The Paganism-dominated Roots and Historical Influences behind Christmas

Christmas is a tide that is so popular that even if you don’t orient yourself as a Christian, you share the festivities like having a Christmas tree decorated, exchanging presents, and sharing the ideology of it being a time of nostalgia and family togetherness. The influence of cultures over time has enriched the holiday further with its traditions and it's no secret that every festivity, especially a religion-oriented one, has a history worth taking a look at. Who knows? If you researched into things before taking part in them with a blind eye to their roots and its by-the-book merit, you might be shocked to learn what you find.

Astronomy and astrology have been used to dictate and regulate agriculture, mark events, and so on for thousands of years - solstices and equinoxes for example helped people regulate when to plant their seeds and harvest their crops. The winter solstice marks the day with the shortest day and longest night.

Several cultures have their celebratory traditions of celebrating the winter solstice - such as Iran with Shab-e Yalda (Farsi: شب یلدا), Yaldā Night or Chelleh Night (celebrated by Iranians to present day), Saturnalia for the ancient Romans during the time of the Roman Empire (continued to be celebrated long after it was removed from the official calendar), Yule in Germany (celebrated by some present-day Pagans and Wiccans), and so on.

The prevail and or the birth of light over darkness was celebrated and symbolized across cultures during the winter solstice along with rejoicing in the harsh winter ending and longer days with more sunlight ahead - centuries before the arrival of Jesus. But more on that later.

Now, let’s start with focusing on two of the most influential roots of what we recognize today as ‘Christmas’, the pagan winter solstice celebrations of Saturnalia and Yule.

The Pagan Roots and Celebratory Traditions of Christmas

The ‘close’ of winter - December - was an ideal celebration in most areas of Europe also because it was usually the only time of year where they had a fresh supply of meat and most wine and beer made during the year was finally fermented and ready for drinking.

Saturnalia

The god Saturn - the Roman god of agriculture, liberation, time, and parties were celebrated on the Saturnalia holiday for the ancient Romans. It started out as a single-day celebration but by the late Republic (133-31 B.C.) extended to the last seven days, beginning on December 17. It was a hedonistic time where Roman social order flipped and in other words, the line between enslaved people and masters were blurred to where anything was okay, like the original Purge where laws were suspended for a time - picture a month’s time of drunken rejoice, feasts, giving of gifts, and role reversal where masters tended to the servants. I guess you could see an element of equality in that. Businesses and schools were closed so everyone could join in on the revelry. Free speech, drinking, and basically doing whatever you want was the tide.

The ancient Roman historian, Livy (Titus Livius), tells us that Saturnalia began in 497 BC, whereas modern historians believe it probably began much earlier than that…Meaning at least half a millennia after the origin of Saturnalia, Jesus Christ was born. Shocker, huh?

Juvenalaia was another feast celebrated around the winter solstice to honor the children of Rome. Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, was also celebrated by members of the upper class on what was - for some Romans - considered the most sacred day of the year, December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god was born of a rock. The Persian pantheon of gods also bared a similar god, Mithra, namely god of the rising sun.

After this time, the darkest night of the year, the rebirth of light was celebrated in the later Roman Empire on December 25th 274AD. The holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti - ‘the birthday of the unconquerable Sun’ was created by Emperor Aurelian’s consecration of the temple of Sol Invictus. This officially elevated the Sun to the highest position among the gods, probing closer towards monotheism.

Yule

The Norse celebrated Yule from December 21 (winter solstice) to mid-January. Scholars have connected the Germanic and Scandanavian celebration to what is called the Wild Hunt - the Norse god Odin and the Anglo-Saxon Mōdraniht.

The pagan god Odin was honored by the Germans due to their belief that he flew through the sky to observe his people and decide who would prosper or perish, which prompted many to stay inside. Sound familiar yet?

The prominent tradition of the Yule log started with fathers and sons bringing home large logs to set on fire while everyone feasted until the log burned to outlast under and or until 12 days. This was done in recognition of the return of the sun. It was believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the year ahead. Other customs included the Yule boar, Yule singing, and so on.

Over time, leaders were baptized and converted as not to upset the chieftains and the timing of when Yule itself was traditionally celebrated (three days after Midwinter) shifted to reflect Christian dates.

Wiccans and those of Neopagan religions continue to celebrate Yule to this day, and in most forms of Wicca - celebrates the rebirth of the Great horned hunter god, who is viewed as the newborn solstice sun.

