The early Christians seeing that the Saturnalia was a very common festivity, tried to tap in to the festivity by allowing the festival be celebrated by the followers of their faith. They however introduced a cache to the story. On the last day of the Saturnalia, December 25, the birth of Jesus would be celebrated. This was aimed at discouraging these pagans from murdering a person on this day but to instead celebrate the birth of a savior. The response to this was slow but started to pick with time.

To the modern day, Christmas is celebrated through a common symbol the Christmas tree. The source of this also comes from pagan belief. Most of the pagans worshipped trees and to convince them to join the Christian faith. They had to allow them to use some of their beliefs in celebrating a festival like this. These pagans therefore brought the trees into their homes during the week long festivities so as to decorate their houses.

Coming to Christmas presents, this practice was borrowed form a culture that was employed during the saturnalia which required the citizens to offer offerings to their emperors in the period starting from the 25th of December to the 1st of January. The Catholic Church then used this culture and started it off as a custom of gift giving of Saint Nicholas, a catholic Bishop who lived in Turkey and loved children. Following his death, some staunch Christians idolized him and started offering each other gifts, especially to children.  This culture spread slowly from Turkey to Germany where the myth of Nicholas and the flying deer’s started. It is here that Santa Claus was born.

Through time, the myth of Santa Claus flying across the world to deliver gifts to children around the world has been repeated by many writers, poets and actors and this has led to a heavier belief that Santa Claus actually exists, especially to little children. The popularity of Santa Claus in recent times has been helped by his use in adverts showing him drinking a coca cola soda. This gave the birth of a commercial Santa and the commercialization of Christmas

Through this short account of the history of Christmas, it is expected that you have had the basic information of the most celebrated holiday across the world. It is also important to note that a lot of good has come from Christmas, a largely pagan practice to the biggest holiday in the year. 

In pre roman britain Christmas as such was not celebrated, true that Druids held mistletoe as sacred, simply because it grew on trees with having any roots of its own. The Druids were astronomers ,mathematicians, as well as poets and bards.So first question : would they have seen the cosmic revelation announcing the birth of Christ.

It was spotted in the east by learned maegi: they might have even been from as far away as China. it is reported that they visited the Christ child in Bethlehem, but this was many weeks after the birth.Also possibly there was more than three wise men; it would have been difficult to travel thousands of miles following a cosmic phenomenum without logistic back up.The shepherds are another anomaly for a start they would not have been out in the fields during the winter months. So it is feasible that Christ was born in the spring time. Angels well they can appear at any time,so no problem there.

In pre-roman Brython, the natives celebrated Samhain which was the end of their fertile year and the descent into the darker non fertile months of winter. The Romans brought with them the celebration of “Saturnalia” where decorations were hung. During the Roman occupation, christianity came to Brython. the Celtic monks who traveled the country heard of all these celebrations and in order to convert the population to Christianity, gradually assimilated Christian events into the celebrations and events of the non christian community.There for Christ was born at the time of winter celebrations ,whether it was that time or not. The established church: by church I mean organised religion: assimilated the story of christianity into and onto the existing religious practises. I beleive that there are many things written about Christ and Christianity kept hidden from us, just as it was in ancient times. There are many books,parchments and such like hidden away in secret, from the eyes of us the so called ignorant peasants who cant possibly understand it all.

Christmas as we know it really began in victorian and edwardian times. Medieval scenes of festive celebrations became De Rigeur,Christmas as seen through rose tinted spectacles. We put up christmas trees festooned with lights, hang holly and ivy round our fire places etc and still call it a predominatly christian festival. Yet all our trees ,decorations are all “Pagan” in origin. Strange isnt it?

Anyway have a beautiful Christmas, dont stress about the money or gifts, enjoy the season and share good times with friends and family.

The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. Many peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.

In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.

The end of December was a perfect time for celebration in most areas of Europe. At that time of year, most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter. For many, it was the only time of year when they had a supply of fresh meat. In addition, most wine and beer made during the year was finally fermented and ready for drinking.

In Germany, people honored the pagan god Oden during the mid-winter holiday. Germans were terrified of Oden, as they believed he made nocturnal flights through the sky to observe his people, and then decide who would prosper or perish. Because of his presence, many people chose to stay inside.

Saturnalia

In Rome, where winters were not as harsh as those in the far north, Saturnalia—a holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture—was celebrated. Beginning in the week leading up to the winter solstice and continuing for a full month, Saturnalia was a hedonistic time, when food and drink were plentiful and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down. For a month, slaves would become masters. Peasants were in command of the city. Business and schools were closed so that everyone could join in the fun.

Also around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition, members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra’s birthday was the most sacred day of the year.

In the early years of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated. In the fourth century, church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday. Unfortunately, the Bible does not mention date for his birth (a fact Puritans later pointed out in order to deny the legitimacy of the celebration). Although some evidence suggests that his birth may have occurred in the spring (why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter?), Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival. First called the Feast of the Nativity, the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century. By the end of the eighth century, the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia. Today, in the Greek and Russian orthodox churches, Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the 25th, which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.

