Christmas celebrations go back centuries before Jesus was born. People, especially early Europeans celebrated light after the darkest days of night. Winter solstice or Yule celebrated the return of the sun. Some of the traditions included sons and fathers would bring logs and start a fire, celebrate, and eat until the logs went out. Which could take up to 12 days. A lot of animals were slaughtered during this time, so they could be prepared for the winter. They also didn’t have to feed the animals during the cold winter.
In Rome they celebrated a holiday called Saturnalia honoring the harvest god of Saturn, some used this time to release slaves for a month and were granted freedom and treated as equals. Business and schools were closed to participate in the festivities. Romans also celebrated the birth of Mithra( The god of the unconquerable sun) who was born on December 25th. This was seen as the most sacred day of the year.
In early Christianity Easter was the main holiday celebrated for Jesus. In the fourth century church officials decided to institute the date of his birth. Pope Julius, I chose December 25th as there was some disagreements about the actual day he was born. Some believe he was born in spring. Some believe the pope choose this day to adopt previous pagan traditions already in place. By holding Christmas at the same time as Winter Solstice and other traditions church leaders improved the chances of being embraced by the population. By the middle ages Christianity replaced pagan religious traditions.
Christmas also looked more like Mardi Gras in the middle ages, a lot different than what it is looking like today. The poor would go to the wealthier families’ homes and ask for food and drink. If they didn’t oblige some homes would be terrorized or property damage .They also crowed a “ King” but only during festivities. This became a time that the wealthier would entertain the poor. It wasn’t until the 19thcentury the Christmas started being accepted in the America’s as a holiday of peace, wellbeing, and togetherness. Thought to bring less conflict and community during hard times. Throughout the next 100 years America brought back ancient traditions to be incorporated back into Christmas such as decorating trees and giving gifts.
Santa Claus can be traced back so
e where between 260-280 A.D to a Turkish monk named St Nicholas who used to go around the county helping families from his inherited wealth. He was later chosen as Bishop by the presiding Bishop. or “ Sinter Klaas” short for Santa Claus. Santa didn’t enter the American traditions until the 18th century when a Dutch family wrote a poem celebrating the death of St Nicholas. “Twas the night before Christmas”. The traditional man in the red suit was based off an image a cartoonist drew to go with this poem. Now we have Ole Saint Nick. There is also some other great theories on where Santa Claus came from nordic traditions.
Information from:
Article of History of Christmas from the History.com Editors
https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas
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Loudoun Museum
https://www.loudounmuseum.org/post/the-ancient-roots-of-christmas-traditions