Christmas

A Luke Warm Reception

Thanks to Constantine, Christmas was officially a December 25th holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus but it wasn’t an instant success. Despite edicts declaring a date and focus of worship, many Christians still viewed the holiday as a pagan festival and weren’t enthusiastic about participating. Universal acceptance of Christmas did not occur until more recently. During the Middle Ages, the pagan winter festivals had all but faded and the Christian Christmas was what remained.

Christmas in America

Around the same time Christmas was receiving a beating in Europe, newcomers to North America were expressing their opinions on the subject as well. The Pilgrims of Massachusetts were even more stringent in their Puritan thinking than Cromwell and were not in favor of the Christmas celebration. From 1659-1681, Christmas was outlawed in Boston by New England Puritans and anyone caught celebrating was fined five shillings. But other settlers to America weren’t as eager to extinguish the Christmas spirit. It appears Christians in Virginia and New York enthusiastically celebrated Christmas.

Festive Pagan Roots

If you’ve done any reading on the origins of some of the more popular modern holidays, it should come as no surprise that Christmas has roots in ancient pagan celebrations. True, “Christmas” by definition is meant to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and the holiday is one of the most important for the Christian religion, but its evolution and many of its associated traditions are linked to pagan rituals practiced before the birth of Christ.

History of Santa Claus

When you picture jolly ole Saint Nick what comes to mind? A bishop from Turkey? Probably not, right? The image you conjure up is more than likely the Americanized version of Santa Claus - that of the roundish old man with profuse white facial hair, bright red suit, and big black belt strapping down a protruding belly said to shake like a “bowl full of jelly”. But the original inspiration for this happy caricature is thought to have been a real person; a bishop who lived in Myra (known today as the country of Turkey).

History of the Candy Cane

Think the history of Christmas is complicated? Well, surely the story of the candy cane must be a simple one. After all, it’s just a stick of sugar, right? Think again! The candy cane’s past and meaning have become quite controversial and debated in some circles. Even something as innocuous as a thin, hard candy - when wrapped up with Christmas - can become quite a weighty confection.

History of the Christmas Tree

Festooning homes and public venues with evergreens during winter months dates back to times before the advent of the Christmas holiday. Many ancient cultures revered plants and trees that stayed green year round as symbols of life and wellness. Evergreens where incorporated in to the winter solstice festivals of different cultures for various reasons, most of which had to do with the worship of their specific gods. In some places, homes were decorated with evergreen boughs hung over doorways and around windows to ward off evil spirits and illness during the winter months.

Solidification of a Date and a Reason to Celebrate

One of the most important components to celebrations in Rome and Persian was Mithra (“Mithras” to the Romans). Interestingly, Mithra was said to have been born of a human virgin (a common way to be born for the subjects of legends in the ancient world) on December 25th in the humble surroundings of a cave and with a wild bull nearby (a detail important to stories about his post-birth occurrences).

Christmas
Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Talk about a hog-podge…Christmas is for sure the ultimate pot roast of holidays! Throw a little bit of everything in from left-over winter festivals everywhere and viola…you’ve got one big pot of Christmas!

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