methinks

27 December 1992

Some Christmases Long Past

People like to schedule events on dates that are meaningful to them. Since Christmas is a very significant date, many church people in the past scheduled for Christmas Day such special events as the dedication of a church or the coronation of a king. But since Christmas overshadows every event, most people forget these events altogether.
Here are a few events that took place on past Christmas Days -- that only historians (and trivia freaks) remember.

In 496, Clovis, king of the Franks, and 3,000 of his warriors were baptized in the Cathedral at Rheims. Earlier that year, he had defeated the Alemanni at Tolbiac -- and, at the height of the battle, he had promised the God of his Catholic wife Clotilda that he would be baptized if he won the battle.
In 537, the Church of Santa Sophia in Constantinople was dedicated. When Emperor Justinian entered the church, he was reminded of the temple of Jerusalem and exclaimed: ``Thanks be to God, who hath permitted me to accomplish this work. Solomon, I have outdone thee!''
In 800, Charlemagne was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
In 1065, Westminster Abbey in London was dedicated. The next year, also on Christmas Day, William the Conqueror was crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey.
In 1101, Baldwin, count of Flanders, was crowned first Christian king of Palestine by Daimbert, archbishop of Pisa, before the victorious crusaders who had captured Jerusalem. The coronation took place in Bethlehem, in the Church of the Nativity, which was built over the cave where Christ was born.

        Similarly, we forget unplanned events that happened on Christmas Day. In our celebration of Christmas, we ignore poor St. Anastasia, whose feastday is Dec. 25 because she was martyred on Christmas Day, 304.
        We even forget the origin of the Christmas tree. The tradition started on Christmas Day, 724, when Winfrid, Apostle of the Germans, chopped down the giant oak sacred to the pagan god Thor and saved the eldest son of the chieftain Gundhar from being sacrificed to the God.
        Winfrid (who is better known as St. Boniface -- a name given to him by Pope Gregory II) -- declared: ``Not a drop of blood shall fall tonight, for this is the birth-night of the white Christ, son of the All-Father, and Savior of the World.''
        Then, he pointed to a pine tree, and said: ``This little tree, a young child of the forest, shall be your holy tree tonight. It is the wood of peace, for your houses are built of fir. It is the sign of endless life, for its branches are ever green. See how it points toward heaven!
        ``Let this be called the tree of the Christ-Child; gather about it, not in the wild woods but in your homes; there it will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts and rites of kindness.''
        Gundhar's men carried the tree to his house and set it up in the great hall and the sweet odor of balsam filled the entire room. This was the first Christmas tree.