Tag Archives: Yule

All I Want for Christmas is… a Goldfinch?!

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Madonna and Child, by Carlo Crivelli (1480); note the goldfinch in the Christ Child's grasp

Madonna and Child, by Carlo Crivelli (1480); note the goldfinch in the Christ Child’s grasp

Very often in traditional depictions of the Virgin and Christ Child, there is a goldfinch in the baby’s grasp. Why?

The most simple reason might be that in the 14th century it was common for young children to keep tame birds as pets. Christ’s holding a bird allows a parent or a child to recognize his human nature, to identify with him. Despite the angels and the celestial gold background, the viewer is reminded that God lived and died as a man upon the earth.

But when is traditional Christian art ever simple? Or easy?

The goldfinch appears in depictions of Christ’s birth or during his childhood because it was said that when Christ was carrying the cross to Calvary a small bird – sometimes a goldfinch, sometimes a robin – flew down and plucked one of the thorns from the crown around his head. Some of Christ’s blood splashed onto the bird as it drew the thorn out, and to this day goldfinches and robins have spots of red on their plumage. Since goldfinches are also known to eat and nest among thorns, the goldfinch is often read as a prefiguration of Christ’s Passion.

The bird could also be seen as a symbol of the Resurrection of Christ. A non-Biblical legend popular in the Middle Ages related how the child Jesus, when playing with some clay birds that his friends had given to him, bought them to life. Medieval theologians saw this as an allegory of his own coming back from the dead.

Medieval Europeans also saw the goldfinch as a protector against the plague. Since classical times superstition had credited a mythical bird – the charadrius – with the ability to take on the disease of any man who looked it in the eye. The charadrius was sometimes represented as a goldfinch. Perhaps Christ’s finch offers the worshiper protection against the seemingly unstoppable contagion.

Also, since Ancient Egypt, the human soul had been represented in religious art by a small bird. We see the “Ba” (the soul-bird) on a detail of an Egyptian coffins. A very general reading of the goldfinch might, therefore, remind the viewer that his soul is ‘in the hands’ of God.

Curious about that big cucumber hanging from the apple tree? Hmmm… Read an interesting interpretation of it here.

Frankincense

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"Olibanum resin" by Peter Presslein - photo taken by Peter Presslein. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olibanum_resin.jpg#/media/File:Olibanum_resin.j

“Olibanum resin” by Peter Presslein – photo taken by Peter Presslein. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olibanum_resin.jpg#/media/File:Olibanum_resin.j

Frankincense, recognized as one of the gifts — together with gold and myrrh — that the Magi brought to the Christ Child, is derived from the resin of certain kinds of trees that grow in the Middle East and Africa. Called “frankincense” because the Franks had a near-monopoly on importing it into Western Europe during the Middle Ages, it has always been the one of the most precious (i.e. expensive!) kinds of incense available; hence, its association with gold as an appropriate gift for the Christ Child. (Nowadays, frankincense is still very expensive in most cases but can sometimes be purchased for more reasonable prices here.) Used in the Temple in Jerusalem before the Romans destroyed it in 70 A.D., frankincense is still burned year-round as incense in many Christian churches although some only use it at Christmas-time.

censing-in-church1

In many medieval sermons, frankincense was associated with death and resurrection because the phoenix was said to return to Egypt to set itself aflame in a frankincense tree. Burnt to ash in a fragrant cloud of incense, the famous nearly immortal bird was reborn as a small worm crawling from the ashes. This worm grew into a new phoenix. The air in the Garden of Eden was said to have smelled like frankincense, which is why devils and demons were said to still flee from burning frankincense since it reminds them of the Paradise they were driven from and are still denied.

Flowers and branches of the Boswellia sacra tree, the species from which most frankincense is derived

Flowers and branches of the Boswellia sacra tree, the species from which most frankincense is derived

The “pearls” or “tears” of frankincense resin melt when they are placed atop burning coals; the fragrant smoke is released as the resin melts. The fragrant smoke rising from the charcoal is often used as an image of prayer. Recipes for other scents or fragrances of incense are often perfumes added to frankincense, which remains the basis for much incense still used in the modern world.

(UPDATE: On December 7, 2015 this post was a record-breaker! It was clicked on 162 times, setting a new record for clicks-in-one-day on this site. THANK YOU TO ALL who helped set this new record!)

Krampus… friend of St. Nicholas?!

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St. Nicholas and the Krampus procession in Salzburg (2010); photo by Charlotte Anne Brady.

St. Nicholas and the Krampus procession in Salzburg (2010); photo by Charlotte Anne Brady.

Krampus revels at the Salzburg Christmas Market, 2011; photo by Neumayr/MMV 05.12.2011

Krampus revels at the Salzburg Christmas Market, 2011; photo by Neumayr/MMV 05.12.2011

Traditionally on December 5th and 6th, St. Nicholas walks from house to house in the cities and villages of the Alps to admonish and laud young and old. He is mostly accompanied by a Krampus (an evil creature, a devil of sorts), who is going to punish the bad children and adults on St. Nicholas′ command. For the honest children he normally has little presents.

St. Nicholas himself is a Christian figure, more precisely the former bishop of Myra. As son of a well situated family he started to help poor people who lived in deep poverty. He was supposed to have miraculous vigor and so he became patron of the seamen, children and poor people. (See a previous post about St. Nicholas and his care for the poor here.) In most modern versions of the St. Nicholas story, he is accompanied by a monster or servant (the Dutch describe his assistant as Black Peter) who punishes the bad children while Nicholas himself rewards the well-behaved children.

The figure of the Krampus is based on pre-Christian custom. The Krampusse not only punish the bad children but had the function at one time of driving out the winter devils and blizzard sprites. Originally the custom of the Krampus was spread over all of Austria but was forbidden by the Catholic Church during the Inquisition. It was prohibited by death to masquerade as a devil or an evil creature and so this custom only survived in some remote, inaccessible, regions of the Alps from where it slowly spread back across the western parts of Austria again. Today the Krampusse revels are especially popular in Salzburg.