by Emily Rinaman, Technical Services Manager
“While many people in the Western world today generally do not believe in actual magic, Christmas is the one time of the year that this word is commonly used and people entertain notions that they would usually reject, like the idea that miracles are possible,” notes Nathaniel Parry in an article on Medievalists.net.
What exactly do people mean by “the magic of Christmas”? Magic is a very open-ended word that could mean different things to different people. There’s magic done with words (spells), magic performed with objects or objects that are magical in and of themselves, and magic can be seen as simply a concept for things that happen beyond our understanding.
Folklore are stories with magical undertones that have been passed down for several generations. Like the game of telephone, the details of the story may change over time. Seneca County has its own share of magical stories and even “magicians.” At the very least, its residents have been enamored by the idea of magic.
Magic, like many things, is simply a word but also a grand concept, with people and objects used to illustrate it.
To many new immigrants in Seneca County, the word “democracy” conjured a sense of magic. Myron Barnes in “Between the Eighties,” explains that the “personal freedom” the United States offered after living under the rule of a monarchy or even socialism, was a magical concept.
There is a legend that the Indian Maid statue on Frost Parkway in Tiffin, Ohio, protects the city from severe devastation of tornadoes.
One Junior Homekid in the August 1993 edition of the Junior Homekid newspaper points out that “homecoming” is a magic word. It conjures a “mirage of feelings,” because the act of coming home is usually a pleasant one. Often at Christmas, family members who have moved away “come home” to be with parents, siblings, extended family and other loved ones.
Another Junior Homekid in the December 2007 Homekid newspaper says that Christmas “makes houses into homes, makes bright lights brighter, turns childrens’ laughter into a symphony of joy, makes the older folks become children again, turns acquaintances into friends and relatives into family.”
Oh, and how could one forget? He also illustrates that Christmas makes the snow more beautiful. Did someone say snow? Yes, snow. Because nature and its elements have been seen with a magical eye for millennia.
“The magic stillness of the snow sifting down so very slow always makes me want to know why it covers things just so,” wrote Phoebe Coleman in a poem submitted to the Young America Sings.
In Seneca County, Native Americans once viewed the “emerald water” near Green Springs as magical, a belief that carried into Victorian times when a health resort was built that promised physical healing to its visitors. The Native Americans in their own words even called it, “medicine water,” and when Europeans settled here, they went so far as to bottle and sell it.
Calvert students in the Glee Club perform in a play called “The Fortune Teller” in 1958.
Native Americans believed that spirit existed in everything from animals to plants. Many plants today continue to be used for medicinal properties, even if they are often manufactured under the disguise of science. It was no accident that in the story of the Nativity, Jesus was brought frankincense and myrrh, two oils extracted from plants that were believed to have the magical ability to ward off evil and extend life beyond death.
Further into history, juniper, an evergreen used to decorate for Christmas, was burnt for the same purpose.
While the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) made an appearance in Seneca County as late in the spring as May 2024, it’s normally more common in the dark winter months, especially in Upper Canada closer to that magical place, the North Pole. (You know the one – where Santa Claus lives).
During long, dark days, colored lights illuminating the sky is nothing short of magical. Especially around here where Tiffinites and others get a very rare (sometimes once-in-a-lifetime) chance to see them, it’s a spectacularly magical event. In the 1947 Blue and Gold Yearbook, Edward McFerren wrote a poem about them, calling it “Magic Night.”
Works cited:
“Between the Eighties,” Tiffin, Ohio 1880-1980. Seneca County Digital Library. https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p15005coll27/id/65422
Junior Homekid, August 1993. Seneca County Digital Library. https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p15005coll27/id/49013
Junior Homekid, December 2007. Seneca County Digital Library. https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p15005coll27/id/49678
Coleman, Phoebe. “Snowtime.” Young America Sings. National Poetry Association, 1958. https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p15005coll27/id/50822
McFerren, Edward. “Magic Night.” Columbian Blue and Gold Yearbook 1947. https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p15005coll27/id/7466
Green Springs Centennial Committee. Green Springs Centennial. 1972. Seneca County Digital Library. https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p15005coll27/id/29439
Parry, Nathaniel. “The Ancient Origins of Christmas Magic.” https://www.medievalists.net/2022/12/ancient-origins-christmas-magic/