The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years.
Many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ
child was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the Yule log, the
giving of gifts, carnivals (parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going
from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be
traced back to the early Mesopotamians.
Many of these traditions began with the
Mesopotamian celebration of New Years. The Mesopotamians believed in many gods,
and as their chief god - Marduk. Each
year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the
monsters of chaos. To assist Marduk in his struggle the Mesopotamians held a
festival for the New Year. This was Zagmuk, the New Year's festival that lasted
for 12 days.
The Mesopotamian king would return to the temple
of Marduk and swear his faithfulness to the god. The traditions called for the
king to die at the end of the year and to return with Marduk to battle at his
side.
To spare their king, the Mesopotamians used the
idea of a "mock" king. A criminal was chosen and dressed in royal
clothes. He was given all the respect and privileges of a real king. At the end
of the celebration the "mock" king was stripped of the royal clothes
and slain, sparing the life of the real king.
The Persians and the Babylonians celebrated a
similar festival called the Sacaea. Part of that celebration included the
exchanging of places, the slaves would become the masters and the masters were
to obey.
Early Europeans believed in evil spirits,
witches, ghosts and trolls. As the Winter Solstice approached, with its long
cold nights and short days, many people feared the sun would not return.
Special rituals and celebrations were held to welcome back the sun.
In Scandinavia during the winter months the sun
would disappear for many days. After thirty-five days scouts would be sent to
the mountaintops to look for the return of the sun. When the first light was
seen the scouts would return with the good news. A great festival would be
held, called the Yuletide, and a special feast would be served around a fire
burning with the Yule log. Great bonfires would also be lit to celebrate the
return of the sun. In some areas people would tie apples to branches of trees to
remind themselves that spring and summer would return.
The ancient Greeks held a festival similar to
that of the Zagmuk/Sacaea festivals to assist their god Kronos who would battle
the god Zeus and his Titans.
The Roman's celebrated their god Saturn. Their
festival was called Saturnalia, which began the middle of December and ended
January 1st. With cries of "Jo Saturnalia!" the celebration would
include masquerades in the streets, big festive meals, visiting friends, and
the exchange of good-luck gifts called Strenae (lucky fruits).
The Romans decked their halls with garlands of
laurel and green trees lit with candles. Again the masters and slaves would
exchange places.
"Jo Saturnalia!" was a fun and festive
time for the Romans, but the Christians though it and abomination to honor the
pagan god. The early Christians wanted to keep the birthday of their Christ
child a solemn and religious holiday, not one of cheer and merriment as was the
pagan Saturnalia.
But as Christianity spread they were alarmed by
the continuing celebration of pagan customs and Saturnalia among their
converts. At first the Church forbid this kind of celebration. But it was to no
avail. Eventually it was decided that the celebration would be tamed and made
into a celebration fit for the Christian Son of God.
Some legends claim that the Christian
"Christmas" celebration was invented to compete against the pagan
celebrations of December. The 25th was not only sacred to the Romans but also
the Persians whose religion Mithraism was one of Christianity's main rivals at
that time. The Church eventually was successful in taking the merriment,
lights, and gifts from the Saturanilia festival and bringing them to the
celebration of Christmas.
The exact day of the Christ child's birth has
never been pinpointed. Traditions say that it has been celebrated since the
year 98 AD. In 137 AD the Bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of the Christ
Child celebrated as a solemn feast. In 350 AD another Bishop of Rome, Julius I,
choose December 25th as the observance of Christmas.