Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by
Yet in the dark streets shineth, the everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
If you look up the name Bethlehem in a Hebrew dictionary, you will find that it comes from the word beth, which means house and lehem, which means bread. So it literally means "house of bread." This doesn't really make a great deal of sense until you take into account that astrology played a very important part in the beliefs and symbology of earlier centuries.
In ancient astrology. the Virgin Mother, who symbolized Virgo, was poetically referred to as the house of bread. This was likely because the most prominent star in the Virgo constellation is Spica, which was sometimes considered to represent an ear of wheat in Virgo's hand and so perhaps, in early times, this was representative of the symbol of the divine bread coming down from heaven.
Grain also figures importantly in the Eucharist, “the Heavenly Bread, the Life of the whole world, which is in all places and endureth all things” and wheat and bread have been central symbols of the divine soul in man into antiquity. Jesus spoke of bread bringing eternal life to all who ate of it, telling his disciples, that those who share in it would have eternal life.
In ancient times, bread and grain representing life was widespread, with many associated traditions. Life was very much agricultural and grain was one of the most important crops. In the tiny seeds kept for the spring harvest, was life that would bear crops in the new year.
In many communities, the last sheaf of grain from the harvest was thought to represent the life spirit of the entire field. People carefully saved the last sheaf, keeping the grain and the straw. They made the grain into porridges, puddings or cakes for Christmas and would weave the straw into small figurines.
In Europe, they grow Christmas wheat, planting the wheat seeds in a plate which is kept moistened. In earlier times, the new shoots of wheat were the symbol of the new harvest. The care of the wheat was carried out with a joy of anticipation of Christmas, and with mindfulness of the
of spiritual rebirth and the spiritual aspect of Christmas. The new shoots of grain were used to decorate the nativity scene or the Christmas table.
In Eastern Europe, grain sheaves have been used as traditional decorations for the Christmas Supper. In some areas, straw is strewn on the floor under the Christmas table in memory of the stable in which Jesus was born. In some areas of Poland, coins were dropped into the straw for children to find.
There are other grain related traditions that can be traced back to the early Middle Ages. Sheaves of oat stalks and seeds are tied with a red ribbon. The sheaves are placed outdoors for birds to feed on, usually up in tree branches. In Sweden, small straw figures are made and thrown into the yards of friends and neighbors. Another custom is sprinkling parched wheat on the doorstep of houses, or throwing it on the Yule log.
Sheaves of wheat and straw found their way onto the penny postcards of the late 1800s and early 1900s, with angels or Father Christmas carrying wheat and straw strewn nativity scenes.
Grain has graced the Christmas table with all manner of traditional cakes, puddings and desserts as long as anyone can remember, and still does today, so when you sit down to your Christmas table this year and eat the bread goods, think of the rich legacy of tradition it represents.