By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced, but gave up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated. By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the most part, replaced pagan religion. On Christmas, believers attended church, then celebrated raucously in a drunken, carnival-like atmosphere similar to today’s Mardi Gras. Each year, a beggar or student would be crowned the “lord of misrule” and eager celebrants played the part of his subjects. The poor would go to the houses of the rich and demand their best food and drink. If owners failed to comply, their visitors would most likely terrorize them with mischief. Christmas became the time of year when the upper classes could repay their real or imagined “debt” to society by entertaining less fortunate citizens.

An Outlaw Christmas

In the early 17th century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday.

The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.

After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Christmas wasn’t declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.

Now I do want to mention that while Karen is a Christian, I am not, while Karen celebrates Christmas as the birth of Jesus, I do not. I do not celebrate Christmas for the same reason as Karen but this does not mean that I have to be cruel to her and insult her reasons for celebrating. And before you ask… I do celebrate “Christmas” with the same traditions that predate Christianity – the tree, the gifts, and so forth, I just do not associate it with the birth of Jesus.  If somebody wishes me a Merry Christmas, I thank them, why would I mad or insulted?

But not too many years ago I was yelled at while working in a retail store, I said “Happy Holidays” to a lady customer and she freaked out, you would have thought I charged her too much for her purchases. What is so wrong with saying Happy Holidays? It’s not like I said “Happy Saturnalia“* or called her ugly.

Just because a person is not the same religion as you should not be any reason you cannot send them greetings?

Image by The U.S. Army via Flickr

Why cant we wish happy Diwali to East Indians and others that celebrate it? I did earlier this year after eating at an East Indian restaurant. I also wished Eid Mubarak to my internet Muslim friends earlier this year – and why not? I would wish people happy Kwanzaa too if I knew anyone that celebrated it.

Just because we do not share the same religion does not mean we should be so ignorant to bash somebody for offering us good wishes.

I still wonder why that lady was so cruel to me on that day when all I did was wish her happy holidays? Perhaps she is happier off being miserable.

*Saturnalia is one of the ancient December 25 holidays that predated Christianity, in which trees were decorated, gifts were exchanged, and the ancient pagans welcomed back the return to the sun in the sky, and celebrated the virgin birth of the sun God.

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Before Christmas, The Pagan world observed this day, for thousands of years , before they even heard of a Jesus Christ. December 25 used to be the concluding day of a Pagan Winter Festival called ” Saturnalia “. Pagan worshippers used to take evergreen boughs into their own houses, to preserve the life essence of the plants as the winter approaches , this act of sympathetic magic eventually came to be the Christmas Tree as adopted by Christians. Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25th , this in truth is a fact. Jesus wasn’t even BORN anywhere near December 25. Though the birth of the Messiah cannot be known for certain , we can actually find out the approximate time of the YEAR when he was born. Jesus was conceived about six months after John (Luke 1:24-31,esp. verse 26). This would suggest that Jesus, the Messiah , was conceived about the middle of December. This would place his birth nine months or 270 days later — or the month of September. 

In actuallity, the event celebrated during December 25, was the birthday of Sol Invictus, this date appears in many compilations of the Roman Calendar  In the year 274, Aurelian , declared the official Deity of Rome as Deus Sol Invictus where he built a magnificent temple of the sun in Rome. This was in the fourth century, AFTER the Messiah, which means that the Church moved to incorporate the Sun God’s birthday into the so-called Christian Calendar. Converted the event,  into the birthday of the Messiah himself. The previous Pagan Festival was converted into a Christian one, baptized , and transformed into something Christian. Though in today’s world , few know the origin of Christmas , the lies and the deception behind its truth , though called by most as a  ” Christian ” celebration , it still has a Pagan heart and core.

Although many people think Christmas started with the birth of Jesus Christ roughly 2010 years ago, this is not at all true. In fact celebrations had been taking place around this time for hundreds of years, in fact most scholars (and many Christians) now agree Jesus was very likely not born on December 25, or even in the winter for that matter.

Let us look at the facts. Many winter solstice celebrations took place, or ended, on December 25. Although we now observe the solstice around December 21, in the old calendar system this event fell on December 25. This day was celebrated as the hours of daylight grew longer in the northern hemisphere. The return of the sun meant renewal and was a very important time of the year.

Various groups of peoples marked this time with different traditions, evergreens were brought into the homes as a symbol of life (other trees did not retain signs of life in the winter). Nativity scenes were made to honor the rebirth of the sun god. Songs were sung, gifts exchanged, and of course lots of feasting and merry making.

The popularity of these celebrations were so high it was hard to get Christian convert to drop them. Even now Christians carry on the pagan traditions although they have been assigned with new Christian meaning. Nonetheless the idea was to assign this date to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and rename it “Christmas” – this being a change from earlier names such as Saturnalia, Yule, and others.

