Ancient Origins of Christmas Traditions
From Feasting to Gift Giving, Santa Claus to Mistletoe
Dec 5, 2008
Christmas, at least in most of the Western world, is easily the most anticipated celebration of the year. In modern times, the holiday is associated with decorated trees and gaily lighted houses, get-togethers with family and friends, feasts and parties, and of course weeks or months of shopping for the perfect gifts. Among some Christians, the holiday is celebrated as marking the birth of Jesus Christ, and entails masses, hymns, and other religious observation. But what most Westerners recognize as Christmas has a very long history, one that originated in pre-Christian rites and rituals.
December 25th
The winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, has been commemorated by ritual probably since neolithic times. By the modern calendar, the date of the solstice falls around December 21st; ancient peoples, noticing the sun appeared not to move for three days before its re-ascent into the northern sky and the lengthening of days, celebrated the solstice — from the Latin meaning “sun stands still” — as a sort of rebirth of the sun. Many cultures recognized the event as a sort of birthday for their particular gods — the Egyptian sun god Horus, for example, was purported to have been born on December 25th. In fact, the ancient Romans, from the year 274, celebrated the festival of Sol Invictus, the “birthday of the unconquered sun,” on December 25. The Christian Church did not fix the date of Christmas at December 25th until the fourth century, and the celebration was not actually called Christmas until the ninth century. Prior to that, it was simply known as the Midwinter Feast, and celebrated as a combination of Saturnalia and the Norse Yule Festival.
Gifts, Feasting and Santa Claus
The ancient Romans are also responsible for most of the merrymaking associated with the modern version of Christmas. Saturnalia, a week-long festival celebrating the dedication of the temple of Saturn, featured feasting, drinking, slaves switching places with kings, and gift giving. The festival was immensely popular, and as Christianity overtook the Roman Empire, it added its own customs to the already existing pagan traditions to ease conversion. This blending of myths may also be responsible for the figure of Santa Claus, whose origins are believed to lie in the Norman Lord of Misrule, a red-robed character who oversaw the festivities of Saturnalia, mixed with the Christian St. Nicholas, patron saint of children.
Christmas Trees and Mistletoe
The earliest recorded instance of a lit tree being erected to celebrate Christmas dates from 16th century Germany, in particular to a church in Strasbourg in 1539. But the veneration of evergreen trees as a symbol of fertility and rebirth dates back to pagan times. Likewise, the custom of hanging mistletoe is pagan in origin; the Druids considered it a sacred plant, and Vikings hung it on the doors of their houses as a welcome. Kissing under the mistletoe is thought to be associated with Saturnalia and with ancient Roman marriage rites.
Christmas Banned?
It may seem hard to imagine in modern times, when the trappings of Christmas are nearly inescapable, but until quite recently the celebration was frowned upon for the very reason that it was considered a pagan practice. In 17th century England, Oliver Cromwell ordered his soldiers to tear down holiday decorations, and when the Puritans first came to America, they prohibited Christmas for its distasteful associations. The Christmas we know today was only declared a national public holiday in 1836.
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