Yule LogĮarly Europeans believed wood had magical powers. Its association with Frigga, the Norse goddess of love, led to the custom of kissing under a mistletoe branch. It was believed to have magic power to bestow life and fertility, to bring about peace, and to protect against disease. MistletoeĪncient Celtic priests considered mistletoe to be sacred. This existing custom was “baptized” by the Roman church by connecting it with the gifts of the Magi to the Christ child. Sweet things were given to ensure sweetness for the year to come lamps to wish for light and warmth or money to wish for increasing wealth. ![]() Gifts were given to celebrate the solstice in ancient Rome. The Lutherans absorbed this symbol into Christmas as a symbol of Christ’s victory over sin and death. The ancient Romans bestowed a “victory wreath” on athletes and warriors. The custom of decorating Christmas trees became popular around the world during the mid-1800s. Trees were decorated with fruits, nuts, lighted candles, and paper. German settlers in Pennsylvania set up the first Christmas trees in the U.S. A “Paradise Tree” decorated with red apples was part of a popular German Christmas play about Adam and Eve. The “Asherah poles” and sacred groves mentioned in the Bible were sites of tree worship and idolatry for ancient Israel. Trees are common objects of worship in pagan religions. The United States Congress did not declare Christmas a federal holiday until 1870. But during the Reformation in the 1500s, some Protestants, including American Puritans, outlawed the celebration of Christmas because of its pagan origins and practices. The church hoped to draw pagans into its religion by allowing them to continue their traditional revelry with a Christian twist.īy 1100, Christmas was the most important religious festival in Europe. The birth of Mithras, Roman god of light, was replaced by the celebration of the birth of Christ, light of the world. As the Roman Empire became more corrupt, Saturnalia became a rowdy, out-of-control, drunken party. Romans decorated trees with bright pieces of metal. Slaves were given temporary freedom and were allowed to sit at the head of the table and be served by their masters. Executions and military operations were postponed. The Roman festival Saturnalia began December 17 and continued for a week, during which all business stopped. This was a pivotal point in pagan nature worship. The dateĭecember 25 corresponds closely to the winter solstice, the time when days begin to lengthen and light returns. The Roman Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity and “Christianized” the pagan festivals honoring Saturn, the god of agriculture, and Mithras, the god of light. The first mention of December 25 as a date for Christ’s birth is on a Roman calendar in 336 A.D. ![]() A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, for example, was first published December 19, 1843. ![]() Many of its traditions are of relatively recent origin (1700s or 1800s). Like Easter (Ishtar), Christmas has its origins in pagan religion.
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