Many Christians are well aware of these early origins of one of their most important traditions, and at one point in history, in the United States, Christians were not allowed to celebrate Christmas. This occurred for several years during the 1600’s in the state of Massachusetts. This was short lived as the popularity of the holiday won out, however there are some Christian groups who do not celebrate Christmas at all and indeed many non-Christians wonder if Christians should be celebrating this day at all.

Should “good” Christians celebrate this obvious pagan holiday?

Some Christians protest the celebration of Halloween as it also has its roots in pagan traditions, yet it too was given a “Christian name”, changed from Samhain.  Those Christians are perhaps being hypocritical, celebrating one “claimed” holiday, but rejecting another. Then again – there is Easter, also a pagan holiday, although this one still retains its pagan name.

If they want to celebrate the winter solstice, if they want to celebrate the end of the harvest, or have a spring fertility celebration, so what? But they should at least be aware of the original meanings of the holiday, the true “Reason for the Season”.

Happy Holidays!

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Those in power were expected to make at least a show of giving up their privileges for the duration of the festival. The toga, the formal robe of the citizen, was shunned. Bright-coloured clothes were in. But beneath the surface the normal rules still applied. The master might serve the feast, but the slaves had still prepared it. And woe betide the servant who crossed the line between minor festive insubordination and true disobedience. But despite the limits, it was a safety valve for underling – a chance to live out at least some of his or her daydreams of freedom.

Gift giving was an important part of the celebrations, and special seasonal markets grew up in the larger towns specifically to sell Saturnalia gifts. Some of these gifts wouldn’t be too different from what we might give today as a Christmas present: a writing tablet instead of fancy embossed writing paper, dice instead of a boxed game, a comb instead of toiletries. With the markets busy and licence to be loud and rowdy in public, the atmosphere can’t have been that different to a modern city centre in the run up to Christmas.

In some traditions a servant or slave was appointed nominal head of the household for at least some of the festivities. He might preside over the slaves’ banquet or make the sacrifices to the household gods, adding to the appearance of the normal social order being reversed.

As time went on, the Saturnalia festivities became more and more rowdy. Several emperors tried to curb the length of the festival, but backed down in the face of riots. This shows how popular the feast was with the free urban poor, not just the slaves (who wouldn’t dare riot). There are records of soldiers dressing up as women, hints of the modern panto dame but also another aspect of the reversal of roles and social status, since women had very low status at least in the eyes of Roman law.

With the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Empire, Saturnalia as such had to go. But many of the traditions carried on. The Feast of Fools, presided over by the Lord of Misrule, was basically the upturned hierarchy idea of Saturnalia renamed and it continued on past the fall of the Empire and into the Middle Ages. The idea even crept into the Church itself, with a Boy Bishop or a festive deacon being appointed for the day in some towns, despite it being roundly condemned by many in the Church hierarchy who thought the setting aside of their dignity threatened the power of the Church and the seriousness of its message.

The Feast of Fools was officially banned in 1431 and although it might have continued in some places it was pretty much dead by the time the rise of the Protestant churches and a growing Puritanism in the general population knocked it on the head.

Personally, I think we should resurrect some of these customs. It would be funny to have the managers and department heads serving the staff their Christmas lunch at workplace parties, or maybe even serving coffee and doing the photocopying for a day. And it would remind them that they are no better, as human beings, than the rest of us.

Solstice, December 20, 21, or 22.

In the Northern Hemisphere this is the day of the year with the least sunlight, the first day of Winter. In the Southern Hemisphere it is the day with the most, the first day of summer. It is typically celebrated with bonfires, singing, and feasts. It is closely related to the ancient celebration of Saturnalia, which was moved to December 25 when the old Calenders changed to the new Julian system.

Image via Wikipedia

Festivus, December 23rd.

This celebration has no ancient origin and was actually made popular by the television sitcom Seinfeld. Festivus is a non-denominational holiday marked by the airing of grievances and feats of strength. It is a stand against the commercialism that Christmas has become.

Hannukah, an 8 day celebration, usually starting in December.

This is also known as the Festival of Lights and celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Each night candles are lit on the Menorah, one each night, as well as another for the purpose of lighting those ones.

Kwanzaa, December 26 to January 1.

This holiday is celebrated typically by people of African decent and is marked with feasting, lighting candles, and sharing of gifts.

Saturnalia, December 25.

Originally celebrated as a day to honor Mithra, the sun god, this holiday is pagan in nature and predates Christmas by hundreds of years, although the traditions are pretty much the same. Heck, they even had a nativity, and virgin birth! It has been established that most Christmas traditions originate from Saturnalia, others from Yule (below).

Yule, December 25.

Like Saturnalia, Yule as absorbed into, or covered by Christmas, but had the same traditions long before Christmas came into being. This was the pagan holiday of Germany.

And there are more….

So, why can’t we wish each other Happy Holidays if we want to?

Related Reading

The Origins of Christmas Traditions

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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.