A house-warming party (or flat-warming party) is not quite so common nowadays, when family members no longer necessarily live near each other. However, it is a traditional way to celebrate moving to a new home and letting friends and family see your new surroundings.

In centuries gone by, it had a literal meaning ~ the new house was probably cold, especially if it had been empty for a while, so people would bring firewood to light in the fireplaces and to ward off evil spirits. They might also have given gifts such as brooms, knives, salt, bread, coins and honey, each with its own symbolic meaning. In a religious household, a priest may have been asked to purify the house by walking through each room sprinkling holy water while reciting a blessing.

Today, it is usual to have the party within a month or two after moving in, before any serious decorating or renovations take place. Instead of firewood, gifts may include ‘Home Sweet Home’ or ‘Bless this House’ trinkets such as small signs, pictures, cushions, fridge magnets, cards and candles.

(Top image: Photo Mix at pixabay.com)

Christmas Day, on 25th December, is perhaps the biggest celebration of them all. It is one of only two days in the UK when all shops are closed and it is coupled with Boxing Day as a two-day Bank Holiday. Although Christianity commandeered it as a remembrance of Jesus’s birthday and gave it their own name, it is fundamentally a secular holiday with ancient roots.

Saturnalia was the Roman Empire’s winter solstice festival, lasting a week and comprising drunkenness and general unruliness, while Yule was the British pagan equivalent. This lasted twelve days and was a fire festival in gratitude for the ‘re-birth’ of the sun. Pagan elements of Christmas include bringing a tree indoors and decorating it, hanging up mistletoe and holly, feasting, lighting candles, outdoor singing and gift-giving.

St. Nicholas (Santa Claus), who helped produce the New Testament in 325, was merged with the pagan god Woden, but his red suit and chubby red cheeks are entirely thanks to the advertising team at Coca Cola in 1931. Christmas today is a strange assortment of ancient and modern rituals, not least of which is the little white lie that otherwise honest parents feel compelled to tell their children about… shhh!

(Image: Karen Warfel at pixabay.com)