Is Christmas really the Birth of Christ? : The Introduction of the Christian Christmas Tide

It’s understandable to find this article or any information for that matter that informs of the historical background of Christmas that puts all of what you have been taught to believe - up for questioning. But nevertheless, although it has been taught to mark the birth of the Christian savior, Jesus Christ, it’s well…How do I put this…Just blatantly misconstrued passing of adopting of cultures, traditions, pagan religions, and anything but a direct biblical reference.

No, Christmas doesn’t mark Christ’s birthday.

No, Jesus definitely was not white.

Sorry, Megan, he wasn’t a Capricorn either.

Historical evidence actually suggests that Jesus was born during spring actually, and as I said, Yule and Saturnalia celebrations were adopted by Christian missionaries to appeal to convert pagans of the time who were attached to their own holidays.

“Christians of that period are quite interested in paganism, it’s obviously something they think is a bad thing, but it’s also something they think is worth remembering. It’s what their ancestors did.” - Phillip Shaw, a researcher of early Germanic languages and Old English at Leicester University

Ready for another bubble-burster? Well, the birth of Jesus was not even celebrated. Easter was the main holiday in early Christianity, and it was not until the fourth century where church officials decided to declare the birth of Jesus as a holiday.

And that’s not the only thing, the Bible doesn’t even mention the date of his birth. Which, by the way, was argued by the Puritans later to deny the legitimacy of the celebration. Now as I said, some evidence does suggest that his birth may have occurred somewhere in springtime but a specific date let alone December 25?…Not at all.

When was the date chosen then? By whom?

You have Pope Julius around 350 AD to account for that. Once again, it’s believed that this was done to adopt Pagan traditions of Yule and Saturnalia to both appease Pagan converts and add to the appeal. It was called the Feast of Nativity at first, and the manufactured custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century.

Why was this done you ask? I mean, holding Christmas at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals allowed for church leaders to increase the chance of popularizing Christmas. And by the Middle Ages Christianity had largely replaced Pagan religions.

Picture this: believers attending church and then celebrating in a drunken and frenzy-like atmosphere. Christmas grew to become a time of year when the upper class would ‘repay’ their either real or imagined ‘debt’ to society by entertaining lower class citizens. This was prompted by how each year, a beggar or student would be crowned the ‘lord of misrule’ and eager celebrants would play the role of his ‘subjects’. The poor would basically go to the houses of the rich and demand their best food and drink. And if owners failed or chose not to comply, their visitors would terrorize them with mischief. Cue the intense plot twist music.

Roots and Influences behind Christmas Carols, Mistletoe, Christmas trees and Wreaths

All decor and occurrences you associated with the popular holiday - how it even came about in the first place, how it differed for different cultures and people - you name it. Sounds like a chore to read about but trust me, the origins of all these things you may have an attachment to? Yeah, you’re in for a series of ‘wait-what?’ moments you can not turn away from.

Caroling

The origin of caroling? Wassailing. Germanic and Norse traditions to be specific. Wassailers would just go from home to home, drunk as hell, singing loudly to their neighbors about celebrating ‘their good health’. The traditional wassail beverage? A hot mulled cider spiked with alcohol or fermented.

In addition to that, the classic holiday tale that you’ve probably heard of, A Christmas Carol, by English author Charles Dickens was published around this time and showcased a push to the ideology most associate with Christmas today - goodwill towards all, the significance of charity and so on. Needless to say, its heartfelt sentiment spread through the United States and England like wildfire and presented members of Victorian society the benefits of celebrating the holiday. During this time - the early 1800s, is where families started to lean on being more sensitive to children’s emotional needs and the gift-giving on Christmas allowed for families to show affection and attentiveness to their children without looking like they’re ‘spoiling them’.

This is where the imagery of the American Christmas that we see so much in Christmas-themed movies began to unearth itself into popularity. Ironically, people looked towards recent immigrants and Catholic and Episcopalian churches to see how they should be celebrated. Customs of sending holiday cards and whatnot were all built-on ‘Christmas traditions’ that developed over the next 100 years.

Mistletoe

In Europe Mistletoe was considered a magical plant, primarily among the Druids and Vikings, with significance in Native American cultures.

A few instances where mistletoe was used include:

- By the Romans (underneath the mistletoe) in fertility rituals

- By feuding Norse tribes as a ‘neutral ground’ to lay down their weapons and negotiate (you guessed it, underneath the mistletoe)

For the Druids, it was seen as an all-powerful healing item from the sacred oak tree that could protect them from thunder and lightning.

In other words, the roots of Mistletoe being a symbol of peace, healing, and well - maybe not as far as making out under them like today - is yet another ‘Christmas tide quirk’ that is actually, well, not a ‘Christmas tide quirk’.

