There are customs that always return around this time of year, such as turning on the lights, gatherings with loved ones, special meals, gifts, nativity scenes, and parades. Christmas is a collection of traditions.
Christmas is the quintessential holiday, a time for family gatherings and reunions, celebrations with friends, where both believers and non-believers prepare for the festivities. But why is it Christmas? Celebrating the birth of Jesus on that date perfectly coincided with the winter solstice. It has many similarities to the rebirth of life; light begins to predominate and the days grow longer. "The processes of assimilating a culture are usually long, but they occur without too much fanfare; it's a modernization, as is happening now when we adapt to the needs of the moment," explains Amadeu Carbó, folklorist and writer, author ofWe celebrate Christmas: When, how and why of the biggest holiday(Morera Editions, 2016).
What does Christmas represent?
On the one hand, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, which can be interpreted as a matter of faith, but it is also the celebration of the birth of a cultural myth, one of the foundational myths of our culture: "We Westerners are culturally Christian," the folklorist reminds us. On the other hand, Christmas celebrates life; it is a celebration with significant connotations of family festivities, to the point that one of the central acts of the Christmas celebration is a family meal: Christmas lunch is not just any lunch, and beyond what we eat, it is very important. Around the table, many things are symbolically explained: "To begin with, we don't use everyday linens; the tablecloth or cutlery might remind us of family ancestors. By setting the table, we give it a sacred status." At the same time, the space is often transformed to set up the Nativity scene or the Christmas tree, and to accommodate the guests, who also don't sit just anywhere; there is a hierarchy, and each family has its own. Often, the younger members sit at one end of the table and the older ones at the other, presiding over the meal. "It's also a meal where the family group is redefined, giving us a snapshot of that moment in the family's life, revealing absences, births, or new additions to the family unit," Carbó points out. In-laws are often interchangeable because they are dependent on one another; they are not full-fledged members.
Traditions that are maintained and new ones that are incorporated
In the 21st century, Christmas Day, while still important, is no longer as exceptional and has many similarities to Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, or even Epiphany, with similar meals being prepared. Carbó explains this by pointing to the waves of migration in the 1950s, which led to the incorporation of traditions from the immigrants' places of origin: "Furthermore, we've become more practical; families spread out visits to relatives and friends throughout the holidays."
Christmas lights on Gran Via in Barcelona.Pere Virgili
The desire to celebrate holidays collectively is what allows them to endure. "Tradition must also be useful to the group; otherwise, we're celebrating something lifeless. Imagine a Christmas lunch where there are no children left, and the adults just recite the verses," Carbó suggests. The children's presence in the foreground allows them to be the protagonists and celebrates the continuity of the family unit. And what do new traditions contribute? They enrich the celebration and give it meaning. In such a globalized world, we enrich family celebrations by contextualizing them within our existing mental and cultural frameworks.
Cultural constructs fluctuate; some traditions have been lost, others transformed, and some, like the Song of the Sibyl, which had fallen into oblivion, are now being revived. "It used to be common to go to Midnight Mass, whether you were a believer or not, but now few people go. Some places are making it easier for older people and call it the 'Chicken Mass,'" he explains. Over the years, we've adopted many Christmas aesthetics as our own, such as Central European conifers, bright green and red baubles from Hollywood, and carols that have been superseded by a Christmas soundscape of American standards.
What you can't do without
The uncle
The Tió, like mistletoe and the tree, is one of the plant elements that has been venerated and is one of the elements of Christmas and winter festivities that has not undergone excessive Christianization. Previously, the Tió was not infantilized; it had no face and did not wear a barretina (a traditional Catalan cap). A log about to be burned was taken from the fireplace, and that was the Tió, which would "poop" nuts or other modest things. In the symbolic world, it represents the continuity of the family group; it is the fire that never goes out. It was a mountain ritual that entered a period of crisis with industrialization and the migrations of the late 19th century because there were no fireplaces in the cities. It almost disappeared, linked to social custom, until Banca Catalana financed a campaign with aucas (a type of Catalan folk art) and the infantilization of the Tió, which took hold and spread everywhere.
The caganer
There are no cultural exclusivity; caganers can also be found in Murcia or Portugal. It's a figure from the popular nativity scene that was incorporated towards the end of the 13th century. Before then, it was only found in convents or palaces, where people displayed their nativity scenes as a point of pride. From the moment nativity scenes entered homes, figures from everyday life of the time appeared: the hunter, the fisherman, or the old woman spinning, who have become typical figures. The caganer is a satirical figure within the nativity scene, a counterpoint that breaks with the dimension of the sacred narrative and the birth of the Messiah.
The Shepherds
This tradition is very old, dating back to medieval times, when theatrical plays depicting the birth of Jesus were performed in churches. It was a tool for conveying a specific message, which became popular, spreading beyond the churches to cultural centers and theaters in many towns.
Living Nativity Scenes
They are a very modern addition. The first living nativity scene was promoted in Escaldes-Engordany in 1955 by the intellectual and cultural activist Esteve Albert. In Catalonia, the first was in 1959 in Castell d'Aro, which did not continue over time, despite having been revived. And the one in Corbera, which began in 1962, incorporated a major innovation that caught on and set the trend for living nativity scenes from then on: a route where you move through the nativity scene and encounter the different scenes.
Christmas and religion
Nadal demonstrates the cultural integration of religion: "These festivities have become a more cultural celebration that takes precedence over the more religious aspects, and interpreting them as cultural perpetuates the social hegemony of the celebration," argues Víctor Albert-Blanco, a sociologist and researcher at the IS. These processes of cultural integration are not exclusive to Christianity; in a context of diversity like the present one, they also occur in other religions. The sociologist asserts that the years the nativity scene in Barcelona's Plaça Sant Jaume has generated controversy with those who argue that the nativity scene should remain in its pure form and cannot be modernized demonstrate that it is a religious and political debate, and that boundaries are constructed culturally and politically.
![Christmas lights on Gran Via in Barcelona.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1600 1066"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
