Advisory Program

Scholarship

Scholarship is perhaps a misused word in today’s society.  Is scholarship only a reward that a student may receive for outstanding performance or ability (an offer of monetary reward to attend an institution of learning)? Does scholarship exist as defined in this manner, the methods or habits of a scholar?  Should one seek to be a scholar for the sake of knowledge, exclusive of monetary reward or gain?

Some would say that a scholar is one who educates himself for life, in preparation for life and even for the duration of life.

Do you wish to be known as erudite, one who has knowledge, most particularly that gained from books? 

Perhaps it really is all about the money, but then again who will keep those ideas and concepts alive that don’t necessarily assist one in picking out the best stock or mutual fund?

April Theme: Respect

The library has created a special display that directly relates to the April Advisory theme: Respect.  Please find a link to the information listed below, and pay a visit to the library for more information:

http://faculty.musowls.org/mus-library/

April Advisory Theme: Respect

Respect: the Advisory Theme for April

From the MUS Community Creed:

Respect: An MUS student is courteous and kind and appreciates everyone in his community.

Respect is taking into consideration the views and desires of others, and including it into your decisions. When you respect another, you factor and weigh their thought's and desires into your planning and balance it into your decision making.

An example would be: respecting someone's opinion. you may or may not agree, but you place it into consideration, and it may ultimately influence your decision (even if partial).

Respect can also be applied to taking care of oneself, or the environment. Respect adds general reliability to social interactions. It helps people get along with other people.

From Wikipedia

34Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

35But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Acts 10:34,35 

Respect yourself and others will respect you.

Confucius
Chinese philosopher & reformer (551 BC - 479 BC)

“Don’t rely on someone else for your happiness and self worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can’t love and respect yourself - no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are - completely; the good and the bad - and make changes as YOU see fit - not because you think someone else wants you to be different.” Stacey Charter

“Never take a person’s dignity: it is worth everything to them, and nothing to you.” Frank Barron

“What is the quality of your intent? Certain people have a way of saying things that shake us at the core. Even when the words do not seem harsh or offensive, the impact is shattering. What we could be experiencing is the intent behind the words. When we intend to do good, we do. When we intend to do harm, it happens. What each of us must come to realize is that our intent always comes through. We cannot sugarcoat the feelings in our heart of hearts. The emotion is the energy that motivates. We cannot ignore what we really want to create. We should be honest and do it the way we feel it. What we owe to ourselves and everyone around is to examine the reasons of our true intent. My intent will be evident in the results.” Thurgood Marshall

“Treat others as you want them to treat you because what goes around comes around” Anonymous

Respect your efforts, respect yourself.  Self-respect leads to self-discipline.  When you have both firmly under your belt, that's real power.  ~Clint Eastwood

In my day, we didn't have self-esteem, we had self-respect, and no more of it than we had earned. ~Jane Haddam

I have no right, by anything I do or say, to demean a human being in his own eyes.  What matters is not what I think of him; it is what he thinks of himself.  To undermine a man's self-respect is a sin.  ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The Indian way is about seeing the spirit that is in everything. It's about respect. Respect for the earth, respect for life, respect for your fellow man, respect for yourself. An Indian's wealth is not about material things, it's about what's done to help others, and enrich the soul.

Quote from Chief Big Eagle (Aurelius H. Piper) Native American leader of the White Buffalo Society and foreign correspondent to several tribal governments.

Lyrics from Respect Yourself by the Staple Singers

If you disrespect anybody that you run in to
How in the world do you think anybody's s'posed to respect you
If you don't give a heck 'bout the man with the bible in his hand
Just get out the way, and let the gentleman do his thing
You the kind of gentleman that want everything your way
Take the sheet off your face, boy, it's a brand new day

Respect yourself, respect yourself
If you don't respect yourself
Ain't nobody gonna give a good cahoot, na na na na
Respect yourself, respect yourself

If you're walking 'round think'n that the world owes you something cause
You're here you goin' out the world backwards like you did when you
Put your hand on your mouth when you cough, that'll help the solution
Oh, you cuss around women and you don't even know their names and you
Dumb enough to think that'll make you a big ol man

March Advisory Theme

March Advisory Theme: Accountability

From the MUS Community Creed: As students of Memphis University School, we share a duty to preserve our tradition of general excellence by upholding the principles that define and unify our community.  (final principle listed – accountability)

Accountability: An MUS student takes responsibility for his actions and accepts their consequences.

