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| At midnight, the Christmas Tree becomes larger than life; a climactic moment in Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite |
~ EOLYN, Chapter 23
I like Christmas.
In part, because the season and traditions are such a nice integration of my Pagan, German and Catholic roots. Symbols that have transcended time, culture and religion abound – the Christmas tree, the Advent’s wreath, holly and mistletoe. Song and celebration. The coldest night, the shortest day; death and renewal of the cycle of life.
One could say the event we currently call ‘Christmas’ has outlasted many of the beliefs that have upheld its celebration; its origins date back long before the conversion of Europe to Christianity. Even today, people often celebrate Christmas regardless of its contemporary religious significance. For some reason, it simply makes sense this time of year to deck the halls and stoke the fire, to sit in cozy spaces with family and friends while sipping hot spiced wine or cider, munching on the traditional sweets and delicacies of the season, and retelling the beloved legends and myths that bind us as a family, people and culture.
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| Carl Offterdinger's interpretation of Maria Stahlbaum. A dark-haired witch in the making? |
Last year on my blog for Eolyn, I dedicated a December post to one of these timeless tales: E.T.A. Hoffman’s The Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King. Every year when Christmas approaches my thoughts return to this story, one of the favorites of my childhood.
When I was a young girl, it seemed Hoffman’s Maria Stahlbaum and I had much in common. Maria lived in Frankfurt, a city which I knew well, and which had been the childhood home of my own mother. Maria thrived on dancing and parties and adventure. She got along well with her brother (except for the occasional dispute regarding ownership rights over the new action figure). She loved her mysterious and eccentric Uncle Drosselmeyer, whom I could not help but associate with my own paternal grandfather (though in truth the characters of these two men were quite different; and unfortunately, my grandfather was not a toymaker).
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| Like many scenes, this moment between Maria and her ugly prince is lost in Tchaikovsky's famous ballet. |
Over the years, the adventures of Maria (also called ‘Klara’ in the Tchaikovsky ballet interpretation, which is to Hoffman’s tale as Disney is to Grimm) have inspired me in countless unexpected ways. With time, Hoffman’s complex little story blended with Tchaikovsky’s much simpler ballet, melding in the mysterious pathways of my own mind to become more than a children’s Christmas story: It became a tale of a young girl’s coming of age, of the discovery of the power of her own magic.
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| The Chistmas Tree has transcended frontiers of culture and religion to remain an enduring symbol of life and warmth in a season of cold and death. |
I bet few people see The Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King in quite the same way I do, but that doesn’t really matter. What’s cool about all this is the way in which the stories we love as children can become an integral part of who we are as adults.
That’s what I would like to celebrate this week: the Stories of Christmas Past; those wonderful tales that have stayed with us from earliest memories of childhood. Tell me about them all, how they inspired you then, how they inspire you now.
In the spirit of the season, I’m especially interested in the holiday legends, but if you want to share other stories as well, please do. Let's rediscover the Children's Magic inside us all.
In the spirit of the season, I’m especially interested in the holiday legends, but if you want to share other stories as well, please do. Let's rediscover the Children's Magic inside us all.
Wishing you a joyous holiday season, and many great stories besides.
~Karin Rita Gastreich