Here in the SW, luminarias are an ever present symbol that Christmas is coming. A luminaria is a paper bag with the top folded down sand in the bottom. A votive candle is placed in the sand and lighted on Christmas Eve to light the way for the Christ Child to your home. Luminarias have quite a history. Throughout the centuries, light—whether from a fire or candle—has been used to ward off the darkness and ‘evil spirits’ that resided there.
Nearly all cultures have some kind of celebration of light. The Hebrew people used candelabras filled with oil in the Temple, modeled on the golden candelabra used in the Tabernacle built during the Exodus. The Feast of Hanukkah, in December, is, of course, the celebration remembering how one day’s worth of oil, lasted for 7 days when the Macabees rededicated the Temple in 167 BC.
The ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia by giving wax tapers as gifts to one another and to Saturn. Celts used bonfires as part of their religious observances. The December celebration, welcoming the Sun at the solstice, included fire in the form of the burning of an oak log and may have involved participants leaping over the fire to obtain protection from evil forces. German and Irish custom dictates the placing of a lighted candle in the window on Christmas Eve as a welcome to the Christ child.
In Spain, a tradition named “Hogueras” (bonfires) is still in evidence in some places. It started long before Christianity as part of the observance of the winter solstice (and probably originated from their ancient Celtic roots). The celebration includes people jumping over the fire to obtain protection against illness.
It is easy to see how the luminaria tradition grew up in what is now the Southwestern United Sates. Spanish Conquistadors and the Franciscan friars brought the tradition from their homeland into the new country.
The bonfires of Hogueres grew smaller in the new world where wood was scarce. The first luminarias were indeed small bonfires formed from a 3’ cube of crisscrossed pinon branches. Only when paper and paper bags became readily available did the luminaria take on its current form. (In fact, not so long ago--maybe 40 years, there was still great debate over which was the ‘real’ form of a luminaria—the bonfire or a paper bag with candle.)
Now, luminarias are an expected part of Christmas here, with tours of decorated neighborhoods. The tradition has been carried home by visitors, too, so you can find luminarias nearly anywhere--some are fancifully cut out and decorated for other holidays, too--a far cry from the original purpose. You can even get electric luminarias, but I don’t think the effect is quite the same.
If you put up luminarias, I hope you’ll remember that you are guiding the Holy Infant to your home and heart.
The ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia by giving wax tapers as gifts to one another and to Saturn. Celts used bonfires as part of their religious observances. The December celebration, welcoming the Sun at the solstice, included fire in the form of the burning of an oak log and may have involved participants leaping over the fire to obtain protection from evil forces. German and Irish custom dictates the placing of a lighted candle in the window on Christmas Eve as a welcome to the Christ child.
In Spain, a tradition named “Hogueras” (bonfires) is still in evidence in some places. It started long before Christianity as part of the observance of the winter solstice (and probably originated from their ancient Celtic roots). The celebration includes people jumping over the fire to obtain protection against illness.
It is easy to see how the luminaria tradition grew up in what is now the Southwestern United Sates. Spanish Conquistadors and the Franciscan friars brought the tradition from their homeland into the new country.
The bonfires of Hogueres grew smaller in the new world where wood was scarce. The first luminarias were indeed small bonfires formed from a 3’ cube of crisscrossed pinon branches. Only when paper and paper bags became readily available did the luminaria take on its current form. (In fact, not so long ago--maybe 40 years, there was still great debate over which was the ‘real’ form of a luminaria—the bonfire or a paper bag with candle.)
Now, luminarias are an expected part of Christmas here, with tours of decorated neighborhoods. The tradition has been carried home by visitors, too, so you can find luminarias nearly anywhere--some are fancifully cut out and decorated for other holidays, too--a far cry from the original purpose. You can even get electric luminarias, but I don’t think the effect is quite the same.
If you put up luminarias, I hope you’ll remember that you are guiding the Holy Infant to your home and heart.
See you tomorrow.
