Saturnaliae bona vobis! Happy winter solstice! Hoping your heart gets lighter as the days get brighter. Merry / Happy Christmas!
While the name, ‘Christmas,’ comes from Christian religion, the holiday season is not specifically ‘Christian’ because it originated “centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus. Early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. Many peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight…The end of December was a perfect time for celebration in most areas of Europe. At that time of year, most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter. For many, it was the only time of year when they had a supply of fresh meat. In addition, most wine and beer made during the year was finally fermented and ready for drinking” (https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas). Did you know that most of our December holiday traditions originated from pagan celebrations?
When I taught Latin, my students were surprised to learn how many of our elements of ‘Christmas’ celebrations / traditions have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus. In fact, designating December 25 as the birthday of Jesus may have been around 350 CE by Pope Julius I. As historians relate, people of that time had not concerned themselves with the birth of Jesus; their main religious holiday was Easter. Roman Christians and pagans alike continued to celebrate Saturnalia, a December festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn (To learn more about this festival, open this link and read https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/saturnalia) and the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year in December. (To learn more about this, open this link and read https://www.history.com/topics/natural-disasters-and-environment/winter-solstice). Because no one knows the precise time of year / date of Jesus’ birth, the Catholic church wisely chose the date as December 25 to make it an easier transition for the people being converted to Christianity to continue to celebrate in similar ways to how they enjoyed Saturnalia and the Winter Solstice. Of course, the church ‘cleaned up’ to more riotous elements of the pagan traditions to turn it into Christmas. What are some of the pagan traditions we have embraced and made Christmas conventions?
“During Saturnalia, work and business came to a halt. Schools and courts of law closed, and the normal social patterns were suspended. [We do that for Christmas now.]
People decorated their homes with wreaths and other greenery [Yep, we do that for Christmas now.], and shed their traditional togas in favor of colorful clothes known as synthesis. Even enslaved people did not have to work during Saturnalia, but were allowed to participate in the festivities; in some cases, they sat at the head of the table while their masters served them.
Instead of working, Romans spent Saturnalia gambling, singing, playing music, feasting, socializing and giving each other gifts. Wax taper candles called cerei were common gifts during Saturnalian [Candles play a role in Christmas traditions now - think of the Advent Wreath / Candles.], to signify light returning after the solstice. On the last day of Saturnalia celebrations, known as the Sigillaria, many Romans gave their friends and loved ones small terracotta figurines [Doesn’t this sound like the nativity figurines / creche set up in many homes and yards now?] of the known as signillaria, which may have referred back to older celebrations involving human sacrifice. Saturnalia was by far the jolliest Roman holiday; the Roman poet Catullus famously described it as ‘the best of times.’ So riotous were the festivities that the Roman author Pliny reportedly built a soundproof room so that he could work during the raucous celebrations” (https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/saturnalia).
“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 [Hmmm…could this have contributed to the popular holiday song, The Twelve Days of Christmas?] The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.
In Germany, people honored the pagan god Oden during the mid-winter holiday. Germans were terrified of Oden, as they believed he made nocturnal flights through the sky [Is the like Santa Claus traveling at night through through the sky?]to observe his people, and then decide who would prosper or perish. Because of his presence, many people chose to stay inside.
Also around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition, members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra’s birthday was the most sacred day of the year [Doesn’t this sound like the birth of Jesus as a most sacred day of the year for Christians?]” (https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas).
What about the Christmas tree? Surely that’s a specifically Christian tradition, right? Nope. “To Christians today, the Christmas tree is of particular importance, but the green tree we decorated shortly before Christmas has pagan roots, and there was a time when the Church did not accept it. Everything started when people decided they wanted to have green plants inside. It didn't matter what kind of tree it was as long as it was green. According to folklore beliefs, green plants and trees protected people from various evil forces, such as malevolent spirits. It also explains why mistletoe was so sacred. During winter, when the days are dark and cold, green plants and trees remind us that the Sun will return, and we may embrace warmer days eventually. Vikings believed spirits known as vættir (vättar in Swedish) lived in trees. They didn't want these tiny creatures to freeze during winter, so they took the trees inside, letting the spirits enjoy a warm and cozy atmosphere at home. Among the first peoples of Mesoamerica, the cedar tree was particularly considered sacred. Ancient Celts held nature and animals in high regard, and their Celtic Tree of Life was a portal to invisible worlds and a source of sacred knowledge guarded by the most enlightened ones. In ancient India, we came across the Kalpa Tree' Kalpavriksha'. This sacred wishing tree has long been an object of adornment and worship. It was believed that this tree produced the fruit which nourished the first men.
[Interestingly,] the Church has long been reluctant to accept the tree because of its pagan origins. The tree protected against trolls, witches, and several supernatural creatures. Christian leaders couldn't see how the green tree could be incorporated into the Christmas tradition. For a long time, Christmas trees were forbidden in many countries, at least until 1640.
