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The Origins of Christmas
Christmas Day
In the Roman Calendar, December 25th was called Natalis Solis Invicti, birthday of the “Unconquered Sun”, in recognition of the winter solstice. On that date, the sun, three days after reaching the lowest point of its annual course through the heavens, once more began to rise higher in the sky, the first indication that winter would come to an end and that the animal and plant life on which humanity depended for its existence would flourish anew. The festival, which was called Saturnalia, began on December 17th and concluded on 25th. Everyone celebrated the merry reign of Saturn, the god of agriculture. Parties were given and presents were received. Slaves became masters and vice versa, and violators of law were exempt from penalty. Rich men gave generously to their poorer neighbours and fighting was forbidden for that week.
By the third century CE, there were many mystery cults existing within the Roman Empire. Most celebrated the birth of their god near the time of the winter solstice. Emperor Aurelian (270 to 275 CE) blended a number of pagan solstice celebrations of the nativity for such god/saviors as Appolo, Attis, Baal, Dionysus, Helios, Hercules, Horus, Mithra, Osiris, Perseus, and Theseus, to tie into the day of Natalis Solis Invicti.
Mithraism was a well-established Roman religion, particularly among the Roman legionnaires. Mithra influence on the Roman Empire began about 70 CE when Rome fought against the Persians. In Persia, the Romans soldiers accepted this ancient Indo-Iranian god of light and protector of oaths. Mithras was also regarded as a sun god whose birth was celebrated on December 25th. Aurelian declared Mithraism the official religion of the Roman Empire in 274 CE.
According to legends, Mithras had been born in a stable with animals and shepherds present, very similar to the nativity scene of Jesus Christ. The Mithras’ rituals included breaking and eating loaves of bread and drinking wine mixed with water. Some Mithraic symbols and mythology were interwoven with Christianity. In 312 CE, the Roman Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion throughout the empire but Christians did not celebrate Christmas until later in 4th century and some sects still do not celebrate it. Before the fourth century, traditions put the date of the birth of Jesus either in the January to March period or in November. In reality, the date was not known. Like Aurelian before him, in 350 CE, Pope Julius 1st linked December 25th as the birth date of Christ* to inspire people to turn from the worship of a material sun to the adoration of Jesus Christ. * The birth date of Jesus Christ was used as a timeline. The period before the birth of Jesus Christ counted towards that date and period after the birth counted away from that date. BC was recorded as before “Before Christ” and AD as after. “Anno Domini” is Latin for “in the year of the Lord”. Modern scholars are now using a secular term. BC takes the form BCE which stands for “Before Common Era”. AD has been replaced by CE, which stands for “Common Era”. The new terms are now part of the new world history standards. Christmas Decorations The way we decorate our homes during the Christmas season is a replay of themes dating far back in time. The Celts and Teutons spread over much of Europe and both practiced tree worship. The tree was regarded as possessing spirits. These people also had rituals for sun worship.
Celts
The Celtic culture has existed for more than 2,700 years but the exact origin of the Celts is unknown. They were an Indo-European people whose culture spread rapidly across the whole of Europe. Between 1200 and 700 BCE, the Celts spread westward from their eastern European homeland into the area of modern Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France and the British Isles. The Celts' wealth was based upon extracting salt and selling it. They were also blacksmiths creating an innovative use of iron.
Teutons
Teutons were not a particular tribe or nation. The name is a cultural term for the various tribes who emerged as Goths, Vandals, Lombards, and Burgundians. About 2000 BCE, Teutons inhabited portions of what is known now as Scandinavia, specifically central and southern Norway, central and southern Sweden and Denmark. From about 100 BCE to after 250 CE, groups of Teutons began migrating southward into central and southern Europe. When the Romans came in contact with the Teutons in Germany, the Romans corrupted “Teuton” to “Deutschen” because the "t" in their language was pronounced very similarly to the "d" in English. Teuton means "spear-men".
The Christmas Tree
Decorating Christmas trees with lights stems from the customs of the Celts and the Teutons. Evergreens gave them reassurance in winter that spring will come back. They had great respect for plants and trees that could stay green in winter. To them, evergreens either defied nature or were especially blessed by the gods. These ancient peoples used to set a tree alight to entice the sun to return so that life will spring up again. Our decorating of trees with lights, emulates the custom of enticing the sun to return.
Despite the popularity of Christmas trees, Christianity’s sacred book, the Holy Bible, does not accept this custom:
Jeremiah 10:2-4:
2: "Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. 3: For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 4: They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not." (KJV).
