The Pagan Roots of Christmas

Here, my Dear Reader, I discuss the origins of our beloved Christian holy day, the Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas).  These origins may startle you.  For, as you will see, Christmas is more closely tied to pagan rituals than Halloween.  But my aim is not to dissuade anyone from celebrating Christmas.  No, my aim is to show how the Church encounters something in the world, and works to redeem it by absorbing it into its own practices.  It is the nature of the Church to assimilate things in the culture of the world, and change them--taking what is unsavory and creating something more beautiful and righteous.  Remember, as you celebrate this Christmas, how the Church takes what is ugly and mundane, and uses it to be a vehicle for the truth.  Such is the task of the Church throughout the ages--to find new ways to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Why December 25th?
Jesus was not born on December 25th.  The Church did not make this the official date for observing the Nativity until sometime in the 2nd Century A.D.  The date was chosen for a couple of reasons.  First, it occurred in winter--at a time of the year when we need light in the darkness.  Second, and more importantly, the 25th of December was the last day of the week long celebration of the Roman holiday Saturnalia.  This pagan Roman holiday was celebrated with feasts, lawlessness and carousing.  Christmas caroling, or wassailing, is a hold over from Saturnalia, as are all of those large meals that we cook for family and friends to enjoy together.  The Church tried to bring some morality, self-restraint and temperance to the practice of Saturnalia by making the 25th of December a high holy day.

The Christmas Tree, Holly Wreaths, Garlands and Yule Logs
One of the most central of decorations at Christmas is the Christmas tree.  We put them in our front windows for all to see, we decorate them lovingly with lights and special ornaments, and they serve as the center piece for Christmas morning, as families gather around the tree to open presents found beneath the branches.  And yet, the Christmas tree (as well as garlands and yule logs) come from ancient Norse pagan traditions, when people used to worship the trees themselves.  Yes, the Christmas tree comes from tree worshippers.  Now, I know that today Christians do not worship their trees, although if you stand back and look objectively a lot of our traditions surrounding the Christmas tree might seem--to the outsider--like we do worship the tree itself.  Wreaths of holly or of evergreen, meanwhile, were once thought to be winter refuges for fairy or elf beings.  We put them in our homes so that these miniature supernatural (and woodland dwelling) beings would show us favor the rest of the year.

Santa Claus, Christmas Stockings, and Christmas Presents
Whereas most of our Christmas traditions came from pagan holidays assimilated into the Church, Santa Claus was a wholly Christian phenomenon that was assimilated by secular culture.  Santa is based on Saint Nicholas, who was a real, historical figure, a bishop of the church.  As the Christian tradition goes, there was a poor family who had a daughter.  Destitute, the girl's parents were planning on selling their daughter into slavery to survive.  St. Nick heard of this and anonymously left gold pieces on the window sill of the girl's house at Christmas time.  He put the money in a stocking (this is why we hang Christmas stockings on our fire places).  St. Nick prevented the girl from going into slavery.  This is also the origin of the tradition of giving Christmas presents--it began as mission.  Christians would give gifts to those who had nothing, to the poor and not necessarily to their loved ones, at least not just to their loved ones.

Early depictions of Saint Nicholas show that he wore a green robe and was a slim man.  The Santa Claus that we know and love today--the fat old elf in a red suit with white trim who comes down the chimney--was created single-handedly by the Coca Cola corporation.  Coca Cola used the red clad fat man, complete with long, white beard, as a marketing tool.  We have all but forgotten the true Christian Saint Nicholas in favor of this commercialized pretender.  The giving of Christmas presents has similarly been co-opted by our culture.  Now Christmas is marked not by mission to the poor, but by rampant consumerism which begins with Black Friday.

Saving Christmas
My purpose in sharing these facts and origins of our Christmas traditions is not to ruin Christmas for you.  I do not advise anyone to get rid of any of these traditions.  I do not want anyone to stop celebrating Christmas.  Instead, it is my hope that knowing these things might help make your celebration of our dear Savior's birth purer.  Remember the real story of St. Nicholas so that you remember our Christian mission--to wit, that gifts should first of all be given to the poor.  Remember the pagan roots of Christmas traditions and decorations so that you can focus on the real reasons we still have these things--to remember the gospel.  All of these pagan traditions have become a part of being a Christian at Christmas time because they are helpful in remembering why our Savior came to save us.  The Christmas tree holds Christ's light in the darkness.  Our holiday meals are a foretaste of the feast to come.  In all that you do to observe Christmas, think about why you do those things and use them--bend them--to be a witness to Jesus Christ.

Most of all, place the story of Jesus' birth at the center of your Christmas remembrances.  Always keep in mind the scriptures.  Jesus, who is God, was born a normal and regular human being in order to redeem the world, and all creation.  In the same way, the Church takes traditions of our secular culture and redeems them, using them to help us remember the story of God's love in Jesus Christ.

So, celebrate Christmas in new and old ways.  And remember the baby who was laid in a manger.
Immanuel.  "God with us."
Thanks be to God for him.
Amen.