WHY THE WORLD CELEBRATES THIS SEASON:

The word “Christmas” comes from the old English Cristes Maesse, meaning “Christ’s mass,” celebrated December 25 to commemorate the birth of Christ.

HISTORY: For several centuries the early Christian church paid little attention to the celebration of Jesus’ birth, as the major Christian festival was Easter. Since the New Testament was written several decades after Jesus’ death there was no knowledge about the actual date of birth and a day had to be selected. The Eastern Orthodox church chose January 6 and named the day Epiphany, meaning “appearance.”

By A.D. 336 the Western church had chosen December 25. At this time of the year the Romans had the feast of Brunalia, “birthday of the unconquered son,, equivalent to Christmas for those who worshipped the Persian sun god Mithras. (At that time, this religion was Christianity’s only pagan rival.) Also, other religions had celebrations in December; for example, the Jewish Hannukah.

In the latter half of the 4th century, the Eastern and Western churches adopted each other’s festival, establishing the modern 12 days of Christmas celebration from December 25 to Jan. 6.

ANCIENT FESTIVALS: The Romans also celebrated the Saturnalia, a winter feast of merrymaking and gift exchanging, on December 17. Two weeks after this, on the Roman New Year (January 1), houses were decorated with greenery and lights, and gifts were given to the children and the poor. The use of evergreens, wreaths, and fires to symbolize life and warmth in the midst of cold and darkness was an ancient custom of Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. Tree worship was a common feature of religion among the Teutonic and Scandinavian peoples. They decorated houses and barns with evergreens at the new year to scare away demons, and they often set up trees for the birds in winter. For northern Europeans, the winter celebration was the happiest time of the year because it signified that the shortest day of the year—December 21—had passed and the sun was returning. The Scandinavian god Woden rode across frozen wastes to bring people presents. The month during which this festival took place was named Jol, from which Yule is derived.

CHRISTMAS TREE: Egyptians, in celebrating the winter solstice, brought green date palms into their homes as a symbol of life. To the Druids, sprigs of holly in the house meant eternal life, while to the Norseman, they symbolized the revival of the sun god Balder. Branches of evergreens placed over doors also were used to keep out witches, ghosts, and evil spirits.

The modern Christmas tree originated in Germany during the Middle Ages. A fir tree hung with apples was an important prop in a medieval play about Adam and Eve. Called the”Paradise Tree,” it represented the Garden of Eden. German families set up a Paradise Tree in their homes on December 24, the feast day of Adam and Eve. Because the Christmas holiday followed immediately, candles representing Christ as the light of the world were added to the tree. Eventually cookies and other sweets were also hung. In the same room as the tree, Germans kept a wooden Christmas pyramid decorated with evergreens, figurines, candles and a star. In the 16th century the pyramid and tree merged, becoming the Christmas tree.

Until about 1700, the use of Christmas trees was confined to the Rhine River district of Germany. German settlers brought the Christmas tree to the American colonies in the 17th century. In the mid-19th century, Prince Albert, the German husband of Queen Victoria, popularized the Christmas tree in England. These trees were decorated with candles, candies, paper chains and fancy cakes that were hung from the branches with ribbons.

CHRISTMAS CARDS: The Christmas card came about in the mid-19th century. Sir Henry Cole of London had a Christmas card designed in 1843 to obviate the need of writing letters to his friends. This was probably inspired by the custom of English school children to do pen and ink drawings (Christmas Pieces) to give to their parents at this time of year. In a short time the tradition of Christmas cards was thoroughly established in England.

MANGERS: Christmas mangers (crèches) were started by St. Francis of Assisi. On a Christmas eve in 1224 he is supposed to have set up a stable in a corner of a church in his native village with real persons and animals to represent the first Christmas.

SANTA CLAUS: Santa Claus originated with St. Nicholas, who lived during the 4th century A.D. in Lycia, a province on the southeast coast of present-day Turkey, and was the bishop at Myra. By the middle ages, St. Nicholas had been named the patron saint of children as well as of Russia and Greece.

Long before Christianity and Christmas, people have expected gifts at mid-winter, so the Christian church gave this role to Saint Nicholas. The Protestant Reformation in Germany changed St. Nicholas’ saint-like qualities and merged him with the redfaced pagan Father Christmas, who was common in mummer plays. This composite was called Kris Kringle, derived from Christkindle, meaning Christ child. In the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (now New York City) Kris Kringle was called Sinter Claes, which became Santa Claus.

Santa Claus was smartened up in America in the 19th century from the rakish Father Christmas to a lovable old man with white hair and a red cap riding a sleigh. In 1823, Clement C. Moore wrote “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” portraying Santa Claus riding in a sleigh drawn by “eight tiny reindeer,” the same mode of travel he used in Scandinavia. The first drawing of him that resembles today’s Santa Claus was a cartoon by Thomas Nast that appeared in Harper’s Weekly in 1863.