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NEWS &
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A HISTORY OF
CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS AND PRACTICES
- Kelly Mahoney |
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There is a long history of
Christmas, and the holiday as Christians practice today
actually came about through an evolutionary process.
While gift-giving, singing carols, and Santa Claus are
long-time Christmas symbols and traditions, they have
not always been a part of the holiday celebration. In
fact, there was a period when Christmas celebrations
were banned by the church. So, how did the Christmas we
know today come to be?
The Winter Solstice
The Druids held their winter celebration on the shortest
day of the year (Dec. 21) when they move on from the
worst of the winter months and start looking forward to
longer daytime hours. Celtic priests would cut mistletoe
and bless it. The fruit of the mistletoe was a symbol of
the life in dark winter months.
The Roman winter solstice, also called Saturnalia,
involved men dressing as women and masters dressing as
servants. Parades, decorating houses with greenery,
candle-lighting, and present giving occurred. They
celebrated Saturn, the god of agriculture for over a
month. During the same period they would celebrate
Juvenalia, which honoured the children. On December 25,
the Romans would honour Mithra, the god of the
unconquerable sun, who was believed to be born of a
rock.
The term Yule came from the word "houl," or the wheel
that changed the seasons, according to the Norsemen of
Northern Europe. During their celebration, the men would
bring home large logs, from which they would create a
fire. They would feast and celebrate until the fire
burned out - sometimes taking up to 12 days. Each spark
from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would
be born in the new year.
The Pope's Intervention
In the 4th Century AD, Pope Julius I dictated that
December 25th should be the date of Christmas, but it
would be known as the Feast of the Nativity. Prior to
this declaration, Easter was the primary Christian
holiday. His declaration was an attempt by the Church to
Christianize otherwise Pagan celebrations like
Saturnalia.
Medieval Period (400AD-1400AD)
It is from this period that we get the 12 days of
Christmas, as the holiday was celebrated from December
25th to January 6th (the Epiphany). People took the
pagan traditions such as decorating houses with greenery
and having parties and made them part of the Christmas
tradition by giving them Christian meaning.
By 529 AD, December 25th was declared a civil holiday,
and the 12 days of Christmas were also declared public
holidays starting in 567 AD. This practice resulted in
the term "Twelfth Night," which any Christian Teen
should know well from their school studies of
Shakespeare. This twelfth night is celebrated on January
6th, and was as big a holiday as Christmas itself until
the late 1800s.
17th - 18th Century
Christmas celebrations were muted during this period, as
Puritanical moral codes became emphasized. A strict
adherence to prayer and New Testament scripture was
emphasized. By 1644, Christmas activities were banned in
England due to the belief that Christmas celebrations
were too closely linked to those of Saturnalia. However,
soon after the American Revolution, English customs were
not as embraced by American's. Even Christmas was not
celebrated much, as Congress met on December 25, 1789.
The Victorian Era (1837-1901)
We can thank the people of this era for bringing us the
Christmas we know today. The middle class in England and
America began to celebrate and idealized Christmas we
see in novels of the era from Irving to Dickens. The
holiday no longer represented a wild carnival of a
holiday, but rather at time of peace, family, and
nostalgia.
It was during this era that people used the Valentines'
Day practice of giving cards to one another and
decorating the Christmas tree. Most of the new practices
came from America. By 1870 Christmas was declared a
federal holiday in the United States.
Modern Day Christmas
Today Christmas is celebrated around the world. While
there was a point when the Church worried that the
celebration of Christmas was too tied to Pagan
practices, now it worries about it's over
-commercialization and secularization. Still, with good
balance, it is easy to remember that this is a day to
celebrate the Saviour's birth while also celebrating
what Jesus would want us to - love for one another.
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This page
is updated on Dec 17, 2009 |
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