Origins of Christmas Customs
Christmas Trees and Gift-Giving from Mesopotamia to the Present
Dec 5, 2008
In pre-Christian times, major festivals centered around the winter solstice, the day the sun reached its lowest point, signaling the shift to lengthening days.
The solstice began a new year, leading toward spring and the return of winter’s dormant life to the earth. The Romans calculated the solstice to be on Dec. 25, the day of our present Christmas.
Two books, 4000 Years of Christmas by Earl W. Count and Alice Lawson Count, and The Solstice Evergreen by Sheryl Ann Karas, provide an in-depth history of celebrations at this time of year, beginning with the ancient Mesopotamians.
From this history, arise many similarities with present-day Christmas celebrations.
Mesopotamia’s Twelve Days of Solstice Celebrations
Four thousand years ago, in ancient Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, people celebrated a festival of renewal as the days turned from shortening to lengthening at the winter solstice. Much like Christmas, this festival celebrated the “twelve days” of Zagmuk and included:
- Visiting friends and exchanging gifts
- Religious processions with lights and songs
- Groups of townspeople singing door to door
- A feast on the final day of the festival
Rome’s Saturnalia
As Rome became the center of Mediterranean civilization, portions of the Mesopotamian solstice festival moved west. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, honoring the god Saturn. Celebrations began in mid-December and continued until January 1. The mid-point of the festival was December 25, the day of the Roman winter solstice. Like Zagmuk, the festival included:
- Merrymaking and feasting
- Visiting friends to wish them good lick
- Exchanging good-luck gifts, fruits and cakes
- Decking the halls with boughs of greenery and candles
- Role reversal of slaves and masters, allowing slaves a day of rest from their labors
Santa Claus through the Ages
Santa Claus seems to have descended from the ancient Scandinavian god Odin and the Roman Empire’s Saint Nicholas.
- Odin originated as a warrior and protector of his people. Over time, he softened into a kindly god who wandered the land assuring that good prevailed.
- St. Nicholas protected sailors, travelers and the humble throughout the Roman Empire and into the Balkans and Russia. He was known to slip gifts to the needy, especially at the time of the winter solstice.
- In the Rhineland, people set out clogs on Dec. 6 to be filled with gifts from “Santeklas,” as St. Nicholas was called.
Celebrating with Trees
Trees have been the site of worship ceremonies since ancient times. The Druids of ancient Europe are well known for their rituals around sacred trees, especially the oak and the pine. It was believed that spirits lived in trees.
- Evergreens, including fir, pine and juniper trees, plus holly and ivy, were especially revered because they remained live and fresh during the coldest, shortest days of winter.
- Druid ceremonies included tying apples and other offerings to the branches of ritual trees at the winter Solstice.
- Bells were sometimes hung in evergreen boughs to protect against evil spirits.
- Pre-Christian Europeans decorated trees for important occasions.
- In the far north of Europe, people decorated their homes at solstice time with greenery hung with apples, nuts, ribbons and paper ornaments.
If tradition marks our Christmas celebrations, many of the traditions may have been handed down from ancestors who enjoyed a similar celebration thousands of years ago.
Sources:
4000 Years of Christmas: A Gift from the Ages, Earl W. Count and Alice Lawson Count, Ulysses Press, Berkeley, CA 1997.
The Solstice Evergreen: The History, Folklore and Origins of the Christmas Tree, Sheryl Ann Karas, Aslan Publishing, Fiarfield, CT, 1991
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