Across northwestern North Carolina and southwestern Virginia, prior to World War II, in many old cabins and homeplaces tucked in the mountains and foothills, there was a Christmas spirit that continued after Christmas Day ended. The spirit of celebration led up to Epiphany or Old Christmas, and filled homes with music, friends, food, and dancing — an ongoing celebration traveling from house to house that lasted until Jan. 6, also known as Epiphany or Old Christmas. This tradition is known as Breaking Up Christmas. The story behind Breaking Up Christmas is not one to be tied down. Like any good tradition, passed down to younger generations, it transforms, taking on a life of its own. Everyone agrees on one thing — Breaking Up Christmas is a celebration, a way to bridge the gap between Christmas and the new year, a way to carry on those traditions in a symbolic way, with a great, big gathering, complete with music, dancing, food, and merryment. The tradition lasts for 12 days, from Christmas Day to Old Christmas on Jan. 6, the day when Jesus’ birth was celebrated prior to 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII adjusted the calendar. Many did not agree with the date change, and continued to celebrate Old Christmas, and even though American colonies adopted this calender in 1752, some believe that small communities may have continued to celebrate Old Christmas, but new Christmas as well, resulting in a 12-day celebration. The song “12 Days of Christmas” includes a reference to the number 12, and another reference to 12 can be found in what many local old-timers consider the “ruling days,” when the weather that occurs in the 12-day span between Christmas Day and Old Christmas is used to determine the weather for the next year. The days after Christmas have held celebrations throughout history, such as in Ireland, Scotland, England and other European countries, when mummers plays were a part of the Christmas season, with masked visitors going from home to home and performing elaborate plays, with song and dance, and eating food, drinking wine, until moving on to the next home. This tradition is still celebrated in the United States, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a large parade and festival, and string bands make up one of the largest groups participating in the event. On Paul Brown’s “Breaking Up Christmas” show is a series of interviews with the late Paul Sutphin, who was 78 years old at the time, along with his childhood neighbor Eleanor Coleson, age 74 at the time, in 1997. They described the “good ole’ days” with furniture cleared out and pushed back in two rooms in the house, with a crowd of people dancing in both of the rooms at the same time, musicians playing in-between the doorways. “Up to the sixth of January, we’d have Old Christmas,” Coleson said. “Two straight weeks of Christmas parties.” Paul Brown went on to say that the tradition was still going on, now found in civic clubs and concert venues. “Breaking Up Christmas” — the song “Breaking Up Christmas” is one of those old-time songs with an origin that is unknown, and like any good fiddle tune, it changes depending on who is playing it. The words sometimes go like this: “Hooray, Jack and hooray John, Breaking up Christmas all night long. Way back yonder, a long time ago, Way down yonder alongside the creek, I seen Santy Claus washing his feet. Santa Claus come, done and gone, Break up Christmas right along.” Paul Sutphin, on Paul Brown’s “Breaking Up Christmas” show, credited the tune to one of his old neighbors named Pat McKinney, remembered by Sutphin as a Civil War Veteran: “Yeah, that’s old man Pat McKinney’s tune…he made up this ‘Breaking Up Christmas’…he’s the first man to ever fiddle it.” Sutphin said he didn’t know who wrote the words, only that they had been there since he had “started them.” Its still tradition in many families to celebrate until Old Christmas/Epiphany. I know because my mom always leaves decorations up until Old Christmas. :)
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 00:52:51 +0000
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