Christmas: Origin and its Traditions

Here, we have mentioned History, Origin, Traditions, and some Facts about Christmas. So without any further do, Let's get straight into it.

Christmas: Origin and its Traditions

Christmas is an annual festival celebrated on 25 December. Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of Jesus' Birth, a spiritual leader whose teachings are the central pillar of their religion. On 25 December, there is both a religious holiday and a cultural and commercial phenomenon worldwide.

“Customs included in celebrating Christmas are exchanging gifts, visiting the church, decorating the Christmas tree, sharing meals with family and friends and, most importantly, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive on 25 December. ”

History or Origin of Christmas

The celebration of Christmas starts in both Pagan and Roman Cultures. Romans used to celebrate two holidays in December, namely Saturnalia and the Birth of Mithra. Saturnalia was a festival honouring their god of agriculture, Saturn. It was a two-week festival. And on December 25, they used to celebrate the Birth of Mithra (their sun god). In December, Pagans cultures lit bonfires and candles to keep the darkness at bay. The Romans incorporated this in their own celebrations.

Due to the spread of Christianity in Europe, the Christian Clergy could not restrain Pagan Celebrations as no one knew about the birth date of Jesus. So the Pagan ritual was adapted into a celebration of his birthday. For the celebration, Pagans used to decorate their houses with greens. As the trees remained green during the coldest days of winter, they were thought to have an extraordinary power or something. They also used to decorate their temples with metals during Saturnalia.

Christians now decorate their homes with green trees. The green trees contain different beautiful lights, Sweets and toys. The tree tradition was brought from Northern Europe, where Germanic Pagans used to decorate green trees.

Santa Claus is a Christian tradition rather than the Pagan one. St. Nicholas inspires it. He was born in South Turkey. He was a Bishop in the early Christians. Being from a Wealthy family, he was well known for his generosity towards the poor. He saved three daughters from being sold into slavery. Sock tradition starts from him. Children used to hang their socks, hoping St. Nicholas would toss gifts into them. He passed away on December 06. In honour of his passing, 6 December was declared as St Nicholas day.

After some time, Europe started to adopt the culture of St Nicholas. And later on, many countries like Belgium, Netherlands, France, Lorraine, and many more adopted his culture.

Traditions and Customs Of Christmas

Christians celebrate Christmas with love and devotion. There are many customs and traditions of Christmas. The most popular customs of Christmas are exchanging gifts, an afternoon decorating a Christmas tree, Visiting the Church, sharing with friends and family and most importantly, waiting for Santa Claus for gifts on December 25. Christmas Day has been a federal holiday in America since 1870.

Some other Christmas traditions or rituals are Christmas cards, Christmas stockings, Carol singing, Mistletoe, Foliage, Christmas Wreaths, Christmas Baubles, Crackers and many more.

Ten interesting facts about Christmas

Let's have a look at ten interesting facts about Christmas:

Ten interesting facts about Christmas

• Christmas was not always on December 25. There has yet to be an actual date for this festival in history. In the Bible, there is no mention of December 25 for the celebration of Christmas.

• Decorating trees is an ancient tradition by Romans and Egyptians. They used to decorate them in anticipation of spring.

• Hanging socks started by accident. All thanks to St Nicholas. He helped a poor man. He threw a bag of gold down the chimney one night after girls hung their stockings.

• There are lots of names for eight tiny reindeer. Rudolph was also named Rollins. The crew got other names like Flossie, Racer, Pacer, Fireball, and more.

• Christmas Wreaths are the symbol of Christianity. It represents Jesse's crown at the time of the crucifixion, and the red berries represent the blood he shed.

• Jingle bell is a Thanksgiving song for Christmas. On every Christmas, this song is played in every house. It is still one of the most famous Christmas songs.

• Celebrating Christmas was illegal from 1659 to 1681. Anyone caught celebrating Christmas would face a fine for it.

• Tons of packages are shipped during Christmas. People exchange gifts with their loved ones. In 2019 over 900 million packages were delivered.

• Half of Americans celebrate Christmas. Almost 85℅ of them celebrate this religious tradition.

• Red and white Candy canes originated in Germany. It was given to children to keep them quiet.

We all know that only a few days are left at Christmas. It is right around the corner. So everyone wants to have some knowledge about Christmas. Here we have mentioned history, traditions or customs and some interesting facts about Christmas.

I hope you all enjoyed it.

Kindly let me know your thoughts in the comments section.

Lots of Blessings!

FAQs

What is the full name of Christmas?

The word Christmas is a short form of "Christ's mass". In 1038, it was recorded as Crīstesmæsse, and in 1131 as Cristes-messe.

Who was the first to start Christmas?

Christmas originated mainly from Pagan and Roman culture. So it was started by both of them and later on celebrated worldwide.

What is the birth date of Santa Claus?

According to santaclaus.com, March 15 is the birth date of Santa Claus.