Christmas is around the corner and moving fast. Have you made your Christmas lists, or Should I say Christmas text messages. Have you ever wondered how Christmas came to be or who invented Christmas? Keep reading to find out the mystery behind the History of Christmas.
Many originate Christmas as the day that Jesus Christ was born, but undisclosed to many the Christmas holiday earlier known as Yule, was celebrated by the Scandinavians from December 21st which was known as the winter solstice, through January. This was celebrated in recognition of the return of the sun, which then fathers and sons would bring home large logs that the village would then set on fire. A feast commenced until the logs had burned out which could take anywhere from one day to twelve days. The Norse had believed that for every spark that the log would give, would be a new pig or calf that would be born that coming year.
Saturnalia was another variation of the now named holiday, Christmas. This was celebrated by the Romans who had worshiped Saturn who is the God of Agriculture. This celebration began in the week leading up to the winter solstice and continued for a full month. Through this celebration, enslaved people were given temporary freedom and were treated as equals. Businesses and schools had been shut down so that everyone could participate in the celebration. Also around the time of the winter solstice the Romans had believed that December 25th was the birth of Mithra, the infant God of the unconquerable sun. Mithra was believed to be born from rock and for some Romans, December 25th is the most sacred day of the year because of her.
By holding Christmas around the same time of the winter solstice, church leaders had believed that the holiday would grow popular but it had given up the ability to determine how it was celebrated. By the middle ages Christianity had, for the most part, replaced the pagan religion. The day of Christmas, people attend church and then celebrate in a carnival and drunken atmosphere which can be related to our Mardi Gras. Other traditions held back then were ones like, the poor going to the homes of the rich and demanding their best food and drinks, if the rich refused then that would allow the poor to taunt and cause mischief for them.
It was not until the 19th century that Christmas was reinvented and changed from a carnival like celebration, to more of a family-centered holiday. Some traditions like Christmas Carols were invented around the 1900’s when English author Charles Dickens had created a holiday tale that is now known around the world called, A Christmas Carol. This story had a message within it that spoke to many and changed many families’ views. Families had become less disciplined, more peaceful and more sensitive to the emotional needs of children so, parents began to buy their children gifts on the day of Christmas without seeming to spoil them. In the next 100 years Americans had built Christmas traditions around decorating, sending gift cards and giving gifts to family and friends.
Have you heard of someone named St. Nicholas, or maybe by his known name, Santa Claus? The story behind this renowned character stems all the way back to 280 A.D when a man named Saint Nicholas gave away all of his inherited wealth and he had traveled to the countryside to help the poor and sick. He had then become known as the protector of children and sailors. St. Nicholas had first entered American culture around the 18th century in New York. Dutch families had gathered around to celebrate the death of Sinter Nikolaas, which is Dutch for Saint Nicholas, or Sinter Klaas for short. “Santa Claus” had drawn his name from the abbreviation Sinter Klaas. In 1822 a minister named Clement Clarke Moore had written a poem named “An Account of a Visit From St.Nicholas” or better known by its first line as, “Twas the night before Christmas.” The tradition of Santa Clause had been immortalized in 1881 by a man named Thomas Nast who drew the iconic cartoon of Santa Clause who was drawn as the jolly man in a red suit, carrying around a red sack full of toys, climbing through chimneys, being driven around on a sleigh pulled by his eight reindeer.
Many ask if Jesus Christ was actually born on the 25th of December and to this question that answer is no one knows. In the early years of Christianity, Easter was known as the main holiday. The birth of Jesus, which is still unknown, was not celebrated at this time. The Bible does not give a date in which Jesus was born, which was a fact that the Puritans had used to try and deny the legitimacy of the celebration once it had been commenced. Many speculate that Jesus may have been born in the spring, mainly for the question of, why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter? Pope Julius I had chosen December 25th and many believe that this was the date chosen because of its closeness to the Roman holiday, Saturnalia.
Now you know the History of Christmas, who Santa really was and the different variations of this holidays season.
