford English Dictionary)

5. Hot cockles is a rustic or childish play, in which one covers his or her eyes, and guesses who strikes him. "One person kneels or lies face downward in the center of the room and is blindfolded." The others in turn tap him on the shoulder, and he tries to guess their names. If he guesses correctly, that person takes his place". "Here is a letter that was printed in magazine in 1711: "I am a Footman in a great Family and am in love with the House-maid. We were all at Hot-cockles last night in the Hall these Holidays; when I lay down and was blinded, she pull'd off her shoe, and hit me with the Heel such a Rap, as almost broke my Head to Pieces. Pray, Sir, was this Love or Spite?" (Christmas in Britain, 1978). This game corresponds to the Russian game "Zhuchok" ("Жучок").

6. Steal the White Loaf. There are several descriptions of similar games. It might belong to the "treasure" types of leader games where "the leader stands with her back to the players and with the treasure - a stone, tin or ball - behind her. The players creep up and try to steal her treasure before she turns round and catches them ...If she escapes to the safety of the base, the leader must continue to be He, the most common term for "It" in N

7. ew Zealand, where the author did his research" (Sutton-Smith, 1972, 70).

Other names for the game include "The Giant and his Treasure," "Get the Keys". "Giant's Treasure" is more often the name of a related Scout game in which the person in front, who is blindfold or has his back turned, guards a knife, a bottle or other object, which the players try to snatch from him without being heard" (Opie and Opie, 1969, 195).

Another name for the game may be "Stealing the Honey Pot" or "Snatch the Handkerchief": "One player is the It. The others divide into two teams and stand on opposite sides of the room. The players on each team are numbered 1, 2, 3, etc. The It places a large handkerchief in the center of the room, its center pointed upward like a small tent. The It calls a number. The two players bearing that number, one from each team, run out to snatch the handkerchief. When one gets it, he must run back to his line without being tagged by the player from the opposite team. If the player is tagged before he reaches his line, the other team scores 1; if not, his team scores 1. The team having the highest score wins." (Wood and Goddard, 1938, 582).

8. Bob Apple is a game in which players try to bite or seize with the mouth an apple while it is swinging on a string or floating in the water (Webster's New International Dictionary, 1915).

9. Snap-dragon, a game in which raisins are snatched from a vessel containing burning brandy, and eaten. A similar game is called "flapdragon" (Webster's New International Dictionary, 1915). This is how this game is described in the book "Christmas in Britain": There was a large shallow bowl full of flaming brandy with raisins in it. We'd try to grab as many raisins as possible with our fingers - and eat them" (Christmas in Britain, 1978).

10. Mistletoe, a European plant, growing parasitically on trees, with thick yellowish-green leaves and yellowish flowers and, in winter, small waxy white glutinous berries. It grows pendent from various trees, especially the apple, rarely the oak; when found on the latter it was held in special veneration by the druids, who believed it had miraculous power which protected people both from illness and witches. The druids cut it from the trees with a golden sickle and handed it to the people. It became a symbol of goodwill and friendship when it was hung in houses. The modern Christmas custom of kissing under the mistletoe probably originated from this. (Webster's New International Dictionary, 1915). In the old days Christmas forbade the mistletoe because of its association with the Druids. (Christmas in Britain, 1978, 22).

Out of holly, mistletoe and other greenery, so called "kissing bough" was made. It hung from the rafters. Each time a couple danced beneath the globe, the man gave his partner a resounding kiss. "The Kissing Bough was the center of the Yule festivities before Christmas trees became popular in England" (Christmas in Britain, 1978, 25-26).

11. Yule Clog (log) is a large log of wood (usually, oak log) that formed the backlog of the fire at Christmas. Brought by Scandinavian invaders, the custom of burning the log became an English Christmas tradition. A massive log was dragged from the woods to the fireplace. It was accompanied with ceremonies. Once set aflame, the Yule log was meant to burn throughout the Christmas season. "The bits left over, were kept to start the new log the following year" (Christmas in Britain, 1978, 31-32).

