Reflecting on holidays of the past to bring a tear of joy or pain, cuddling up with a loved one in front of a fire, singing along with the carolers who have surprised your dinner guests, shopping for the perfect gift for that one impossible-to-shop-for friend, cheering up a Grinch, and scrolling through Facebook to find a bit o f holiday cheer are just a few of the ways we celebrate the holiday season.
American Christmas has been marketed to the whole family as a time for Santa to bring his presents f or the children, Christmas shopping for everyone you know and most importantly, according to many religious folks: A time to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
No matter how you spend your holiday season, enjoy it! In the meantime, here are a few facts about the origins of Christmas :
- Christians are not the first to have a celebratory holiday during the coldest and darkest period of the winter season.
- The United States didn’t even declare December 25 as a federal holiday until 1870.
- The Winter Solstice has been a time of celebration for many cultures before our American traditions long before the unknown date of Jesus’ birth.
- “In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.”
- “The celebration of Christmas did not become a major Christian festival until the 9th century. Many Christmas traditions, such as decorating trees, started in Germany and later spread to other parts of the world, notably England and the United States.” The first time that Christmas was recorded to have been celebrated as the holiday for the birth of Jesus was in Rome on December 25, 336 A.D.
- “According to legends that date back to the twelfth century, at Christmas, Krampus appears with a bundle of birch sticks and a basket. If you’ve been bad, he beats you. If you’ve been very bad, he stuffs you in the basket and carries you down to Hell.”
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