Rob Witham

There has been quite a culture war brewing for some time now over whether Christmas is a Christian holiday or a secular holiday. There is further debate over whether Christians should celebrate Christmas at all if the origins of the holiday are not Christian. The historical evidence suggesting that the Christmas holiday is actually a blend of Christian and pagan traditions is well agreed upon. The Christmas holiday does bear a Christian name. The English word Christmas derives from the Middle English term Christe masse (Christ’s mass). The word Christmas is really just a contraction from Christ’s mass. However, the traditions around the holiday seem to be a blend of Christian ideas and pagan winter festivals like Yule and Saturnalia.

It is the pagan cultural connection that results in Christmas being celebrated in December. Christmas has traditionally been celebrated December 25, though the Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate the holiday on January 7 due to calendar differences. The December date originates from several pagan winter festivals including Saturnalia, Sol Invictus and Yule. Winter festivals have historically been popular in many cultures worldwide. Many communities still maintain their own winter festivals on smaller scales.

• Saturnalia was a popular ancient Roman holiday honoring the god Saturn. Saturnalia was particularly popular in Italy. Saturnali was the best-known of the winter festivals during Roman times. Saturnalia was known as a time of rest, feasts and merry-making. The celebration of Saturnalia included the making and giving of small gifts like dolls and candles. Business was usually postponed during Saturnalia. Saturnalia was originally celebrated December 17 but eventually lengthened to an eight day celebration lasting from December 17 until December 24.
• Sol Invictus was celebrated in third century Rome. Roman emperor Aurelian began promoting Natalis Sol Invicti around 274 AD, a December 25 celebration of two solar deities - Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun) and Mithras (Sun of Righteousness). December 25 was then considered to be the date of the Winter Solstice. On this day the sun was thought to prove itself unconquered despite the progressively shortening days.
• Yule is an ancient winter celebration from Scandinavia. Yule was celebrated from late December until early January. Yule logs were lit to honor Thor, the god of thunder. Yule was accompanied by feasting that lasted until the yule log burned out - as long as twelve days.

There are, of course, many other celebrations and traditions that arguably influenced the Christmas holiday as we know it (including Santa Claus). However, to consider all of the influences is far beyond the focus of this article. It is clear that pagan celebrations and traditions had a significant impact on the development of the Christmas holiday. Consider that the English word yule has been virtually synonymous with Christmas since at least 900 AD. The idea of celebrating Jesus’ birthday did not gain any popularity until the third century and was apparently not celebrated until at least 354 AD. Quite obviously the militaristically expanding Roman church ended up integrating components of pagan holidays into the Christmas holiday whether intentionally or not.

Christmas (as we know it) was further developed in much more recent history though. Parts of Europe and the the city of Boston, Massachusetts saw the celebration of Christmas banned in the mid-1600s. Puritans in Europe and New England strongly disapproved of celebrating Christmas due not to ancient pagan roots but rather to its association with the Roman church. Interest in the Christmas holiday was dying out in Europe by the 1800s. The publication of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” in 1843 served to restore the idea of the Christmas celebration to Europe. Dickens’ emphasis on family, goodwill and compassion around the Christmas holiday resonated with 19th century Europe. Dickens’ book is still synonymous with the Christmas holiday in America more than 160 years later.

The December date for celebrating Jesus’ birth is an old tradition. It is well argued that Jesus was not born in December. The tradition obviously integrates aspects of many ancient pagan holidays that were celebrated on or around December 25. The decision to use December 25 as a date had far more to do with seasonal solstices than any real evidence Jesus was actually born on that date.

Many people question whether Christians should celebrate Christmas at all given the pagan elements of the holiday. In the next post in this series I will offer some thoughts on the topic of whether Christians should celebrate Christmas or abandon the holiday altogether.