"If you met someone in the forest you gave them the sign of peace under the mistletoe so people started to hang mistletoe above their doorways as a symbol of peace. This was such a powerful symbol of paganism that English churches actually banned the use of it” - Historian Kenneth C. Davis on CBS 2017

Wreaths

Yes, I know that Christians associate the red berries in holly with the blood of Christ and its pointed leaves with the crown of thorns but, the advent of holly decor was actually around long before Christianity, used by Pre-Christian pagans. They believed it could drive off evil spirits and that the Holly King did battle with the Oak King. Once again, Pagan roots - wherever you look in what you think is traditional Christmas customs are just Pagan roots remanufactured if not ‘traditions’ made up over the last 100 years.

As for a peek into where else wreaths were used - it’s no secret that Romans loved wreaths and decorated everything with laurel if not evergreens since laurel was not easily procured throughout the northern reaches of the empire. Holly, ivy, and evergreens are used more often today however, still holding significance. Whereas Egyptians used palm frond to celebrate the Winter Solstice since they didn’t have evergreens.

Christmas trees

Let’s start with the star placed at the top of Christmas trees, and to the Persian influence behind the gospel story of the Magi, or ‘the three wise men’ itself, shall we?

The star typically placed at the top of Christmas trees represents the star the Magi followed in order to honor the birth of Christ. Magi is known as ‘the three wise men’, the term Magi was used at the time to describe ancient Zorostarian priests who were highly skilled astrologers from present-day Iran; in this case studying astrology to follow the stars and find baby Jesus.

Anders Hultgård, theologist and religious studies scholar and Professor Emeritus and former Chair of Religious History at Uppsala University, concluded that the gospel story of the Magi was influenced by a Persian legend revolving around Magi and a star. The legend intertwined with myths detailing the manifestation of a divine figure in fire and light and Persian beliefs in the rise of a star predicting the birth of a ruler. (‘The Magi and The Star’).

And now on to Christmas trees themselves…

Historian Kenneth C. Davis explained (CBS 2017) that the (evergreen) trees symbolized ‘light’ and ‘the return of life’, much to the prevail of day over the longest night would of course prompt, as the winter solstice brought hope for longer days ahead.

And of course, as this was adopted and absorbed into the Christian occasion of Christmas, the decor and little add-ons grew to symbolize what Christmas was intended to reflect.

"They started to hang an apple on it, so little red balls on green trees — get the picture here? ... So all of these things celebrate the idea that life and light are coming back into the world, which is essentially what Christmas means to Christians around the world.” - Historian Kenneth C. Davis on CBS 2017

The Invention of Santa Claus

I don’t know which historical background of said tradition and or belief itself that has shocked you the most so far, but this is probably going to make your top 3 at least.

You see, the character of Santa Claus can be traced back to the monk St.Nicholas, born in Turkey around 280 A.D. How’d the gift-giving element come about you ask? Well, St.Nicholas gave away all of his inherited wealth, traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick, and becoming known as ‘the protector of children and sailors.’ He was known as ‘Sint Nikolaas’ (Dutch for Saint Nicholas) and or ‘Sinter Klaas’ by the Dutch, resembling the Norse god Odin.

It was when Dutch families gathered to honor his death anniversary that At. Nicholas first entered American popular culture in the late 18th century (New York). And clearly the name ‘Santa Claus’ was drawn up from the Dutch’s abbreviation ‘Sinter Klaas’.

Other ‘gift-giving’ influential legends and in this case, an influence to the idea of ‘the good and naughty list’, included that of the legend of La Befana and Germanic Frau Holle. La Befana was said to leave treats for children on the ‘good list’ and Frau Holle - to treat women during the solstice. Side-note: this includes the German belief of the Pagan god Odin deciding who would ‘prosper or perish’, as mentioned under the topic of Yule above.

When did the depiction of a cheery man in red cement itself into Christmas?

Where did the idea of reindeers and delivering toys come from?

The honoring of the Pagan god Odin by the Germans and their belief that he flew through the sky to observe his people

The Christmas poem called ‘An Account of a Visit from St.Nicholas’ by Episcopal minister Clement Clarke Moore (1822), depicting the character of Santa Claus as a cheery man flying on a sled driven by reindeers from home to home to deliver toys (you might have heard of its famous first line: “Twas The Night Before Christmas”).

And to cement the idea, in 1881…

Political cartoonist Thomas Nast’s image on Moore’s poem (exhibit b, reader) showcased a smiling man in red with a thick white beard and a sack of toys. ‘Old Saint Nick’, anyone?

