We all know it as “the most wonderful time of the year”. A time where we exchange gifts with family and friends, decorate with colorful lights and a tree, send Christmas cards, bake cookies, and see a representation of Santa almost everywhere we look. But how did our holiday on December 25th begin?
As is true with most holidays, Christmas’s roots go way back. In fact, part of this particular holiday’s origins began in Scandinavia. The Norse people celebrated a holiday called Yule during December 21 through January. Why? Well with the worst of winter being over, they wanted to celebrate the return of the sun and longer days. Men and their sons would go out and find huge logs that they would then set on fire and feast around until the fire went out. This could take up to 12 days! Germans also celebrated their terrifying god, Oden, during the winter. They believed that Oden was the decider of who would be successful and who would die. (history.com)
Rome also celebrated one of their gods at this time during a celebration called Saturnalia. During this time, they worshipped the god Saturn who was the god of agriculture. Saturnalia was celebrated right before the winter solstice and went on for a month. The Roman social order flipped upside down at this time with the poorest of the poor actually being in charge of the city! Around this time, Romans also celebrated Juvenalia, which was a celebration in honor of the Roman children. And, on December 25th specifically, a holiday in honor of the birthday of the god Mithra, the god of the sun, was celebrated. (history.com)
What do any of these holidays have to do with Christmas? Well, in the beginning, the church did not celebrate the birth of Jesus. It wasn’t until the fourth century when Pope Julius I decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus and made the holiday on December 25th. This is believed to have been done in hopes of overcoming the Saturnalia celebration. Christmas, which was originally referred to as the Feast of the Nativity, eventually spread to many countries including England and Scandinavia. Believe it or not, Christmas used to actually be considered a raucous holiday due to the excessive drinking that accompanied it, instead of the peaceful holiday we think of it as today. (history.com)
This next fact is a little surprising: Christmas wasn’t a national holiday until 1870. The holiday came to America with all of the immigration and customs that were prevalent in the New World. However, it was still a raucous holiday and gang riots used to be a major aspect of the day. In 1819, however, an author by the name of Washington Irving wrote a series titled The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent. The series depicted Christmas as being a time of giving and being thankful. Interestingly enough, Irving had never actually experienced a Christmas like the one he wrote about, so he is actually credited with inventing the holiday that we look forward to today. (history.com)
“But why do we put a tree in our home every Christmas season?” you may be wondering. Well, the Christmas tree tradition actually started with Christian Germans who, in the 16th century, would bring trees into their home to decorate around the Christmas season. Also, Romans decorated their homes with evergreen boughs during Saturnalia as the celebration marked the beginning of the end of winter. Later on in the United States, many Americans believed this to be a strange tradition up until the 19th century because they believed Christmas trees were a sign of paganism. However, when the 20th century came around, Americans also had trees in their homes and began decorating them with homemade ornaments. (history.com)
Lastly, we have to acknowledge the origins of a beloved man in a red suit: Santa Claus. This legend actually began with a man called Saint Nicholas who was born around 280 A.D. and lived in modern day Turkey. He was known for his charity and numerous acts of kindness. By the time of the Renaissance, he was the most popular saint throughout Europe even when the Protestant Reformation discouraged the idea of saints. Saint Nicholas in Dutch was Sint Nikolaas, and his Dutch nickname was Sinter Klaas, which eventually turned into Santa Claus, the name we all recognize today. (history.com)
No matter what your favorite holiday or time of the year is, it’s safe to assume that Christmas holds a large place in most of our hearts. This Christmas, take the time to be thankful and give back to others. While you’re admiring your Christmas tree or relaxing with the ones you love, remember all of the cultures and history that blended together to bring about the holiday that we know and love today.
Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday season!
Sources: http://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas
http://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas-trees
http://www.history.com/topics/christmas/santa-claus