Definitions:

"Accountability" stems from late Latin accomptare (to account), a prefixed form of computare (to calculate), which in turn derived from putare (to reckon). The word is an extension of the terminology used in the money lending systems that first developed in Ancient Greece and later, Rome. One would borrow money from a money lender, be that a local Templeor Merchant, and would then be held responsible to their account with that party. Responsibility is also a close synonym.

The quality or state of being accountable; especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions

The state of being accountable; liability to be called on to render an account; the obligation to bear the consequences for failure to perform as expected; accountableness.

Quotations regarding Accountability:

“The awful idea of accountability’.    R. Hall.

“Most leaders understand that accountability is consequences for one's actions, and that it is critical to effective unit/organizational functioning. Notwithstanding this awareness, many leaders have great difficulty exercising proper accountability. The most significant reasons for this appear to be a culture of conflict avoidance.”

An Oath regarding Accountability listed in a professional engineers bylaws: 

• Willingness to take responsibility for action and outcome
• Delivering what you promised to deliver
• Accepting good and bad outcomes
• Owning up to shortcomings/mistakes and taking responsibility for one’s actions
• Honoring obligations, expectations and requirements

Quote from a corporate handbook regarding accountability:

Meet Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done, and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it but Nobody did because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.

Do-so" is more important than "say-so."

PETE SEEGER

You can't build a reputation on what you're GOING to do.

HENRY FORD

Food for Thought

Regardless of what one may think about Oliver North, he stands as an iconic example of accountability from the 1980’s.  Called to testify in the infamous Iran-Contra affair, Lieutenant Colonel North admitted his role in the clandestine funding of the freedom fighters in Nicaragua.  Torn between his duty to the National Security Council to keep the operation a secret and his duty to be accountable before Congress, he labored on the nationally televised proceedings to come to grips with the truth. 

How does one work within the environment of a secret military operation and then deal with the issue of accountability when the whole operation goes sour and goes public?  Perhaps delving into this extremely divisive issue from our national past will assist us today in seeking to be accountable.

Question, in what areas of your personal life do you hold yourself completely accountable?  When asked a question at MUS by a teacher, do you always tell the unadulterated truth (fearing the power of the Honor System), or are you willing to conveniently twist the facts or omit important information?

Jim Carey plays an attorney mysteriously forced to tell the truth about everything, regardless of the question, for 24 hours, in the movie, Liar, Liar. His son’s birthday wish haunts Fletcher Reede and causes him to take stock of his life of twisting the truth and avoiding accountability.  Humorous but painfully true, Jim Carey’s character discovers that avoiding accountability is self destructive and in the end, everyone gives an account.

February Advisory Theme: Humility

Advisory Program Theme for February: Humility

Humility is the defining characteristic of an unpretentious and modest person, someone who does not think that he or she is better or more important than others.

The term "humility" is derived from the Latin word "humilis", which is translated not only as humble but also alternatively as "low", or "from the earth".

Alexander Pope:

Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.

Blaise Pascal:

Do you wish people to think well of you? Don't speak well of yourself.

Frank Lloyd Wright:

Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose honest arrogance and have seen no occasion to change.

Mohandas K. Gandhi:

It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.

Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation.

Saint Augustine

Power is dangerous unless you have humility.
Richard J. Daley

Mankind is like dogs, not gods - as long as you don't get mad they'll bite you - but stay mad and you'll never be bitten. Dogs don't respect humility and sorrow.
Jack Kerouac

True humility is intelligent self respect which keeps us from thinking too highly or too meanly of ourselves. It makes us modest by reminding us how far we have come short of what we can be.
Ralph W. Sockman

If I had any humility I would be perfect.
Ted Turner

Sense shines with a double luster when it is set in humility. An able yet humble man is a jewel worth a kingdom.
William Penn

“Something interesting happens when we approach situations from a perspective of humility: it opens us up to possibilities, as we choose open-mindedness and curiosity over protecting our point of view. We spend more time in that wonderful space of the beginner’s mind, willing to learn from what others have to offer. We move away from pushing into allowing, from insecure to secure, from seeking approval to seeking enlightenment. We forget about being perfect and we enjoy being in the moment.

