As Christmas draws near, Union residents will continue their Christmas celebrations. Union has already held a Christmas parade, and First Baptist of Union has held its annual Christmas cantata. Several other local churches either have already held a Christmas service or will soon. Christmas is one of the biggest holidays in Union and across the world and has historical origins that date back to before the time of Christ. Many different cultures throughout history have held celebrations in the middle of winter, and eventually, Christmas became the holiday where people across the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
According to the History Channel’s website, the Norse and the ancient Romans both held celebrations in the last week of December. The Norse celebrated the Yule, a festival in recognition of the return of the sun. The Romans also celebrated Saturnalia and Juvenalia, which celebrated two different Roman gods. These celebrations all occurred before the birth of Christianity and continued until the Catholic Church named the birth of Christ as a holiday. Some historians believe that Jesus’ birthday occurred actually in the spring because shepherds would not herd in the middle of winter.
In the early days of Christianity, Jesus’ birth was not a holiday because the Bible does not mention his actual birthday. Pope Julius I chose December 25th as the celebration of Jesus’ birthday in order to “adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival.” Christmas was first called the Feast of the Nativity and had spread to Egypt by 432 A.D. By the end of the sixth century, Christmas had spread all the way to England and eventually reached Scandinavia by the end of the eighth century. Because church leaders chose to celebrate Christmas at the same time as pagan winter solstice celebrations, most cultures accepted Christmas and eventually, Christianity. In fact, Christianity had become the dominant religion by the Middle Ages.
During the 17th century, Puritans in England banned Christmas because they believed that the celebration was illegitimate (the Bible does not mention a specific birthday). Charles II quickly restored this, however. Furthermore, when the Separatists (who were even more orthodox than the Puritans) came to America in 1620, they did not celebrate Christmas, and they even outlawed the holiday in Boston from 1659 to 1681. However, this was not the case everywhere in the colonies.
After the American Revolution, Christmas fell out of favor in many places in the United States because they viewed it as an “English custom.” However, by 1870, Christmas had regained popularity and was declared a federal holiday. Authors Washington Irving and Charles Dickens both wrote about Christmas celebrations, which helped Christmas regain popularity in the United States and helped to popularize the Christmas traditions that many celebrate today. Historians trace the legacy of Santa Claus back to Saint Nicholas. During the late 18th century in New York City, Dutch immigrants celebrated the death of this saint. “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” and Thomas Nast’s drawings brought about the modern images of Santa Claus.
Christmas traces its origins back to the Norse and Roman holidays during the winter solstice. After the birth of Christ, the Catholic Church later declared December 25th as the birth of Jesus in order to help convert pagan cultures to Christianity. This eventually spread to other parts of Europe as Christianity became the dominate religion across the world. Christmas went through several phases in the United States to eventually become the holiday everyone loves today. People across the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ each year, and the history of Christmas should be celebrated as well.a
