You can feel it in the air as joy fills everywhere, it’s Christmas day!
We’ve all been waiting for this time of the year when we can celebrate with our dearest friends and family members while remembering the very reason for the season, the birth of Jesus Christ.
Before you became occupied with the long to-do list of the things you need to prepare for Christmas day, have you ever paused to consider how the holiday came to be so exciting and pondered where it all began?
Throughout the first three hundred years of the church’s existence, the birth of Christ was not given much attention. Who can say with certainty the day Christ was born? Other customs provided dates that ranged from March to as early as mid-November.
On or around December 25th, the winter solstice, cultures throughout Europe and the Mediterranean region celebrated feasts. Jews celebrated the festival of lights. The Germans celebrated the yule festival. According to Celtic mythology, the solstice is associated with Balder, the Scandinavian sun god killed by a mistletoe arrow. The Romans feasted and gave gifts to the needy at the paganic festival of Saturnalia. Drinking was a standard component of this pagan tradition.
At some point, the Christian bishop may have adopted the day at some point to prevent his people from partaking in the previous pagan holiday.
Numerous paganism-related traditions come to be connected with Christmas. The practices persisted even as Christian legends supplanted pagan ones. Candles were kept burning. But through time, the name of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus, a historical but fabled saint from 4th century Lycia, came to be associated with gift-giving (a province of Asia). He was a kind individual who distributed gifts to residents.
Christians started singing Christmas carols in the thirteenth century, giving Christmas celebrations one of the best touches of all. Moreover, houses decorated with towered Christmas trees are one of the most well-known symbols of Christmas.
The evergreen tree was admired by Caucasian Europeans, who were astounded by its capacity to remain green throughout the winter. Anything green they could find was used to decorate their homes.
Europeans placed a high value on lights because they revered the warmth and light that fire offered to the continent amid its frequently gloomy and unseasonable weather.
Musa teaching the caveman how to heat his cave in 2,000 B.C. was commemorated by burning the Yule log. Homes were required to display lights in their windows during Prohibition to signal to the Catholic Priest that the holiday season was being observed there.
Modern Christmas lights can enlighten trees and window frames with their tiny glittering lights in a variety of colors. Edward Johnson, a friend, and partner of light bulb creator Thomas Edison introduced them to the holiday world in 1882.
But the lights most Christians believe are a sign that Jesus is the light of life.
The legend of the three wise men or the voyage of the magi, all of whom are said to have given presents to the baby Jesus, served as justification for the practice of giving gifts. The now-famous gold, frankincense, and myrrh were among those offerings.
When the Christian community first incorporated some of the pagan traditions that now serve as a symbol for Jesus’ birth. We now then incorporate gift-giving as one of the various traditions of Christmas.
Jesus was born, whether it is on Christmas day or whatever month of the year! God has made himself known through the story being played out in the Bible. But he goes far further than that; in fact, he incorporates himself into the narrative of humanity. He appears in the narrative as an infant rather than a hero. Why? So that He can profoundly show Himself to us.
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No matter how busy you can be, and however you have planned your Christmas celebration to be, it will always be a special commemoration of love, sharing, and giving. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
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