We’ve all done it. Made a little plate of cookies, poured a glass of cold milk, and reluctantly slunk off to bed, anxious for Christmas Day to get here at last. But why do we leave milk & cookies out for Santa? Well, it depends on where you’re from. Check out this brief history on the milk & cookies tradition.
In Germany, people would decorate a paradise tree with wafers in celebration of the Feast of Adam and Eve; by the 1500s, this tradition merged with the Christmas trees we know today and the wafers were replaced by cookies.
Odin, the greatest of the Norse gods, was believed to travel across Scandinavian countries on an eight-legged horse. Children, unable to stay awake to join in the festivities, would leave carrots and hay for the horse, hoping to be rewarded for their generosity with a gift from Odin himself.
Americans have their own milk and cookies origin story dating back to the 1930s. During a time of economic despair and upheaval, American parents thought it would be wise to teach their children to be grateful for the few things they did have and teach the importance of giving to others, even when they had little to give.
No matter the origin story, I love the idea of children across the globe setting out that little plate of milk & cookies, excited for the day to come.
Ryanne Harper – written for Seed & Sow November 2023 edition.
