The History of Christmas
By Edwin Davis
Whether you believe Jesus was born in December or that the old calendars would actually place him in modern day September or that the descriptions in the bible place his birth in summer.
Many of our traditions have nothing to do with Christianity or the Mass for Christ and are derived from pagan rituals.
The middle of the winter solstice, throughout history, has been cause for celebration because the worst of winter is over.
Many cattle were slaughtered to keep from having to feeding them. As a result, most people had a fresh supply of meat and many feasts were had in celebration.
Most wine and beer was ready to drink at this time.
In Rome, Saturnalia, a holiday honoring the god Saturn, was a month long party that turned Rome upside down; slaves became masters and the peasants ruled the city.
The Roman upper class also celebrated the birth of Mithra, an infant god, on December 25 and it was considered by many to be the most sacred day of the year.
In early Christianity, Easter was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated.
Yule was a Norse celebration to honor the god Odin, god of intoxicating drink and ecstasy.
The Yule Log was a log burned during the midwinter festivals. The log represented health and fruitfulness. The tradition carried on and varied through out history and countries.
The evergreen tree along with other plants that stay green throughout the year were often used in winter celebrations. Many of the reasons for using the evergreens was to ward off evil spirits and illness. Sixteenth century Germany was the beginning of the Christmas tree as we know it today. The American tradition was started by the Pennsylvania German settlers in the 1830s.
Wreaths were a pre Christian practice started in Germany to celebrate the returning light and spring.
The mistletoe was sacred to the Norse, Druids and the North American Indians. It was used as protection from thunder, lightning, and evil spirits. The 18th century saw the first of the exchanging of kisses as a promise of marriage.
Poinsettias, a nonpagan tradition, are a favorite Christmas flower in the USA, but the legend of the poinsettia comes from Mexico. Two poor children picked weeds to give to the baby Jesus at a nativity seen because that was all they had to give and despite the teasing of other children, they placed the weeds next to baby Jesus. The leaves of the weeds then turn a bright red and the manger was soon surrounded by star shaped flowers.
Christmas adopted many traditions and symbols from history to make it what we know today.
In my house the tree went up on Christmas Eve and came down New Years day. Santa finished decorating most of our tree on Christmas eve after we went to sleep.