Here are a few suggestions on practicing humility:

1. There are times when swallowing one’s pride is particularly difficult and any intentions of humility fly out the window as we get engaged in a contest of perfection, each side seeking to look good. If you find yourself in such no-win situations, consider developing some strategies to ensure that the circumstances don’t lead you to lose your grace. Try this sometimes: just stop talking and allow the other person to be in the limelight. There is something very liberating in this strategy.

2. Here are three magical words that will produce more peace of mind than a week at an expensive retreat: “You are right.”

3. Catch yourself if you benignly slip into over preaching or coaching without permission – is zeal to impose your point of view overtaking discretion? Is your correction of others reflective of your own needs?

4. Seek others’ input on how you are showing up in your leadership path. Ask: “how am I doing?” It takes humility to ask such a question. And even more humility to consider the answer.

5. Encourage the practice of humility in your company through your own example: every time you share credit for successes with others, you reinforce the ethos for your constituents. Consider mentoring or coaching emerging leaders on this key attribute of leadership.

There are many benefits to practicing humility, to being in a state of non-pretence: it improves relationships across all levels, it reduces anxiety, it encourages more openness and paradoxically, it enhances one’s self-confidence. It opens a window to a higher self.”

Bruna Martinuzzi

Greenspan's Humility

By David Ignatius

Wednesday, August 31, 2005; Page A23

Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has been an unusual figure in

Washington

because of his willingness to admit that he doesn't have all the answers. In that state of uncertainty, Greenspan developed an economic approach that he described in a farewell speech last weekend as "risk management." I wish more of our cocksure politicians and analysts shared his humility.

Washington

is a city that lives on certainties. People want to score political and economic debates like a baseball game -- how many hits, how many errors, who are the heroes and who are the goats. Greenspan wouldn't play by those rules. His famous mumble wasn't always an attempt to mask his real conclusions. Often, I think, it was a way of expressing the reality that he wasn't sure yet what the answers were.

October 12th, 2007

Humility and Arrogance

Clay Shirky, who has made a name for himself by turning conventional wisdom on its head, has a provocative piece in this week’s A Brief Message:

“Arrogance without humility is a recipe for high-concept irrelevance; humility without arrogance guarantees unending mediocrity. Figuring out how to be arrogant and humble at once, figuring out when to watch users and when to ignore them for this particular problem, for these users, today, is the problem of the designer.”

Can a designer be arrogant and still have humility?

This question is particularly interesting for me. In 5 Principles to Design By, I advocated for humility, suggesting that the designer must get over themselves if they are to create a really great design. But now that I think about it, with Clay’s insistence, it might be possible to be arrogant at the same time. If Design is your muse, and you stop at nothing to create a great design, it might be considered arrogant. But are you putting your own values above others, or are you deferring to the Muse?

On that note, every time I watch an interview with the iPod’s designer, Jonathan Ive, I’m struck by his humility. Soft spoken, curious, and quietly confident. Yet we all know that the iPod would never have happened without Steve Jobs, considered by many to be extremely arrogant. Could that be it? Could arrogance and humility be the two sides of the design coin, embodied to near perfection by the Apple duo?

