The Pagan Origins of Christmas
Many of the popular customs and traditions associated with Christmas, such as gift-giving, decorating trees, and lighting candles, trace their roots to pre-Christian pagan celebrations.
The ancient people of Europe celebrated Midwinter, the shortest day of the year, with feasts, dancing, and gift-giving. They believed that the sun was a god and that the winter solstice symbolized the sun’s rebirth. So they lit candles and decorated trees with ornaments and garlands to honor the sun god.
The Roman festival of Saturnalia, which was held from December 17 to 23, also influenced Christmas traditions. During Saturnalia, people exchanged gifts, feasted, and celebrated the god Saturn. Roman soldiers stationed in Britain may have brought Saturnalia customs with them, which merged with the local Midwinter traditions.
As Christianity spread through Europe, the Church attempted to assimilate pagan practices into Christian holidays. In the fourth century, Pope Julius I declared December 25th as the official date of Jesus’ birth, coinciding with the pagan festival of Sol Invictus (the unconquered sun). The early Christian church also co-opted the practice of gift-giving, associating it with the Three Wise Men’s offerings to the baby Jesus.
The Evolution of Christmas Traditions
As we know it today, Christmas underwent significant changes in the Middle Ages and the Victorian era.
During the Middle Ages, Christmas was rowdy, with feasting, drinking, and gambling. The Church tried to rein in these excesses, but it was slow. It wasn’t until the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century that Christmas began to take on a more family-oriented and devout tone.
In the Victorian era, Christmas underwent another transformation. Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, popularized decorating Christmas trees, a tradition imported to England from Germany. They also championed spending Christmas with family, exchanging gifts, and charitable giving.
In the United States, Christmas became a federal holiday in 1870. During this time, Santa Claus, a figure based on the Dutch Sinterklaas, took on his modern-day form as a jolly, rotund man in a red suit. The commercialization of Christmas took hold in the early twentieth century, with advertisements promoting gift-giving and store displays featuring Santa Claus and his reindeer.
Today, Christmas is celebrated in a variety of ways around the world. It remains a religious holiday for many, but it has become a secular festival of lights, music, and festivities. The traditions associated with Christmas continue to evolve, but the spirit of love, generosity, and togetherness remains at the heart of the holiday.