12. A Carol is a Christmas song or hymn, a popular song or ballad of religious joy sung now everywhere: on the radio, TV, in church, in school. Once it meant a dance in a ring to the accompaniment of song to make merry. In early days of the Christian Church when the bishops sang carols on Christmas day it meant a song of praise or devotion (Christmas Carols; Christmas in Britain; Encyclopaedia Britannica, etc.). One of the most popular Christmas carols is T'was the Night Before Christmas. It is so popular that one can find different versions used jokingly humorously. Allusions to the carol are widely used in advertising, too.5

13. Parliament under the Commonwealth," "the Puritans' orders": In the 1640s ..."a group of people called Puritans, led by Oliver Cromwell, took over the country. The Puritans felt that the old ways of celebrating Christmas and other holidays had gotten out of hand, and finally Parliament abolished all religious festivities. Christmas was to be just another working day. The people rebelled. There were riots, and one mayor was beaten senseless by a mob. But the government held firm and slowly, Christmas just about disappeared. On the surface, at least. Most people still celebrated it, but secretly - there was no more merrymaking... The Puritans even went so far as to ban mince pies... Because at one time mince pies were baked in an oblong shape, to look like a manger. They often had a little image of the Christ Child on top. The Puritans thought that was too religious. So mince pie went into hiding, too. Later folks began to bake them again, but they were round and much smaller... Christmas came back in 1660 when Charles II became king" (Christmas in Britain, 1978, 32-33).

14. A Morris Dance, also called a morisco, is an old dance on festive occasions. The origin of the name is doubtful, probably, from Spanish or Latin. It is clear that it meant "Moorish Dance," though the reason for it is not quite certain. In the reign of Henry VIII (1509-47) the Morris dance was an almost essential part of the principal village festivities. In earlier times it was usually danced by 5 men and a boy dressed in a girl's habit who was called Maid Marian. There were also two musicians and "a foreman of the morris," more gaily and richly dressed than the others. The garments of the dancers were ornamented with bells tuned to different notes so as to sound in harmony. Characters of the Robin Hood legend: Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, Little John, were introduced later when the dance came to be associated with the May-games.

The morris dance was abolished along with the May-games and other festivities by Puritans and revived at the Restoration. Though the dance is now wholly discontinued, it's probable that some of the original elements of it still survive in a country-dance, which under the same name is still popular in the north part of England (Encyclopaedia Britannica; Skeat).

15. Pig's head. The tradition to serve a pig's head, decorated with rosemary, with a lemon (or an orange) in its mouth, at Christmas goes back to the following legend "Long ago, ... wild boar were common in England's thick forests. Dangerous beasts they were. There's a story about that. A student at Oxford University went off to study in the forest one day, and was attacked by a boar. To save himself the boy shoved his copy of Aristotle down the animal's throat and choked it to death. He brought the boar's head back to school, where it was duly roasted and eaten. The book was saved too. Even today at Queen's College, Oxford, they celebrate the ancient Boar's Head Ceremony. The choir sings a traditional carol and the chief singer is presented with the orange from the boar's mouth" (Christmas in Britain, 1978, 30). An orange or a lemon symbolizes the book that saved the student's life.

16. A pie decorated with a peacock tail was served at Christmas. The custom of eating peacock pies can be traced back to old days when the peacock was a favorite dish. They skinned it, roasted it and then put back the plumage...The nobility ate many strange things in those days - swans and wild cranes, porpoises, squirrels, and even whale. Roast beef, too, of course. Kings in olden times were quite accustomed to giving sumptuous banquets. Henry III ordered 600 oxen slaughtered for Christmas in 1252. King Richard II supposedly employed 2,000 cooks - but he had to. It's recorded that he fed 10,000 people every day, let alone at Christmas.

And Henry VII offered his guests 120 dishes for one holiday feast. Even much later on, in 1770, there was a famous pie, concocted for a baronet, Sir Henry Grey. It weighed 165 pounds and was nine feet around - stuffed with rabbits, ducks, geese, snipes, pigeons blackbirds, and lots of other things. Had to be wheeled in on a special cart." (Christmas in Britain, 1978, 30).

17. Wassail is the ancient form of a salutation to a person, used in England in early times when presenting a cup of drink or when drinking to a person's health (Old English waes "be" + hail "hale" (< Scand.). Thus, OE. waes hal meant "be of good health," literally, "be hale") W. Skeat assumes that the form is not Anglo-Saxon but Norman. Later the phrase started to be applied to the Christmas feasting and revelries and particularly to the bowl of spiced ale or wine which was a feature of the mediaeval Christmas. At the reception of king Vortigern by Hengist, chief of the Jutes, who with his brother Horsa led the Teutonic invasion of Southern Britain c. 440. Rowena "came into the king's presence, with a cup of gold filled with wine in her hand, and making a low reverence unto the king said, "waes hal, hlaford cyning" which is "Be of health, Lord King."