Joshua Porter Web Designer and Blogger

Definitions and Quotes on Perseverance, theme for January

Definitions and Quotes on Perseverance

For the “Thought for the Day” and Advisory Time

per·se·ver·ance      /ˌpɜr səˈvɪər əns/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pur-suh-veer-uh ns] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation 

–noun

1.	steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

2.	Theology. continuance in a state of grace to the end, leading to eternal salvation.

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[Origin: 1300–50; ME perseveraunce < MF perseverance < L persevérantia. See persevere, -ance ]
—Related forms 

per·se·ver·ant, adjective

—Synonyms 1. doggedness, steadfastness. Perseverance, persistence, tenacity, pertinacity imply resolute and unyielding holding on in following a course of action. Perseverance commonly suggests activity maintained in spite of difficulties or steadfast and long-continued application: Endurance and perseverance combined to win in the end. It is regularly used in a favorable sense. Persistence, which may be used in either a favorable or an unfavorable sense, implies unremitting (and sometimes annoying) perseverance: persistence in a belief; persistence in talking when others wish to study. Tenacity, with the original meaning of adhesiveness, as of glue, is a dogged and determined holding on. Whether used literally or figuratively it has favorable implications: a bulldog quality of tenacity; the tenacity of one's memory. Pertinacity, unlike its related word, is used chiefly in an unfavorable sense, that of overinsistent tenacity: the pertinacity of the social climber.

Quotes from Samuel Johnson

615. Perseverance
"All the performances of human art, at which we look with praise or wonder, are instances of the resistless force of perseverance; it is by this that the quarry becomes a pyramid, and that distant countries are united with canals. If a man was to compare the single stroke of the pickaxe, or of one impression of the spade, with the general design and the last result, he would be overwhelmed by the sense of their disproportion; yet those petty operations, incessantly continued, in time surmount the greatest difficulties, and mountains are leveled and oceans bounded by the slender force of human beings."
Johnson: Rambler #43 (August 14, 1750)

443. Perseverance
"Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance; yonder palace was raised by single stones, yet you see its height and spaciousness. He that shall walk with vigor three hours a day, will pass in seven years a space equal to the circumference of the globe."

1,429. Faith; Perseverance; Pride; Virtue
The utmost excellence at which humanity can arrive is a constant and determinate pursuit of virtue, without regard to present dangers or advantages; a continual reference of every action to the divine will; an habitual appeal to everlasting justice; and an unvaried elevation of the intellectual eye to the reward which perseverance only can obtain. But that pride which many, who presume to boast of generous sentiments, allow to regulate their measures has nothing nobler in view than the approbation of men, of beings whose superiority we are under no obligation to acknowledge, and who, when we have courted them with the utmost assiduity, can confer no valuable or permanent reward.
Johnson: Rambler #185 (December 24, 1751)

If by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Quotes from various authors

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't.  ~Henry Ward Beecher


The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places.  ~Author Unknown


When the world says, "Give up,"
Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
~Author Unknown

Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs.  Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger.  If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.  ~Dale Carnegie

Nobody trips over mountains.  It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble.  Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.  ~Author Unknown

When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.  ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Consider the postage stamp:  its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.  ~Josh Billings

The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground.  ~Author Unknown

Fall seven times, stand up eight.  ~Japanese Proverb

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.  ~Newt Gingrich

If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again.  ~Flavia Weedn, Flavia and the Dream Maker, © Flavia.com

He conquers who endures.  ~Persius

The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running.  ~Author unknown, in reference to Ecclesiastes 9:11, "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."

You can't go through life quitting everything.  If you're going to achieve anything, you've got to stick with something.  ~From the television show Family Matters

It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.  ~Albert Einstein

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.  ~Walter Elliott, The Spiritual Life

There is no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream.  ~Author Unknown

Perseverance... keeps honor bright:  to have done, is to hang quite out of fashion, like a rusty nail in monumental mockery.  ~William Shakespeare

The drops of rain make a hole in the stone not by violence but by oft falling.  ~Lucretius

But the moment you turn a corner you see another straight stretch ahead and there comes some further challenge to your ambition.  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

December's Advisory Theme: Belief and Faith

December’s Advisory Theme

Belief and Faith  - definitions, quotes and short histories of Hanukkah and Christmas.

Anatole France:

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.

Andre Gide:

Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it.

Anne Frank:

In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death.

Buddha:

Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true. [paraphrased]

Demosthenes:

Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.

Edith Hamilton:

Faith is not belief. Belief is passive. Faith is active.

