“Of Bears And Bull”

The Symbols and Traditions of Christmas

The Date of Christmas
The idea to celebrate Christmas on December 25 originated in the 4th century. The Catholic Church wanted to eclipse the festivities of a rival pagan religion that threatened Christianity's existence. The Romans celebrated the birthday of their sun god, Mithras during this time of year. Although it was not popular, or even proper, to celebrate people's birthdays in those times, church leaders decided that in order to compete with the pagan celebration they would themselves order a festival in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Although the actual season of Jesus' birth is thought to be in either the spring or the fall, the date of December 25 was chosen as the official birthday celebration as Christ's Mass so that it would compete head on with the rival pagan celebration. Christmas was low to catch on in America. The early colonists considered it a pagan ritual. The celebration of Christmas was even banned by law in Massachusetts in colonial days.

The origins of the name Greatrix

It was not until the Middle Ages that surnames were first introduced to distinguish between people bearing the same personal or Christian name. With the growth in documentation necessitated by the expanding administrations of medieval rulers, surnames became essential. Generally, they fall into four categories: those of local, patronymic, occupational and nickname origin. The English surname Greatorex is of local origin, being one of those surnames which is based on a place where a man once lived or where he held land. In this instance, it means "at the great ridge", from residence by this topographical feature. Alternatively, it may mean "of the great rakes", from residence thereby.

There are several early references to the name. The London marriage licenses reveal that one Elizabeth Gratracks married Augustine Brandon in 1582, while Samuel Gratrix married Jane Wingfield in St. James', Clerkenwell in 1647. The variants in spelling need cause no surprise as it depends largely on the whim of the medieval clerk. Indeed, it was not until the appearance of Samuel Johnson's dictionary in the mid-eighteenth century that the spelling of English began to be standardised.