The Origins of Christmas

In some of the earliest churches of the “old world,” the leaders were unable to agree as to when Jesus, The Christ, was born. Some celebrated His birth in January, others in April, and still others in May. However, during the 4th Century AD, Pope Julius ordered the churches under his leadership to celebrate “The Christ Mass” or Christmas, on the 25th of December. Pope Julius also decreed that The Christ Child was born “...on the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve.” The following, according to historical texts I have researched, is a brief description of how and why Pope Julius arrived at his decision.

From the very earliest of recorded history, people in almost every part of the world have regarded the Winter Solstice (now pinpointed as the 21st of December), as a very critical time of year. The people of the ancient Roman Empire were no different, and like others, they watched with growing alarm as the sun appeared for shorter and shorter periods each day in the month of December. Then, after the 21st of December, they witnessed what could then have been considered a miracle of the world’s rebirth as the sun remained visible for progressively longer periods each day. The ancient Romans attributed this yearly miracle to Saturn, their god of seeds and sowing, which won a yearly battle with the dark malevolent forces, which could have, as they believed, destroyed the earth with eternal darkness. They celebrated Saturn’s victory over these malevolent forces with a festival called Saturnalia.

Saturnalia began in early Roman times as a one-day celebration during which, friends and relatives exchanged gifts. Later, it evolved into a three-day event, and by order of Augustus Caesar (68 BC- 14 AD), Saturnalia was officially celebrated over the course of seven days from December 17th through December 23rd. During this week of celebration, all public business was suspended. The Roman Senate, schools, and courthouses were closed down and executions, declarations of war, and animal sacrifices to the Roman gods were postponed. As part of the celebration, in an attempt to show that everyone was considered equal in Saturn’s sight, Roman men and women dressed in clothing of the opposite sex, and slaves were given privileges for a full day which were usually reserved for Roman citizens.

The Roman people engaged in such licentious behavior during the weeklong festivities of Saturnalia, that after Christianity started emerging as a dominant faith in the Roman Empire, the early Christian leaders tried to have the celebration banned. When they were unsuccessful, it was then that Pope Julius set the date of The Christ’s birth four days after the Winter Solstice and adopted many of the Saturnalia festival’s customs. It has been documented that since the Christmas celebration had become much like that of Saturnalia, people in the “old world” accepted the new holiday, as well as the religion to which it was related, in far greater numbers than they had at any other time since Christianity began.

In 597 AD, when Pope Gregory sent Augustine to England as the first Christian missionary to that country, he instructed him to do nothing that would antagonize the people. He was also instructed not to destroy the pagan temples, but to convert them to Christian churches when it became time to do so. Augustine was also admonished not to do away with any of the more popular customs that had been associated with the old pagan religious practices, but incorporate them into the Christian religion. Pope Gregory’s admonition to Augustine sprang from his belief that if the people were allowed to retain their accustomed “...outward joys, then they (would) more easily accept the true inward (Christian) joys.” Pope Gregory’s instruction were carried out, and when King Ethelbert, whose wife was already a Christian, allowed himself to be converted, large numbers of people under his rule in England followed his example.

I have been told that the Christmas season then became known in England as the “Yule-tide” after Jul, a Saxon winter festival. The Christmas celebration then evolved so that it began on Christmas Eve on December 24th and ended 12 days later on January 6th, or the Epiphany, the day that it was said that the three wise men visited The Christ Child in Bethlehem. During these twelve days of Christmas, the people of England celebrated with much the same wild abandon in which the Romans had celebrated Saturnalia.

As I understand it, in the early 17th Century, as the Christian religion evolved, this now “un-Christian” behavior during the Christmas season, combined with the manner in which the date of The Christ’s birth had been chosen centuries before, irritated English Puritans. Eventually, since they controlled the English Parliament in the 1640s, the Puritans passed a law banning the celebration of Christmas entirely. In the “new world,” the newly established Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony followed the lead set in England and would not allow Christmas to be celebrated in their Puritan colonies. It would not be until 1856 that Christmas became a legal holiday in Massachusetts.

What Christmas traditions do you follow?

Do you know any origin stories of these traditions?