Robert Fulghum:

I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge -- myth is more potent than history -- dreams are more powerful than facts -- hope always triumphs over experience -- laughter is the cure for grief -- love is stronger than death.

Walt Disney
When you believe a thing, believe in it all the way.

---

Benjamin N. Cardozo
We are what we believe we are.

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William James
Our belief at the beginning of a doubtful undertaking is the one thing that assures the successful outcome of any venture.

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William James
Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.

---

Dr. Thomas Fuller
He does not believe who does not live according to his belief.

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F. F. Bosworth
Believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts.

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Robert Oxton Bolt
A belief is not merely an idea the mind possesses; it is an idea that possesses the mind.

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James Lane Allen
The outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to reflect their inner beliefs.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

faith      /feɪθ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[feyth] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation 

–noun

1.	confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability.

2.	belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.

3.	belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims.

4.	belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.

5.	a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith.

6.	the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith.

7.	the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: He was the only one who proved his faith during our recent troubles.

8.	Christian Theology. the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.

—Idiom

9.	in faith, in truth; indeed: In faith, he is a fine lad.

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[Origin: 1200–50; ME feith < AF fed, OF feid, feit < L fidem, acc. of fidés trust, akin to fīdere to trust. See confide ]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Chanukah -- the eight-day festival of light that begins on the eve of Kislev 25 -- celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, of purity over adulteration, of spirituality over materiality. More than twenty-one centuries ago, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who sought to forcefully Hellenize the people of Israel . Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of G-d. When they sought to light the Temple's menorah, they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks; miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity. To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah. At the heart of the festival is the nightly menorah lighting: a single flame on the first night, two on the second evening, and so on till the eighth night of Chanukah, when all eight lights are kindled. On Chanukah we also recite Hallel and the Al HaNissim prayer to offer praise and thanksgiving to G-d for "delivering the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few... the wicked into the hands of the righteous." Chanukah customs include eating foods fried in oil -- latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (doughnuts); playing with the dreidel (a spinning top on which are inscribed the Hebrew letters nun, gimmel, hei and shin, an acronym for Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, "a great miracle happened there"); and the giving of Chanukah gelt, gifts of money, to children.

Christmas

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Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. Christmas festivities often combine the commemoration of Jesus' birth with various secular customs, many of which have been influenced by earlier winter festivals. The date as a birthdate for Jesus is traditional, and is not considered to be his actual date of birth.

In most places around the world, Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25. Christmas Eve is the preceding day, December 24. In the United Kingdom and many countries of the Commonwealth, Boxing Day is the following day, December 26. In Catholic countries, Saint Stephen's Day or the Feast of St. Stephen is December 26. The Armenian Apostolic Church observes Christmas on January 6. Eastern Orthodox Churches that still use the Julian Calendar celebrate Christmas on the Julian version of 25 December, which is January 7 on the more widely used Gregorian calendar, because the two calendars are now 13 days apart. (Armenians who use the Julian Calendar celebrate Christmas on the Julian version of Jan. 6, which is Jan. 19 on the Gregorian calendar.)

The word "Christmas" is a contraction of two words "Christ's mass" and is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038. In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ (Χριστός). Since the mid-16th century Χ, or the similar Roman letter X, was used as an abbreviation for Christ. Thus, Xmas is an abbreviation for Christmas.

After the conversion of Anglo-Saxons in England from their indigenous Anglo-Saxon polytheism (a form of Germanic paganism) in the very early 7th century, Christmas was called geol, which was the name of the native Germanic pre-Christian solstice festival that fell on that date. From geol, the current English word Yule is derived. Many customs associated with modern Christmas were derived from Germanic paganism.

The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned on Christmas Day in 800. Around the 12th century, the remnants of the former Saturnalian traditions of the Romans were transferred to the Twelve Days of Christmas (26 December - 6 January). Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival, incorporating ivy, holly, and other evergreens, as well as gift-giving.

Modern traditions have come to include the display of Nativity scenes, Holly and Christmas trees, the exchange of gifts and cards, and the arrival of Father Christmas or Santa Claus on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Popular Christmas themes include the promotion of goodwill and peace.