CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS Why we do the things we do

Q. Why are fruitcakes a holiday tradition?
A. Modern fruitcake was born with an influx of cheap sugar that arrived in Europe from the colonies in the 1500s, says Robert Sietsema, writing in the Village Voice.
"Some goon discovered that fruit could be preserved by soaking it in successively greater concentrations of sugar," he wrote, not in the most appreciative tone. "Not only could native plums and cherries be conserved, but heretofore unavailable fruits were soon being imported in candied form from other parts of the world. Having so much sugar-laced fruit engendered the need to dispose of it in some way -- thus the fruitcake."
Suddenly they were everywhere. Their ubiquitous nature spawned an 18th-century law in England restricting the consumption of fruitcake -- or plum cake as it was called -- to Christmas, Easter, weddings, christenings and funerals. Eventually the other occasions fell by the wayside, leaving Christmas as the lone holiday with a link to the fruity cake.
Another theory: Well-heeled Englishmen would give slices of fruitcake to poor women caroling outside their houses.
Q. Why do people drink eggnog during the holidays?
A. Short answer: It has booze in it -- usually rum, brandy or sherry.
But, as you might have guessed, there's more to it. Eggnog is thought to have started in England, around the 17th century, where it was a favored drink of the rich. Early hot versions, called posset, contained milk, eggs and ale. (In Britain, nog is slang for ale.) Then someone added sugar, took out the ale and replaced it with brandy or sherry.
But why make eggnog in the first place?
Historian James Humes put it this way: "The average Londoner rarely saw a glass of milk. There was no refrigeration, and the farms belonged to the big estates."
The heat and the alcohol helped preserve the milk. Dairy farms were plentiful in America, and the new drink soon became popular here. Colonists often substituted rum, which was cheaper than the heavily taxed brandy or sherry.
George Washington, reportedly a big fan of eggnog, had his own recipe, a knee-weakening concoction made with rye whiskey, rum and sherry.
The frothy brew quickly gained favor as a social drink, and a cup of nog was often used to toast friends and family and spice up special occasions.
Q. Why are there poinsettias everywhere?
A. You can thank the United States' first minister to Mexico for that one. Yes, Joel Roberts Poinsett, whom the Encyclopaedia Britannica calls an accomplished amateur botanist, imported the plant that now bears his name from Mexico in the 1820s. The shrub's vibrant red and green colors and its wintertime flowers soon made it a natural favorite at Christmas.
Poinsett himself was not held in as high esteem by the Mexican government. Writes Britannica: "The Mexicans even coined the word poinsettismo to characterize his officious and intrusive behavior."
He did a lot better at home. Not only did he bring us the shrub, he was instrumental in founding the National Institute for the Promotion of Science and the Useful Arts, a precursor of the Smithsonian Institution.
Q. Why is Santa's suit red and white?
A. Santa Claus, of course, is based on St. Nicholas, a minor saint from the fourth century with a reputation for generosity, kindness and performing miracles for children and sailors. Red and white were the colors of the traditional bishops' robes of that time, according to "How Christmas Works: The Complete Guide to Christmas Traditions" by Marshall Brain.
Q. Why is Christmas sometimes written as "Xmas"?
A. Advertisers prefer "Xmas" because it's short. And its four letters do fit nicely with the word "sale." But Xmas is more than just a 20th-century marketing term. The Greek word for Christ is Xristos, and, according to the book "Did You Ever Wonder" by Jeff Rovin, the use of "Xmas" became widespread in Europe as far back as the 1500s.
X is the Greek letter "chi," the equivalent of "Ch." Therefore, Xristos is pronounced "Christos," (meaning Christ) and Xmas is not as disrespectful as it once may have appeared.
Q. Why do people hang gigantic socks on the mantel on Christmas Eve?
A. Saint Nicholas is said to have given gold coins to three poor girls who needed money for their wedding dowries, writes Marshall Brain in How Christmas Works. According to tradition he left the coins in the girls' stockings. The girls had hung them by the fire to dry.
Q. Why do people hang mistletoe and kiss underneath it?
A. Mistletoe traditions go back many years to many cultures. In most places mistletoe is considered a sign of love, peace and goodwill.
But why would people kiss under mistletoe, a parasitic plant that grows on trees? You can thank Frigga for that, or so goes one theory recounted in "How Christmas Works."
Frigga is the Scandinavian goddess of love and beauty. One day, according to tradition, Frigga's son, Balder, was killed by a poison dart that his enemy, Loki, made from mistletoe. Frigga's tears changed the red mistletoe berries to white and raised Balder from the dead. In gratitude for getting her son back, Frigga then reversed mistletoe's bad reputation and kissed everyone who walked underneath it.
Q. Why do your lights work when you put them away in January, but not when you get them out for the next Christmas?
A. Let's face it, lights are evil. And they talk to each other in that cardboard box you fling them into after the holidays, figuring out ways they can make you miserable.
Just ask Joe Buffa, the electrician responsible for stringing up 287,000 lights on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Mo.
"That's the way it always works," he said. "It's just like the lights down here. We check them before we put them away, but once we get them in the truck, drive them to the location, string them along the buildings and hook everything up, half of them don't work."
See? Evil.
Actually there is another explanation.
The filaments in the bulbs are brittle, Buffa said, thin as a human hair. Every bump and jiggle can shorten their lives -- especially when they're lighted.
Buffa's advice?
Be tender. Finish stringing lights up before turning them on. And don't put them away in a tangled heap.
OK, even that may not help. But let's be honest, what else are you going to do?
Oh, well. Happy holidays anyway.