Catherine Henderson offers inspiration for gifts to give. Photo: All photos Catherine Henderson.
The gifts we bring
Catherine Henderson offers inspiration for gifts to give
‘We three Kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar’
- John Henry Hopkins
Giving presents at Christmas time is a tradition dating back long before the birth of Jesus. In Ancient Rome people gave each other gifts on 23 December as part of Saturnalia, a week-long festival with lots of partying in honour of the god Saturn. As Christianity gradually spread through the Roman empire, the giving of presents became associated with the Magi bringing gifts to the baby Jesus, and with a fourth-century bishop, saint Nicholas – Santa Claus – who gave gifts to the poor.
Then there’s Father Christmas, a figure from English folk tradition who is quite possibly connected to the Norse god Odin. Odin, who looked more like Gandalf than Father Christmas, flew through the sky on a cart pulled by an eight-legged flying horse, leaving presents in children’s boots.
So gift-giving at Christmas is a fascinating mish-mash of ancient traditions from different parts of the world. In this cold, dark time of the year, people have always come together for feasting, singing and enjoying each other’s company. Just as there are different customs in different countries – our Danish neighbours, for example, open their presents on Christmas Eve, whereas we have to wait till Christmas Day – each family has their own way of doing things, their own traditions. And slowly, over time, these change and evolve as people bring new ideas.
Last year my daughter, who lives in Japan, brought us presents wrapped in pieces of cloth called furoshiki. We can reuse these to wrap our own presents – they last much better than the torn pieces of wrapping paper we always try to fold up and keep in a drawer. You can make your own furoshiki using pieces of cloth from a ‘rag bag’, rectangles cut from old sheets or pillowcases (you can decorate these with fabric pens, if you like), or scarves from charity shops.
Here is another idea, this time from Scandinavia. Slice a couple of oranges or other citrus fruits about half a centimeter thick and lay the slices along the top of a radiator, on a piece of loo paper, to dry. (You can also do this in a very low oven for a few hours, on racks lined with greaseproof paper, or in the airing cupboard.) I left mine for several days, turning them over occasionally. They stayed sticky for quite a while. I joined them together in a string, with a few star anise pods (optional) using very fine wire, though any strong thread would work. Then I hung the string in the window. It looks beautiful, and smells lovely too!
You can decorate an outdoor Christmas tree with edible gifts for wild birds. Here are two ideas.
Collect some fir cones. If they are tightly closed bring them indoors and they will soon open in the warmth. Tie a piece of garden twine to the tip of each fir cone, then spread it all over with peanut butter – the kind with no added salt – or lard. Roll this in a mixture of bird seeds. It won’t look much like a fir cone any more, but the birds won’t mind.
You can also make decorative treats for birds from a mixture of monkey nuts (peanuts in their shells), dried fruit, slices of apple and berries (edible for birds but not humans: check the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ advice for which berries to use). Use an embroidery needle and some strong thread or fine wire to string a mixture of these together. You can also thread them in a bracelet shape. Use garden twine to hang them up. Any tree, or branch, or bird table will do. And do leave some clean water, out of reach of cats, to complete the birds’ Christmas feast.