In Russia, a Christmas tree was not allowed between 1917 and 1992, but people didn't want to give up on the tree, and instead of calling it a Christmas Tree, they referred to it as the New Year Tree. Once the tree became a part of the Christmas celebrations in northern Germany, the tradition spread to other European countries. People placed smaller trees indoors instead of decorating a tree in the woods. Queen Victoria introduced the practice in the United Kingdom, where the tree became very popular. Soon, all Christians in many European countries wanted a Christmas tree, but only rich people could afford it. Fortunately, this changed in time, and every believer could afford a Christmas tree, even if it sometimes was just a smaller one. German immigrants most likely introduced the Christmas tree tradition in the United States” (https://www.ancientpages.com/2020/12/11/ancient-history-of-the-christmas-tree-and-its-pagan-roots-how-the-forbiddentree-survived-against-all-odds/).
Here are some other Christmas holiday conventions that have pagan roots:
“* Christmas caroling
kissing under the mistletoe
gift-giving mythical beings
decking the halls
hanging ornaments
eating fruitcake
giving presents
Christmas holly
hanging stockings
Santa
the Yule log” (https://www.learnreligions.com/christmas-customs-with-pagan-roots-2563021). (https://www.newmuslimacademy.org/christmas-traditions-that-are-rooted-in-paganism/)
Are you still interested in learning more? Check out these websites: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-19/the-history-of-the-christmas-tree/8106078 and https://historycooperative.org/pagan-origins-of-christmas/.
Here’s another tidbit on Christmas traditions that are rooted in the fear of paganism. Those no-fun, stern, overly conservative, joyless Puritans started one of the first ‘war on Christmas.’ Professor Andrew W. Mellon explains, “The Puritans, it turns out, were not too keen on the holiday. They first discouraged Yuletide festivities and later outright banned them. At first glance, banning Christmas celebrations might seem like a natural extension of a stereotype of the Puritans as joyless and humorless that persists to this day. But as a scholar who has written about the Puritans, I see their hostility toward holiday gaiety as less about their alleged asceticism and more about their desire to impose their will on the people of New England – Natives and immigrants alike.
The earliest documentary evidence for their aversion to celebrating Christmas dates back to 1621, when Gov. William Bradford of Plymouth Colony castigated some of the newcomers who chose to take the day off rather than work.
But why?
As a devout Protestant, Bradford did not dispute the divinity of Jesus Christ. Indeed, Puritans spent a great deal of time investigating their own and others’ souls because they were so committed to creating a godly community. Bradford’s comments reflected Puritans’ lingering anxiety about the ways that Christmas had been celebrated in England. For generations, the holiday had been an occasion for riotous, sometimes violent behavior. The moralist pamphleteer Phillip Stubbes believed that Christmastime celebrations gave celebrants license ‘to do what they lust, and to folow what vanitie they will.’ He complained about rampant ‘fooleries’ like playing dice and cards and wearing masks.
Civil authorities had mostly accepted the practices because they understood that allowing some of the disenfranchised to blow off steam on a few days of the year tended to preserve an unequal social order. Let the poor think they are in control for a day or two, the logic went, and the rest of the year they will tend to their work without causing trouble.
English Puritans objected to accepting such practices because they feared any sign of disorder. They believed in predestination, which led them to search their own and others’ behavior for signs of saving grace. They could not tolerate public scandal, especially when attached to a religious moment.
Puritan efforts to crack down on Christmas revelries in England before 1620 had little impact. But once in North America, these seekers of religious freedom had control over the governments of New Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut.
The Puritans in Plymouth and Massachusetts used their authority to punish or banish those who did not share their views. For example, they exiled an Anglican lawyer named Thomas Morton who rejected Puritan theology, befriended local Indigenous people, danced around a maypole and sold guns to the Natives. He was, Bradford wrote, ‘the Lord of Misrule’ – the archetype of a dangerous type who Puritans believed create mayhem, including at Christmas.
In the years that followed, the Puritans exiled others who disagreed with their religious views, including Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams who espoused beliefs deemed unacceptable by local church leaders. In 1659, they banished three Quakers who had arrived in 1656. When two of them, William Robinson and Marmaduke Stephenson, refused to leave, Massachusetts authorities executed them in Boston.
In 1687, the minister Increase Mather, who believed that Christmas celebrations derived from the bacchanalian excesses of the Roman holiday Saturnalia, decried those consumed ‘in Revellings, in excess of wine, in mad mirth’” (qtd. in https://theconversation.com/why-the-puritans-cracked-down-on-celebrating-christmas-151359)Fortunately, their harsh, “my way or the highway” forced beliefs, thankfully, fell out of vogue.
Did you know about these pagan roots in Christmas traditions? What traditions add to your celebrations of the winter holidays? Please share your thoughts, insights, and suggestions by either commenting below this post if you are reading this on social media, or, if you are reading this through your email subscription, please share, by emailing me, at reimaginelife22@gmail.com.
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