LITTLE ROCK — I still remember how surprised I was to learn that the name Santa Claus was an Americanization of the Dutch Sinterklaas.
Sinterklaas? That’s St. Nicholas. Saint Nick was a fourth-century Greek Christian bishop in what is now Turkey.
Another name for the “right jolly old elf ” is Kris Kringle. That comes from the German Christkind or Christkindl. Translation: Christ child.
It’s odd how we grow up with Christmas traditions without giving them much thought. History Channel fills in the gaps with The Real Story of Christmas airing at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Mark it on your calendar now so you won’t forget. It’s a good way to ease past the shock and awe of Black Friday and get into the proper spirit of the season.
Don’t confuse the History Channel special with The True Meaning of Christmas. We’ll leave that to any number of evocative Hallmark movies and Peanuts specials.
The Real Story of Christmas deals with all the traditions - religious, cultural and commercial - that have accumulated over the centuries that we take for granted.
For example, why is it we chop down perfectly goodtrees and haul them indoors in December? For that matter, why do we bother exchanging gifts? What, exactly, is a Yule and why does it have a log?
From Santa Claus to the hanging of stockings, plenty of our modern Christmas traditions have their origins in ancient times. The hour special goes back 2,000 years and “explores the sacred and secular influences that gave rise to the Christmas we know today.”
Viewers might be surprised to learn that many of the seemingly innocent customs evolved from bizarre or even disturbing beginnings.
The special points out that the early Christmas celebration had its roots in the pagan celebration of the winter solstice. Surprisingly, it was a day of prayer and a festival of drunken debauchery.
Imagine the sweet and heartwarming example of neighborhood Christmas caroling. It actually began inmedieval times with drunk and rowdy gangs of revelers going door-to-door threatening folks while begging for food and booze.
I was shocked as well.
And early versions of the beloved legend of Santa Claus portrayed him as a horrible dude who traveled around with a devil named Krampus who beat and kidnapped naughty children.
Maybe that explains why some kids scream bloodymurder when plopped on Santa’s lap at the mall. Maybe it was Krampus who really knew who was naughty and who was nice.
English Puritans banned Christmas and during the 17th and 18th centuries in America, celebrating Christmas was outlawed. No wonder.
According to the special, Dec. 25 was selected as Christmas Day in 349 by Pope Julius. For the first two centuries after Jesus’ death,Christmas (or Christ’s Mass) was not celebrated at all.
Today, we not only have all the religious traditions, but the traditions of Ebenezer Scrooge, George Bailey, The Grinch and Rudolph.
Tune in The Real Story of Christmas on Tuesday and learn about all this and maybe even the evil, evil origin of fruitcake. OK. I made that last one up.
Top Gear. While you’re thinking about History Channel, be reminded that the American version of the BBC hit series Top Gear premiered last week and airs each Sunday at 9 p.m.
Hit series? The British version is seen in 170 countries by about 350 million folks each week. I’d call that a hit.
To bring you up to speed, the series is, most simply, about cars - classic cars, expensive cars, fast cars. Fun and fascinating stuff is done with cars each episode. As one writer pointed out, it’s “toys for boys.” The testosterone is definitely not checked at the door.
The hosts for the American version are Tanner Foust, Rutledge Wood and Adam Ferrara. They are, in order, a stunt driver, an automotive reporter, and a stand-up comic.
The first episode featured test drives of three Lamborghinis and lots of stunts. There was a Dodge Viper being chased by a Cobra attack helicopter and a Mitsubishi Evo racing skiers down a mountain.
Anglophile fans of the BBC version might find fault with the American offering, but you should give it a look anyway.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail:
Style, Pages 58 on 11/28/2010