The History of Christmas and Its Pagan Origins - Christendom Perspectives
31 December 2010By Jennifer Claerr
Many people suffer from the misconception that
Christmas is a Christian holiday. The earliest history
of Christmas is composed of "pagan" (non-Christian)
fertility rites and practices which predate Jesus by
centuries. The truth is, in short, the real history of
Christmas has nothing to do with Christianity. Many of
the traditions which we hold dear, such as decorating
Christmas trees, singing Christmas carols, and giving
Christmas gifts, are rooted in the traditions of
non-Christian religions.
We do not observe Christmas on December 25th because
it was the date in history when Jesus was born. Nobody
knows exactly what that date was, but references in
the Bible show it most likely did not take place in
winter. Rather it is because this was the date that
the Romans historically celebrated the winter
solstice. This celebration was about dies natalis
solis invicti: the day of the birth of the
unconquerable sun, which took place on December 22nd.
The winter solstice held the promise of the return of
springtime and earthly renewal. In Roman history, this
was the time of Saturnalia, honoring the God of
Agriculture, for the week before the solstice, and
Juvenalia, a feast in honor of the children of Rome,
around the same time. On the 25th of the month they
celebrated the birth of the sun-god Mithra. Masters
and servants traded places temporarily, and everybody
had a rollicking good time. It was during Saturnalia
that the tradition of exchanging gifts was
established. They gave one another Stenae or fruits
which were intended to bring good luck. The Romans
placed an enormous amount of pressure on the early
Christians to rejoice along with them, and around the
time of the fourth century, they began to celebrate
Christmas around the same time. It was inevitable that
Christians should make a connection between the
rebirth of the sun and the birth of the Son.
In the Middle Ages, Christmas was a raucous, drunken
celebration which resembled a carnival. Poor people
would go on a Christmas"trick or treat" around the
richer neighborhoods, causing them misery if they
didn't get what they wanted.
Many other pagan traditions have been incorporated
into Christmas. Yule was celebrated by the Norse in
Scandanavia around the time of the winter solstice by
bringing in large logs for the fire, in recognition of
the
eventual return of the sun. It could take as much as
twelve days for the log to burn down. Meanwhile, the
Norse would feast. The holiday usually lasted through
January.
The Germans did not so much celebrate as honor the
winter solstice. They believed that their god, Oden,
flew through the sky at night passing judgment on his
people. Generally, they would stay indoors during this
season. When the Germanic people were converted to
Christianity, their winter festival was naturally
adopted as a celebration of the birth of Christ.
To the pagans, evergreens served as a symbol of
winter's inability to stop the cycle of renewal. They
were important fertility symbols which were highly
revered by many cultures, including the Germans and
the Celts. They helped to soothe the pagans' fears
that the sun would never return, and that winter would
reign eternal.
Contrary to popular belief, the tradition of cutting
down a Christmas tree, bringing it into the home and
decorating it is not pagan in origin, and did not
appear until centuries after Christ's broth. The
Romans decorated their homes and temples with
evergreen clippings, but allowed the trees to remain
intact, often decorating live trees with religious
icons. The Druids tied fruit to the branches of live
trees, and baked cakes in the shape of fish, birds and
other animals, to offer to their god, Woden. We also
inherited the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe
from the Druids. The Christmas tree tradition we
currently practice had its origins in 16th century
Western Germany. "Paradise trees" were cut down to
commemorate the Feast of Adam and Eve, which took
place on Christmas eve every year.
Many Christians were opposed to the merrymaking and
pagan origins of the Christmas festivities, especially
the more solemn Christians such as the Puritans. In
England in 1645, Christmas was actually canceled. In
Boston between 1659 and 1681 Christmas was outlawed,
and merrymakers incurred fines for their mirth.
