The History of Christmas

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• Roman History
• Christmas Celebrations Spreading
• Puritan Christmas
• Christmas Evolves
• Leading To Our Familiar Traditions
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Many celebratory traditions, particularly in northern Europe, included burning wood for light and drinking beer and wine. This was when the alcohol had finished fermenting and eating abundant fresh meat.

Roman History

Rome, however, celebrated two unique holidays, Saturnalia, which celebrated Saturn, the god of agriculture, and Juvenalia, a feast in honor of Rome's children. Rome's wealthy class also celebrated a third holiday on December 25^th, known as Mithra's birthday, after the god of the unconquerable sun.

For many Romans, this holiday was the most important, sacred day of the year. Mithra was believed to be an infant of God, born from rock.

In the earliest years of Christianity, Easter was the most holy day of the year, and Jesus's birth wasn't even celebrated until the 4^th century, when church leaders decided to declare a holiday for the birth of Jesus.

While the bible doesn't specify when Jesus was born, Pope Julius I declared it would be celebrated December 25^th, likely as an effort to diminish the pagan Saturnalia festivities.

Christmas Celebrations Spreading

Christmas, first called the Feast of the Nativity, spread to Egypt in the 4^th century before adopted in England by the end of the 6^th century.

Church leaders wanted to celebrate Christmas at the same time as winter solstice celebrations were occurring, because it would lead to its adoption and popularity. However, this meant that people had freedom in how it was celebrated.

Early traditions included families attending church and then having lively, boisterous, carnival-like parties where much alcohol was consumed.

A tradition called the "lord of misrule" started, and poor, lower-class citizens would go to the rich, upper-class homes, begging and demanding to be given their best food and drink, as if repaying a debt. If a family did not share, the patrons would mischievously terrorize them.

It was during the Middle Ages that Christianity surpassed pagan religion.

Puritan Christmas

When Oliver Cromwell and the puritans ruled England in the late 1600s, Christmas was temporarily cancelled until Charles II ruled. However, it was during this religious reform that the pilgrims came to America.

The pilgrims were even more orthodox than the puritans in England, therefore, at this time, Christmas was not a holiday, and was even illegal to celebrate in Boston from 1659-1681, punishable by a five shilling fine, although settlers in the South, particularly at the Jamestown settlement, celebrated Christmas without reprimand.

Christmas Evolves

Christmas as we know it still has a long way to go. After the American Revolution, Christmas was almost completely forgotten until June 26, 1870, when it was granted a holiday by the federal government and despite this federal recognition, it wasn't fully embraced until the 19^th century.

It was at this time that traditions changed from being a rowdy celebration full of alcohol and games to being a family-centered holiday, focused on peace and nostalgia.

The 1800s were hard on many families. Unemployment and poverty were high, and many families did not believe that it was appropriate to take delight in children. During this time, Charles Dickens wrote the classic holiday story, A Christmas Carol. This showcased Christmas as a time to help others, centering charity and good will as integral to the celebration.

Leading To Our Familiar Traditions

This powerful message engaged powerful members of American and British society, which allowed Christmas to finally be fully embraced, and for children to be celebrated, without the idea that they were being "spoiled."

This holiday became celebrated as a family holiday and incorporated many foreign cultural traditions, such as decorating trees, sending cards, baking cookies, and giving gifts, which are still many of the Christmas traditions we have today.