Wikipedia: Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed generally on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.
But the origins of the way we celebrate Christmas, pre-date the birth of Jesus.
MIDWINTER
Ronald Hutton, a historian at Bristol University says: "If you happen to live in a region in which midwinter brings striking darkness and cold and hunger, then the urge to have a celebration at the very heart of it to avoid going mad….. is very, very strong."
The winter solstice (21st December) is the shortest day of the year. The day was celebrated with feasts and decorations because daylight increases from this point. Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honor of the god Saturn, held on the 17th to the 23rd of December. It was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn and a banquet, followed by gift-giving, and partying. Saturn was the Roman god of agriculture and the harvest. The 25 December was the birthday of the Roman sun-god Sol.
So before Christianity, midwinter was a time of celebration. In the 4th Century, Christians began to celebrate the birth of Jesus at this time of year, even though historians believe that Jesus was not born in December.
YULETIDE
was celebrated by Germanic people before Christianity. Yuletide lasted up to two months, from November to January. Eventually, Yuletide and Christmas became one festival.
SANTA CLAUS
St. Nicholas was a 4th century Greek Christian bishop and he was a secret gift giver. The name Santa Claus comes from the Dutch word for St. Nicholas: 'Sinterklaas'. St. Nicholas wore red and white bishop's clothes and is thought to have had a long white shaggy beard and rode a white horse.
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| Sinterklaas |
Sinterklaas has mischievous helpers with black faces who listen at chimneys to find out if children are good or bad. Odin has a spear and black ravens, Huginn and Muninn, who report what is happening in the world.
The English Father Christmas is not the same as Santa Claus, and he developed from a spirit of the wildwood. The traditional Father Christmas wore green robes, with holly and ivy garlands.
NATIVITY
The first ever Nativity scene, showing the occasion of Jesus' birth, was created by St. Francis of Assisi, around 800 years ago. He was concerned the meaning of Christmas was becoming lost. Most people were more focussed on the festivities.
He was determined to remind people what Christmas was really about, so in a cave near Greccio, Italy, he created a Nativity which involved real people and animals. Over the years, Nativities spread to all Christian countries, and many primary schools have Nativity plays.
KINGS AND STAR
The twelve days of Christmas end with the feast of Epiphany. It is celebrated on January 6th, and is also know as the day of the Three Kings: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. According to legends based on the bible story, the three kings saw, on the night that Jesus was born, a bright star that they followed to Bethlehem. They found Jesus there and presented him with gold, frankincense and myrrh. In the bible, Matthew does not say how many kings came, or their names, or even that they were kings. It is likely that the men came from the middle east, and that they were astrologers. They are also known as the 'Magi', which is from the Greek word 'magus': the origin of the word 'magic'.
CHRISTMAS TREE
Ancient people, including the Egyptians, used evergreen trees and leaves to symbolise eternal life. Pagans worshipped trees, and decorated with evergreens at yuletide. Evergreens are special in midwinter because most plants lose their leaves, and they show that Spring and new life will come again.
The modern Christmas tree originated in Germany in the 16th Century. King George III's German wife introduced a Christmas tree to England in 1800, and Queen Victoria continued this tradition, so now Christmas trees are in nearly every home.
