Maybe they're referring to the Scrooge/Christmas Carol story?? Ghosts of Christmas pas/present/future??? It's the only thing I can think of!!!
In the song, "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year", there is a line about "there will be scary ghost stories".
Does anybody know the origin of that tradition? It seems odd to me.
Ghost stories were an integral part of the Victorian Christmas. Read around the fire, they were a popular home amusement in those households that could not afford the expense of the theatre or concert going. Many stories were specifically written for such evening entertainment. The ghostly tales of M.R. James (1862-1936), for instance, were originally composed for reading on Christmas Eve at King's College, Cambridge; they were first published as Ghost Stories of an Antiquary in 1904. Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) wrote "whenever five or six English-speaking people meet around a fire on Christmas Eve they start telling each other ghost stories"
Cool tradition!I wondered about this ages ago and found that it was tradition on Victorian England to tell ghost stories on Christmas Eve. I have no idea where I read it or if it was true, but it could be the answer.![]()
Cool tradition!
Am I the only one that thinks "A Christmas Carol" is scary?![]()
We've wondered about that, too, and figured that it had to be the Scrooge story.
But here's another lyric that puzzles me. Who puts presents ON the tree, like in the lyrics to "I'll Be Home for Christmas"? Did ornaments used to be the actual presents
.
We've wondered about that, too, and figured that it had to be the Scrooge story.
But here's another lyric that puzzles me. Who puts presents ON the tree, like in the lyrics to "I'll Be Home for Christmas"? Did ornaments used to be the actual presents
.
Yes. Presents used to be nestled among the branches of the trees. I remember my grandparents telling stories about their parents reaching the gifts down from the branches. My grandmother particularly remembered one Christmas when she received a small tea set in a basket. It was hidden in the branches, and she thought it was so magical to have it resting there, just waiting for her.
Yes, presents were on the tree. It's why a flat, gap in a tree is called an "elf shelf."