Scientists and Scholars now agree that Christ was very likely not born on December 25, nor anywhere near that date. It has come to be known that the date was celebrated far before that time by Roman Pagans, Druids, and other people long before the time of Christianity. When early Christians tried to remove the ancient ways, they were unsuccessful, so renamed the day, gave it a new meaning, and assigned new meanings to the popular traditions. Here are the real reasons we have those traditions, and their real meaning.

To start let us first accept that in the old Julian Calender, the Winter Solstice, the 24 hour period with the least day light in the Northern hemisphere, was December 25, in our current calender it falls on or around December 21. Most cultures had some sort of celebration on this day, sometimes the festivities started a week earlier and ended on this day.

The Christmas Tree

Probably one of the most recognized symbols of Christmas, right? Wrong. Decorated trees were around long before Christmas. Because winter is typically a time of death, the evergreen was thought by ancient Druids to be magical, and brought protection if a part of it were brought inside during this time of year. Often it was just branches brought indoors, but trees outside were decorated with apples, additional pine cones, and lit candles. Roman pagans also noted that it was a special plant and would cut one down and offer it to Saturn, the God of agriculture, frequently adorning it first.

Photo from Wikimedia

Ball Ornaments

These round orbs, are representational of the Sun, and were symbols of worship to the Roman Sun God, Mithras, of course they were not made of plastic back then.

Gifts

Gifts have been exchanged at this time of year for many centuries, even predating the time of Christ.

The Nativity Scene

There have been numerous deities assigned the birth date of December 25 (which if you recall was the shortest time of light according to the older Julian Calendar). From Sol, to Apollo, to Mithras, and in Roman times nativity scenes were made to honor each.

Photo from Wikimedia

Stars

In ancient times the Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a day to honor the God Saturn, the god of Agriculture, seeds and planting. They did not know Saturn was a planet not a star. They also represented Saturn with yellow discs, we now refer to these as halos.

Wreaths

Wreaths, to the ancient Romans, were a symbol of eternal life, as winters were a time of hardships and death (yes, even in Rome), wreaths of evergreens were passed around as gifts at this time of the year.

Mistletoe

Mistletoe was known as a sacred plant, it lived in trees with no roots to the ground, quite unlike any other plant. Due to its’ special nature it was also considered a fertility symbol, hence the tradition of kissing under the Mistletoe. On the other hand, though it is poisonous and possibly used to poison a sacrificial victim. Early Christians tried to not include Mistletoe in any celebrations (mostly because of it being a fertility symbol), but it is still very common in people’s houses today at this time of year.

Red and Green

Red and Green are the colors of Holly, a plant that also comes into play in what people consider Christmas Traditions, however Holly was brought into decorate homes long before Christmas was celebrated as such. As another of those plants who mysteriously lived and retained its beauty into the winter it was considered magical. Green, of course was also associated with evergreens (life), and red with apples (food), both of which were important at this time of year.

Candles and Lights

Of course in ancient times lights did not exist, but candles did! In different regions the use of candles represented different functions the strongest being to honor, or welcome back, the Roman sun God, Mithras. It must be remembered that in the northern hemisphere December 21 is now the day with the least sunlight of all, but that in the Julian Calender, the date of the solstice was December 25.

Bells

In the dark times surrounding this time of year evil spirits were held to blame for death, so in Northern areas, bells were used to frighten the spirits away. The meaning of bells were later said to be happy rather than for protection.

Gingerbread Men

Back to ancient Rome again, the week long festivities often involved eating of cookies made in human form.

Santa Claus

The jolly fat man comes from a more recent time, and a man named Sinter Klaas, or Saint Nicholas. He became known later as the Patron Saint of Children because he reportedly saved many from lives of crime or prostitution. He frequently fed poor children and kept them from death. His death, December 6, was later marked by the giving of gifts in honor of him. This later was moved to December 25. Saint Nicholas was not fat, nor dressed in red and white, this image was created by the Coca Cola company for an advertising campaign, as a skinny Santa just didn’t have the same appeal as a jolly fat one.

Caroling

This is an ancient tradition that started it Rome, a group of people called “mummers” would dress up, or be totally naked, and stroll from house to house singing and dancing to entertain their neighbours. Over time only singing became the tradition, the name as changed to “Caroling”,and clothing was not optional.

The Feast and Parties

Different ancient groups feasted on this day, as a way to celebrate the return of the sun, the coming back of more daylight, and to welcome in good fortune for the future, it was also a way of demonstrating ones wealth, having more than enough food to eat. The feast often was of gluttonous levels. In Rome especially this carried onto ridiculous levels as the feasting and partying started one week earlier, and included orgies. It was a time when laws could be broken with no fear of prosecution, and drunkenness was common.

Kindness to the Poor

Again in ancient Rome, and the holiday celebrated as Saturnalia, Romans exhibited a bit of a role reversal, a time where slaves were treated well and included in the feast, occasionally even being fed by their masters.

Garland

Romans use to keep the statue of Saturn tied up, wrapped, in ropes, these ropes could very well be represented by garlands of today. The statue was only “untied” for the Saturnalia celebrations.

You might have been shocked to learn that so many of the Christmas traditions you thought were “Christian” were in fact around long Christ, and that many of these are indeed Pagan traditions. In fact in Massachusetts from 1659 to 1681, it was illegal to celebrate “Christmas”, due to its’ Pagan origins. As our openness to learn the truth about the past increases we will grow as people.