Early carols were sung in a circle dance by European
Celts in medieval times, as a part of their fertility
rituals, and were later adopted as a way to celebrate
Christmas. As a result they became unpopular among
Christian authority. Over the ages multiple attempts
have been made to ban Christmas carols. Christmas
carols enjoyed a revival when St. Francis of Assisi
began to favor a more joyous celebration of the
Christmas season. Another pagan custom called
wassailing, or singing from door to door, also became
very popular among Christmas celebrants.
Many people mistakenly state that "Jesus is the reason
for the season." They do so, because they believe
people have lost sight of the true meaning of
Christmas. It simply isn't true. Christmas can be
celebrated as completely secular because ultimately it
is not a Christian holiday. Christmas goes beyond
religious and cultural differences, and addresses
something universal in all of us. For this reason it
has become popular in non-Christian countries such as
Japan. The truth is that Christian and pagan
traditions have a great deal in common. The real need
behind all of these traditions was to find a source of
joy, happiness, hope, goodwill and generosity. There
was a need to find ways to cope with our fears about
the darkness and cold of wintertime, and to celebrate
the return of the sun and the longer days of spring.
In fact, Christianity and pre-Christian pagan religion
have a great deal in common. Various pagan religions
shared the Christian practice of worshiping a god-man
who could offer salvation in the form of heaven or
condemnation in the form of hell. The concept that a
son of God could be born of a mortal woman is seen in
many different religions spanning the globe. These
concepts are universal, except to those who are
extremely divisive and have a tendency to pick nits.
The pagans were smart people who had quite a few good
ideas. They respected the earth, and we have benefited
greatly from their practices. There is no reason for
Christians to fear "pagan" universal and
earth-centered traditions. At Christmas, rather than
fretting that non-Christians have forgotten about
Jesus we should focus on the deeper purpose of the
holiday. The main problem is that Christmas has become
far too commercial and this has gotten us away from
the pagan tradition of connecting with the earth.
Instead, we spend the whole holiday trashing the
planet with excessive buying, and cutting down
millions of Christmas trees which must then be
discarded less than a month later. Environmental
destruction and consumerism has passed for merrymaking
for many years now, but it's an empty tradition.
Celebrating the fertility of the earth is better by
far. There is a strong need for a return to the
family- and society-centered traditions which were
established in Roman times and reestablished in the
19th century. Washington Irving's writings helped
Americans to establish Christmas as a time of giving
to those who are most in need, and bridging the gap
between the rich and the poor. These traditions had
their roots in the practices of the real St. Nicholas,
who lived in Myra in the fourth century A.D. He was
born rich and inherited a great deal of money on the
death of his parents, all of which he gave away. St.
Nicholas is said to have thrown bags of gold into the
windows of dowerless girls to save them from lives of
prostitution or slavery. He was also well know for his
love and protection of children. St. Nicholas is the
figure behind our modern day Santa Claus myth of a
generous man who delivered hand-made toys to children
all over the world.
So rather than viewing Christmas as a time to break
the bank, we can take advantage of it as a time to
help the less fortunate. Many people ask that their
friends and loved ones give to charity rather than buy
them a gift. This sort of gift giving is popular among
yogis who see Christmas as a way to extend their
practice.
Fortunately there are many ways to reconnect with the
original purpose and meaning of Christmas. Small
traditions, such as placing apples or cookies on the
tree, or decorating a live tree instead of a cut one,
are a good way to get in touch with the way that our
ancestors celebrated Christmas. Respecting the planet
and understanding its powers and its limitations are
important. The pagans were aware of the changing
seasons and found earth-centered and social ways to
cope with them. They were aware and appreciative of
the sun. They exchanged gifts, but their gift exchange
was not commercialized. Instead the focus was on
bringing good fortune. Giving gifts of fruit has been
a common practice throughout history, and is still
popular today.
The Christmas holiday season is about unity, not
divisiveness. At the holiday season we should forget
about our religious differences, abandon commercialism
and think about what is best for the planet and for
humanity.
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