Most people know the story of Christmas, but it is also common knowledge that the holiday contains many non-Christian elements. In fact, the celebration draws influence from pagan rituals that have been incorporated into the traditions of the season.
So, how did Christmas get this way? Why is it celebrated on Dec 25? And why the Christmas tree? Gather round, boys and girls, and prepare to be enlightened!
First, let’s address why Christmas is celebrated on Dec 25. While the day clearly centres on the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago, the Roman feast celebrating the sun god, Sol Invictus, also fell on this date.
Celebrating Christmas on Dec 25, therefore, was possibly a way to appropriate pre-existing festivities.
This Roman festival is likely just one of many European winter festivals that influenced Christmas celebrations. Saturnalia, another Roman holiday, might also have played a part as it, too, involved feasts, gift-giving and the use of evergreen wreaths.
There was also a Germanic holiday honouring the god Odin, called Yule, which probably had an even bigger influence on how Christmas is celebrated today. Again, this holiday was marked by a big feast and the sacrifice of a Yule boar, which may be the origin of the Christmas ham in the West.
Yule was also often associated with the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession riding through the sky led by Odin himself. Perhaps this is behind the idea of a bearded old man flying in the sky with his reindeer?
Whatever the case, the word “Yuletide”, associated with the Christmas season, originates from these Norse traditions of yore.
Another event that could have left its mark on the Christmas holiday was Koliada, a Slavic festival during which celebrants went out carolling and placed decorative pieces of evergreen in their homes.
On to food! Funnily enough, the stereotypical Christmas feasts we all know and love were not a thing before 300AD. Prior to that, such acts of indulgence were deemed inappropriate on such a sacred day.
Even for some conservative Christians, celebrating Christmas was unacceptable – in 1647, Puritan-ruled England banned Christmas outright. This did not go down well and the people rioted, seizing the city of Canterbury and decorating it with Christmas wreaths.
Many Puritans settled in the Americas, which meant their aversion to Christmas continued in early colonial America. In fact, after the American Revolutionary War from 1775-1783, Christmas was regarded as a foreign and British celebration.
Meanwhile, Scotland’s parliament abolished Christmas as a holiday in 1640, and it was only made a public holiday again in 1958 – which is relatively recent, in the grand scheme of things.
Notably, Christmas eventually gained prominence in the United States thanks to Charles Dickens’ classic novel, “A Christmas Carol”, published in 1843.
It was also during this time that the tradition of Christmas trees began. Britain’s Queen Victoria married a German, Prince Albert, who is believed to have brought the custom with him to the United Kingdom, where it eventually crossed the Atlantic.
Still, this doesn’t explain where the tradition actually originated. Some accounts say the Christmas tree was first recorded to have been used by German Lutherans in the 16th century, while others purport that the practice of bringing greenery into the home started off as a form of medieval theatre decoration.
Whatever the case, no depiction of Christmas would be complete without the jolly bearded man in red. Like the holiday, Santa Claus is a combination of several different holiday figures, although the main influence would definitely be Saint Nicholas.
That man – a 4th-century Christian bishop in what is Turkey today – was known for his generosity and is the patron saint of children. He has been combined with Father Christmas, the English personification of Christmas itself.
The idea of Santa Claus having a wife and elves as assistants probably comes from the Finnish version of him called Joulupukki. And the Nordic god Odin night again have rubbed off on the popular image of Santa Claus, as Odin had a habit of entering houses through chimneys.
Still, it was a 1930s Coca-Cola advertisement that cemented Santa Claus’ image as we know it today.
With all this information, it is clear Christmas is an interesting blend of traditions from different times and cultures that all revolve around enjoying the season with the family.
As such, there is no wrong or right way to celebrate the season, so enjoy it however you wish – as long as you are together with your cherished friends or family. Merry Christmas!