Few people realize that the origin of a form of Christmas was pagan, and was celebrated in Europe long before anyone there had heard of Jesus Christ.
No one knows what day Jesus Christ was born. From the biblical description, many historians believe that his birth probably occurred in September, approximately six months after Passover. Others believe that he was born in the spring. One thing they agree on, is that it is very unlikely that Jesus was born in December – especially since the bible records shepherds tending their sheep in the fields on that night. This is unlikely to have happened during a cold Judean winter.
So why do we celebrate Christ’s birthday as Christmas, on December the 25th?
The answer likely lies in the pagan origins of Christmas. In ancient Babylon, the feast of the Son of Isis (Goddess of Nature) was celebrated on December 25. Raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were all traditions of this feast.
In Rome, the Winter Solstice was celebrated many years before the birth of Christ. The Romans called their winter holiday Saturnalia – honouring Saturn, the God of Agriculture. In January, they observed the Kalends of January, which represented the triumph of life over death. This whole season was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. The festival season was marked by much merrymaking. It is also in ancient Rome that the tradition of the Mummers was born. The Mummers were groups of costumed singers and dancers who travelled from house to house entertaining their neighbours. From this, the Christmas tradition of caroling was born.
In northern Europe, many other traditions that we now consider to be part of Christian worship were begun long before the participants had ever heard of Christ. The pagans of northern Europe, instead, celebrated their own version of winter solstice, known as Yule. Yule was symbolic of the pagan Sun God, Mithras, being born, and was observed on the shortest day of the year. As the Sun God grew and matured, the days became longer and warmer. It was customary to light a candle to encourage Mithras and the sun to reappear in the coming year.
Huge Yule logs were burned in honour of the sun. The word Yule itself means “wheel,” the wheel being a pagan symbol for the sun. Mistletoe was considered a sacred plant, and the custom of kissing under the mistletoe began as a fertility ritual. Holly berries were thought to be a food of the gods.
The tree is the one symbol that unites almost all the northern European winter solstices. Live evergreen trees were often brought into homes during the harsh winters as a reminder to inhabitants that soon their crops would grow again. Evergreen boughs were sometimes carried as totems of good luck and were often present at weddings, representing fertility. The Druids used the tree as a religious symbol, holding their sacred ceremonies while surrounding and worshiping huge trees.
In 350, Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25. There is little doubt that he was trying to make it as painless as possible for pagan Romans (who still remained a majority at that time) to convert to Christianity. The new religion went down a bit easier, knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them.
The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, or the Mass of Christ, and was first found in 1038. The earliest record of an evergreen being decorated in a Christian celebration was in 1521 in the Alsace region of Germany. A prominent Lutheran minister of the day cried blasphemy – “Better that they should look to the true tree of life, Christ.” And that controversy continues even today in some fundamentalist sects.
As you can see, there is a lot more behind the wonderful and rich traditions that we all know and love today, than what meets the eye.