It's that time of the year again where we exchange gifts, eat roast turkey (or chicken), decorate our homes and give out cards. As a child I used to love Christmas, mainly because of all the customs that came with the celebration of Christmas such as receiving presents and eating a lot of food. Those were the times I had the 'Christmas spirit' which eventually disappeared as I got older.
Growing up in a Christian home I had always believed that Christmas day was Jesus' birthday. That is the reason why school children take part in the nativity play right? or films about Jesus birth in Bethlehem are shown on TV on christmas day?. For a "Christian festival" it is celebrated by many non-christians and many aspects of the celebration has nothing to do with Christianity at all. For example why do we eat turkey on Christmas day? why do we put up Christmas tree's and decorate it? and how does Santa Claus fit in? I started to do my own research on the origins on Christmas.
Many biblical scholars say that it is highly unlikely that Jesus was born in December. They say it is more likely that he was born around September. So why do we celebrate Christ birth on 25th December? Well this date has pagan origins in ancient Rome. The Romans used to celebrate the winter Solstice (shortest day of the year) which was used to worship their God Saturn (The God of agriculture) during 17th-24th December. On 25th December they celebrated the Re-birth of the Sun God Mithras. The celebrations involved having a feast, merry making, lights, giving presents etc. Sounds familiar doesn't it? This had occured many years before the birth of Christ. Many years later the Roman Catholic Church decided to 'Christianize' this festival and adopted 25th December to mark the birth of Jesus who is viewed as 'The light of th world'.
The idea of Christmas trees are thought to also stem from winter solstice celebrations. In Germany it was normal practice to cut down fir trees and put it in their homes since they believed that it represented life.
But where does Santa Claus come from? well there was a man called Nicholas from Turkey who was a Saint during the 4th century. He was a devout Christian and used to give to the poor and needy and was known to be a very generous person especially towards children. After he died his legacy continued and evolved into what today is the modern day Santa Claus.
Why are turkeys eaten on Christmas day? well traditionally in Britain it was goose that was eaten on Christmas day then in the 16th century Turkeys were introduced in England which eventually replaced the eating of goose. King Henry VIII was cited to have been the first person to eat turkey on Christmas day.
There are some customs we that we take part in in modern day Christmas celebrations that derive from pagan rituals which were practised centuries ago. I'm not saying taking part in these customs are evil but I do think it is important to understand why we do what we do and know its origins.
An important thing to remember is regardless of your personal beliefs, Christmas allows us to show love, practice the act of giving and spend time with those important to us. I hope you enjoy this holiday and we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Written by Dinah
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