Look, I’m not saying every association you’ve either been taught, grew up with, or heard of - every tale and ‘tradition’ known to the annual tide… Is a manufactured, rewritten, dragged-on conjunction of influences to simply popularize an idea but…

I don’t know what to tell you, that’s just exactly what it is.

The Historical course of Christmas Cancelled and Reinvented

With all that in mind, you can’t expect the ‘course’ of Christmas over time to be a smooth one left alone - as mentioned - an ‘original’ one and or that of being ‘untouched of outer influence’. Influences were no secret, predominantly its Pagan-oriented symbolism, which led to a series of things. For starters, when Christmas was canceled. And later, how it continued to be ‘re-invented’…

When Christmas Was Canceled

The time: early 17th century.

The purpose: religious reform.

The effect: change in how Christmas was celebrated in Europe.

The outcome: ‘cancellation’ of Christmas.

Let’s piece it together.

In 1645, Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England with the vow to ‘rid England of decadence’, cancelling Christmas as part of fulfilling that vow. But since the celebration had become so popular, when Charles II was restored to the throne, the return of Christmas came along with him. Note that there were those even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell as well - the Pilgrims (English separatists that came to America in 1620).

And get this, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681. Yeah, if you exhibited ‘the Christmas spirit’, you were fined five shillings. On the other hand, (in the Jamestown settlement) it was reported by Captain John Smith that Christmas was enjoyed by all and went on without trouble.

English customs fell out of favor after the American Revolution - including Christmas. Christmas wasn’t even declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.

Washington Irving Seals the re-invented Christmas ideal

As mentioned, it wasn’t until the 19th century that Americans chimed into the embrace of Christmas - re-invented ideology of Christmas of course, as I so ‘subtly’ explained above. Take in all the information I’ve just laid out for you depicting a rowdy, drunken time of year to a family-centered day that has you in grandmother-knitted sweaters with a red sock stitched on them. Nothing wrong with that but…It isn’t passed on ‘Christmas lore’ as you have been told it to be.

Why did this shift take effect in the first place anyway?

Honestly, the early 19th century was for the most part a period of class conflict, high unemployment and turmoil. As if that wasn’t hell enough, during the Christmas season, gang rioting by the lower classes would take place. So in 1828, the New York city council instituted the city’s first police force in response to a Christmas riot. This hence provoked some members of the upper class to prompt the change in how Christmas was celebrated in America.

Now for the wax seal on the ‘re-invention of Christmas ideology’, cue the drum roll…

A book series.

That’s right.

A 1818 book by best-selling author Washington Irving, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent.

How’s that wait-what thought process doing now, reader? Still with me?

Anyways, as I was saying…

The series of stories focused on the celebration of Christmas in an English manor house.Peasants are invited to a squire’s house for the holiday - the smooth mingling between the classes depicted contrasting with that of the discord in American society at the time. Granted, an actual historic custom of how Christmas was celebrated - the crowning of a ‘lord of misrule’ to be specific was included in Irving’s stories; the idea that Christmas should be celebrated as a warm and family-friendly time of bringing groups together past the differences of wealth or social status pioneered throughout his stories. Which, as you can imagine, appealed and touched readers in American society who faced the problems of having the exact opposite sentiment in their everyday life.

By implying that it spoke of the ‘true customs of the season’, many historians agree that Irving’s account was a re-making of sorts of the tradition rather than based on any holiday celebration he has attended, or their ‘true customs’ at all for that matter.

Think of movies like Home Alone, The Holiday, The Polar Express, A Christmas Prin- yeah we both know it would take me forever to name every Christmas themed movie. Basically while most families such as your own maybe, have bought the idea that they’re celebrating Christmas how it ought to have been done for centuries; Americans had really ‘re-invented a holiday to satisfy the cultural and societal needs of an evolving nation’ or so to speak.

Final Prompt

However you celebrate Christmas if you do at all, or just ‘bout how you celebrate any ‘traditional celebration’ - religion oriented or not…

History can be quite the watchdog detective when dived into thoroughly, can’t it?

And you ‘ought to be a real daft one when everything is always up for study, still choosing to go about attaching yourself to claimed custom to crafted eulogy, knowing that everything you think you’ve got down to the detail, could probably be a front for…

Well, just about anything.

So with all due respect for your culture, religion or whatever the hell you associate or orient yourself with,

Take a seat and dive in to the background of things, will you?

Education doesn’t stop at a college degree or spoken tongue, you know.

Oh, and then reader,

Paint the town red and celebrate as you please.

Here’s to winter solstice tides!