A Brief History of Christmas

It is hard to believe that in the 2,000-year history of the church the birth of Christ was not celebrated for the first 400 years. The main Christian holiday was Easter, but in the fourth century, the church decided to dedicate a holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It was hard to come up with a date since the neither the Bible nor any of the other early Christian writings mentioned a date for Christ's birth. Finally, Pope Julius I chose December 25th. December was a month of many Roman pagan celebrations, and it was the church's hope that putting a Christian holiday in December would put an end to the paganism and bring more people to Christianity.

Starting with the winter solstice and lasting for a full month, the Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a holiday in honor of the god Saturn (the god of farming). It can only be described as a month-long drunken orgy. Food and wine were plentiful. Businesses and schools closed so that all could join in the fun. Just imagine Mardi Gras lasting for a full month, but with presents for it was common for small gifts to be given during this time. The Romans would also cut down evergreen trees and decorate them in order to honor Saturn. (Our modern-day tradition of Christmas trees is thought to have come from Germany) Slaves were exempt from punishment and were sometimes served by their own masters during feasts. The month long celebration was so wild that, to the Christians, the word saturnalia meant "orgy."

Also during this time of year, the Romans celebrated two other holidays. Juvenalia was feast that honored the children of Rome and was held very close to the winter solstice. This ancient feast was instituted by Nero. Young men would shave their beards for the first time, which symbolized their entrance into manhood. Romans also celebrated the birth of an infant god called Mithra on December 25th. Mithra, in some traditions, was a god of light. The Romans started worshiping him the century before Christ's birth, and the worship of this god was limited to men only. To many Romans, the celebration of Mithra's birth was one of the most important days of the year. It is ironic that Pope Julius would choose that exact same date to celebrate one of the most important Christian holidays of the year.

Though many Romans had become Christians, several still clung to the pagan traditions of their ancestors and celebrated these holidays much to the chagrin of the church. The institution of Christmas helped to change the traditions from pagan to Christian. December 25th became known as the Feast of the Nativity. By 432, the holiday had spread to Egypt and in the sixth century, it had made its arrival in England. Christmas began spreading across the world as Christianity spread, picking up different customs and traditions until it became the holiday that we know today. Many have forgotten, or might not have known, that we celebrate Christmas in December to take focus away from other pagan holidays, and many more seem to have forgotten that Christmas is all about the birth of Christ. The greatest gift the world has ever known.