Old Christmas Archives - Appalachian History

Christmas in the Blue Ridge: A Regional Tradition

Christmas in the region has reflected biblical mythologies in combination with local customs, including folk beliefs dating back centuries.

The “Breakin’ Up Christmas” tradition is credited with originating in Northwest North Carolina and Southwest Virginia during the 1920s.

We might be better served to think of this 15th century English hymn as the “Cherry Tree Carols,” since it exists in many versions.

Christ’s birth includes animals. That’s why horses always eat, mules don’t ever get to be parents, & cows get to chew their cud after dinner.

The pie’s name comes from the Latin minuere, “to diminish,” and of course mincemeat referred originally to a meat that had been minced up.