Christmas is really a latter day tradition. Harvest festivals have always surrounded the winter solstice.
December 25 was a day of celebration long before a baby named Jesus was born.
In ancient times, the end of December was when harvest festivals were held as well as ceremonies to honor various gods.
Early Europeans pegged their celebrations to the winter solstice. According to the website “history.com,” that’s when these societies felt the worst of winter was over. Slowly, daylight hours became more plentiful and the temperature became warmer.
It was also the time cattle were slaughtered because food for them was scarce. Late December was also when beer and wine that had been bottled in the fall began to ferment. There was plenty of meat and drink for festivities. Songs were sung and gifts were given.
The Romans held a ceremony called Saturnalia to honor Saturn, the god of agriculture, for that fall’s harvest. On Dec. 25, Romans also paid homage to Mithra, their sun god.
In German society, people feared the god Oden, so they set aside time to honor him at the end of the calendar year.
In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated the Yule holiday from Dec. 21 to the end of January. Fathers and sons brought home large logs. They were lit in honor of the sun and could burn as long as 12 days. Feasts were organized around the burning Yule log.
Christmas Appears
Christmas didn’t appear on the date books until it was marked on a Roman calendar in 336 A.D. That was shortly after Constantine approved Christianity as the Roman Empire’s official religion.
Before then, Easter was the Christian’s main holiday, when they remembered the crucifixion of Christ and their belief in his resurrection.
Pope Julius I was the person who designated Dec. 25 as the day to honor Jesus’ birth. Most scholars agree Christ was actually born in the spring. However, early Christians used the already established harvest festival season to jump start their new holiday.
Christmas had its ups and downs in popularity over the centuries. It was celebrated almost exclusively in Europe. Societies in Asia and Africa, for example, didn’t acknowledge it.
Christmas In The U.S.
The holiday took awhile to catch on in the United States. According to history.com, many Puritan settlers felt Christmas was a secular holiday. They even banned it in Boston from 1659 to 1681. Congress was in session, in fact, on Dec. 25, 1789, just months after American Revolutionary War ended.
Charles Dickens’ “Christmas Carol,” in the 1830s helped change the holiday’s focus in the United States from a harvest-type festival to a family-oriented celebration.
Christmas was declared a federal holiday in 1870. It wasn’t a major retail enterprise in the United States until businesses began to highlight the holiday in the 20th century.
So, although some criticize the phrase “holiday season” at this time of year, Christmas has always shared its celebrations with other festivities.
History of Christmas traditions
Christmas tree: From the German “paradise tree,” which was decorated with apples to re-tell the story of Adam and Eve
Wreath: A symbol in Rome of victory
Holly: A plant with red berries that was sacred in ancient times and called the “holy tree”
Mistletoe: An evergreen plant sacred to Celtic priests
Christmas carols: From a Greek dance called “choraulein.” It was done to flute music.
