Origins of Christmas Celebration

Origins of Christmas Celebration

The first historic record of the Christmas Holiday is a calendar dating from 354 CE, belonging to

a rich Roman Christian named Philocalus. That calendar tells us that on the same date -

December 25 - another holiday was celebrated, marking the birth of Sol Invictus, “the

Unconquered Sun.” That was a pagan cult, worshiping a sun deity.

Both these holidays coincided with the Roman festival of Saturnalia, which had been

celebrated from December 17 to December 24th. That was a festival celebrating the god

Saturn, which contributed heavily to latter-day Christmas traditions. 1

Originally the ritual only lasted for one day. In later years, however, the celebration lasted for

seven days. It consisted of a winter solstice celebration marked by a carnival, exchange of

gifts, feasting, license and misrule, and a cessation of all public works. Masters served

slaves; kings were chosen by lot, usually from among criminals or slaves, to preside over the

feast, given ass ears, and then slain. A sacrificial victim was chosen to represent both the god

himself and the king-surrogate. He was slain and sent to the underworld to merge with his divine

counterpart. Its riotous indulgence is the source of the phrase Saturnalia of crime. It is said to

have merged into the Christmas festival.2

Why December 25?

The New Testament of the Bible doesn’t tell us when the birth took place but Luke 2:8 gives a

clue - "some shepherds staying out in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night".

This means that the birth took place in the spring or summer, as sheep would have been kept

indoors during the cold winter nights.

Most probably that date was based on

the birth-date of Sol Invictus, which is

marked on the Winter Solstice - when

the sun overcomes darkness and the

days begin to get longer.3

Another

source said, “In 350 AD, Dec. 25 was

declared by Pope Julius I as the

official date of Christ’s birth to replace

a very popular pagan festival called

Saturnalia, which was celebrated in

honor of the pagan god Saturn.” 4

1 Jaime Licauco, “How Dec. 25 came to be Christmas,” http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/144355/how-dec-25-came-to-

be-christmas, (Dec. 25, 2013). 2 “Saturn,” http://www.wyzant.com/resources/lessons/english/etymology/planets/saturn.

3 Elon Gilad, “The Real Story of Christmas: From Sun-worship to Sinterklaas,”

http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/.premium-1.565113, (Dec. 24, 2013).

Origins of Christmas Celebration

Origins of the Christmas Tree

The modern Christmas tree originated in Germany. But the Germans got it from the Romans,

who got it from the Babylonians and the Egyptians.5

Early Romans also celebrated the solstice and the eventual yield of bountiful crops with a feast

called Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, god of agriculture. These people marked the occasion by

decorating their homes and temples with evergreen boughs (branches).

During the Middle Ages, most Roman Catholic countries, including Germany, celebrated the

Feast Day of Adam and Eve on Dec. 24. During the processionals, Germans would carry

"paradise trees" with apples, which represented the forbidden fruit of the Bible. These

devout Christians also brought decorated trees into their homes, while others built wood

pyramids and decorated them with evergreens and candles.6

The following demonstrates what the Babylonians believe about the origin of the Christmas

tree: “An old Babylonish fable told of an evergreen tree which sprang out of a dead tree stump

(remains). The old stump symbolized the dead Nimrod, the new evergreen tree symbolized that

Nimrod had come to life again in Tammuz! Among the Druids the oak was sacred, among the

Egyptians it was the palm, and in Rome it was the fir, which was decorated with red berries

during the Saturnalia!” (Walsh, Curiosities of Popular Customs, p. 242).7

The ancient Egyptians used palms to help the sun god Ra recover from illness during the winter

solstice, the shortest and lonest nights of the year. As Ra began healing, Egyptians filled their

homes with green palm rushes, which symbolized triumph over death.8

The Christmas tree, however, is directly mentioned in the Bible! Turn to Jeremiah 10:2-5,

“Thus says the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen…For the customs of the people are

vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the

axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that

it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must need be borne,

because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in

them to do good.”9

4 Jaime Licauco, “How Dec. 25 came to be Christmas,” http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/144355/how-dec-25-came-to-

be-christmas, (Dec. 25, 2013). 5 David C. Pack, “The True Origin of Christmas,” http://realtruth.org/articles/169-ttooc.html, (2013).

6 Amy Jo Martin, “The Origin of Three Popular Christmas Traditions,”

http://www.tidewaterreview.com/features/va-tr-byline-xmastrad-1225-20131223,0,1342819.story, (Dec. 24,

2013).

7 Elon Gilad, “The Real Story of Christmas: From Sun-worship to Sinterklaas,” (Dec. 24, 2013).

8 Amy Jo Martin, “The Origin of Three Popular Christmas Traditions,” (Dec. 24, 2013).

9 David C. Pack,, “The True Origin of Christmas,” (2013).