Outdoor Lights
Putting lights on the outside of a house arises from a pagan ritual to give strength to the sun. Celts used to put candles in their windows during the Yule tide season and large bonfires were kept burning. On a cold winter’s night, seeing a flicker of flames from candles in windows or feeling the warmth of a fire gave hope that the sun would regains its strength and longer and warmers days would come again. This pleasant feeling continues today when we see houses become enchanted with decorative lights that lift our spirits in the heart of winter. Holly In ancient times holly was thought to be magical because of its shiny leaves and its ability to bear fruit in winter. Holly was a popular Saturnalia gift among the Romans because holly was also Saturn's sacred plant. Plants were given gender identities and holly was believed to be male.
Ivy In pagan times ivy was closely associated with Bacchus, the god of wine, and played a big part in all festivals in which he was featured. Ivy was considered female and brought good luck.
Mistletoe Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows on oak and other non-evergreen trees. It does not reach the ground, and it has no roots in the earth. The Celts thought it had fallen from the sky as a gift of the divinity. The plant was considered sacred, a healing plant and a charm against evil. In a related custom, ancient Celts hung mistletoe in their doorways to keep evil away. Those who entered the house safely were given a welcome kiss. This is the origin of the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. Mistletoe was always cut with a golden knife. Enemies would shake hands if they come across Mistletoe in the woods because it was a peace symbol. Because the mistletoe was so highly venerated in Celtic culture and it couldn't be symbolized as Christian, even now most churches will not decorate their churches with this plant.
The Santa Claus Myth
The Santa Claus myth is another example case of the church enticing pagan followers to convert to Christianity. Before the modern character of Santa Claus, there was another much older figure, Thor, protector of peasants and common people.
Thor
In Northern Europe, thousands of years ago, pagans developed rituals for the sun. When the summer ends, the weather gets colder and the days shorter. This combination set in gloom among our pagan forefathers. As they saw the sun fall further in the sky, they were very afraid the sun’s power was waning and this desolation would not end. So people began to seek ways to restore the power of the sun. A Yule log was lit starting with the winter solstice and was kept alight for 12 days. One of the gods these pagans had was a god they called Thor. Since Thor’s element was fire, he was made into the god for the Yule tide. Thor was a friendly god and during the Yule tide season, he delivered presents through the chimney because the hearth, being used for fire, was especially sacred to him. In a chariot driven by two goats, Cracker and Gnasher, Thor roared across the heavens causing thunder. Thor was described as heavy built, with a long white beard and was dressed in red in keeping with his association with fire. In a place called “Northland”, Thor lived in a palace surrounded by icebergs. Thus Thor was a winter god who gave people encouragement during the bleak winter months.
Santa Claus In searching for a replacement for Thor, the church supplanted Thor with Saint Nicholas, who had been the Bishop of Myra, Turkey. Born about 280 CE, the bishop was canonized after his death and became the patron saint of sailors, merchants, the wrongly accused, endangered travelers and farmers. Known for his generous nature, several stories circulated about the good works of Saint Nicholas. One story about Saint Nicholas corresponded with the deeds of Thor. A poor man was desperately worried about providing dowries for his three daughters. When Nicholas heard about the man’s plight, he secretly arranged for three bags of gold to be put in the stockings of the girls which were hanging by the fireplace to dry. Around the 17th century, Saint Nicholas became popular in the Netherlands by leaving presents inside the shoes children had left by the fireplace. In Dutch, the name for “Santa Claus” was "Sint Nikolass" which was shortened to "Sinter Klaas”, turning the anglicized form into "Santa Claus". Transformation of Thor into Santa Claus In later centuries, the figures of Thor and Santa Claus coalesced. Santa Claus is credited with placing gifts in stockings by the fireplace and Thor is responsible for the tradition of coming down the chimney bringing gifts. Thor’s chariot is now a sleigh and his goats have become reindeers. In modern times, Santa Claus is always depicted as being dressed in red with a white beard, a remnant of the old Thor god of Yule tide. Over 1 million children from around the world send letters in 20 different languages, including Braille, to Santa Claus at the North Pole, courtesy of the Canadian Post Office.
Exchanging Presents
Present giving comes from the Roman Saturnalia festival. Christians adopted the custom through the story that three wise men were supposed to have brought gifts for the child known as Jesus.
The Christmas Card:
A custom developed in England of sending written greetings at Christmas time. In 1843, Sir Henry Cole was too busy to write the customary personal letter and instead hired John Calcott Horsley to design a greeting card and have one thousand printed. The idea caught on and now millions of these seasonal cards are sent throughout the world.
Boxing Day
This comes from Saturnalia with the rich giving to the poor. Wealthy people put clothes, food and necessities in boxes for the poor and left them in the church on December 26th, which then became known as Boxing Day.
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