In Henry VII's reign (1485-1509) the steward on Twelfth Night cried "Wassail" 3 times on entering with the bowl. Wassailing was as much as a custom in the monasteries as in laymen's houses, the bowl being known as poculum Caritatis. (Random House College Dictionary, 1988; Skeat, 1963). Citing Washington Irving's publications on the English and their Christmas, James Munson writes that wassail potation was composed of "richest and raciest wines, highly spiced and sweetened, with roasted apples bobbing about the surface" (Irving's citation). "Sometimes the wassail mixture would consist of ale along with nutmeg, sugar, ginger and sometimes, crab apples or toast" (Munson, 1988, 56).

18. A Christmas Masque was an elaborate entertainment in England in the 16th and 17th centuries."Play-acting has been part of English Christmas time entertainment for hundreds of years. Mystery plays, portraying episodes in the life of Christ were popular in the Middle Ages. There were miracle plays, too, religeous dramas about saints and martyrs. In the royal courts, masques were once a favorite holiday fare. They were pageant-like theatricals in verse, in which the performers were dressed in elaborate costumes and masks. Kings and queens often took roles themselves, and in the 1600's several masques were written especially for the royal family by Ben Jonsen, the famous dramatist. By the 1700's, masques had disappeared replaced by the pantomime. (Christmas in Britain, 1978, 47).

19. "Ancient Christmas", "Dame Mince-Pie", "Maid Marian", "Roast Beef", "Plum Pudding" are the characters traditionally participating in Christmas performances. One of the personages, Maid Marian, was incorporated in the English legend of Robin Hood. In some ballads on Robin Hood her name is only twice mentioned, but there is a later ballad, by a certain S.G., which tells how Maid Marian sought Robin in the forest disguised as a page, and fought with him for an hour before she recognized him by his voice. There are at least three semi-historical legends mentioning three different Matildas persued by King John who might have been turned into Maid Marian by the Elizabethan dramatists. Maid Marian seems to have become an essential feature of the morris dance (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

20. "Misrule", also "The Lord of Misrule". As W. Skeat mentions,"the lord of misrule" first occurred in 1491, and later in 1503, in the Privy Expenses of Elizabeth of York. The Lord of Misrule acted as the leader, sort of a master of ceremonies, for the Christmas revels. The custom goes back to pagan practice of ancient Rome to celebrate Saturnalia with geat feast in December, around the time of the winter solstice. Everything was turned topsy- turvy. Masters had to serve their slaves, men and women exchanged clothing, and many wore grotesque masks. In medeaeval England Saturnalia became part of the Christmas festivities. Kings and nobles chose Lords of Misrule to reign over entire holiday season, from Chirstmas to Twelfth Night and to use all their imagination - and large quantities of money - to think up games and amusing things to do. Even kings and queens had to obey the Christmas Lord's orders. The custom continued for hundreds of years. (Henry VII and Henry VIII loved it). Usually the Lord of Misrule wore tights and rainbow-hued costume, a swopping hat that had long peacock feathers attached to the crown, a huge ruffled collar circling the neck and an ermine-bordered cape falling from the shoulders. Christmas in Britain, 28-29; Skeat).

21. Pantomime, the proper sense of the word "one who expresses his meaning by action", though later it was used for the play itself, "a dumb show". In present-day Britain pantomime is a very noisy winter show full of shouting and singing from the audience as well as the actors. The story of a pantomime is always well-known: Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Snow White. The origins of pantomime go back to the Italian folk comedy of the 16th century called comedia dell'arte with its visual humor, practical jokes, dancing, singing. Modern audiences do not want pantomimes to change too much (Пароятникова, Полевая, 1990).

In the United States, Christmas plays are very common. This is a generic name for any play performed during the Christmas season. It includes Nativity scenes, Christmas Pageants (that relate the story of Christ's birth and are usually performed at church), Christmas spectacle, Christmas production. The most popular are Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Dr. Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, etc. (Zhukova, Lebedko, 1999).