The Secret Behind Christmas

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Jingle bells, jingle bells,

Jingle all the way.

Oh what fun it is to ride

In a one-horse open sleigh, hey!

The time has come for chilly winter mornings, fog-covered skies, red and white striped sweaters with a cup of hot chocolate and freshly baked goods along with our favourite Christmas carols on loop.

No matter how old are you Christmas is the time to be a child again and spend quality time with our loved ones.

Do you know why Christmas is celebrated?

to celebrate the birth of Christ

Well, you are technically right

except a teeny tiny detail is missing that most of us don't know

December 25th is not the day Jesus Christ was born!

Shocked!

Well, I was too when I came across this fact.

According to old scriptures, the actual birthday of Jesus Christ is assumed to be the 6th of January. Then why do we celebrate the wrong birthday of the son of god?

To answer this question we have to travel back to the 4th century.

it was the time when Christianity was gaining over Europe and pagan worship was struggling for existence. As most of the pagan worshippers were killed or tortured because the church saw it as a form of satanic worship. it wasn't a favourable time for both the teams. So, to avoid more bloodshed and to unite European countries, the church started including some pagan rituals into Christianity. the rituals were so intricately interwoven in Christianity that nobody doubted it. And at that time raising questions against the church was also punishable, so ...

So, Pope Julius I announced 25th December to be celebrated as the birthday of Christ.

Why 25th December? you may ask

 

because just 3 days before, the 22nd of December is the winter solstice, a day that was widely celebrated across Europe in various forms.

The date selected was so clever that by 5th century Christianity emerged as a major religion of Europe.

Why was winter solstice celebrated?

Because winter solstice marks the end of the harsher part of winter, as the day is supposed to be the coldest and has longest night. so in one sentence it is celebrated to say goodbye to woolens and waking up before sun.

What could be the similarities between Christmas and festivities performed during winter solstice?

well, since winter solstice was performed all over the world in different forms so there are various rituals we will come across

let's start with Rome.

In Rome the festival of saturnalia was celebrated during this time, slavery was banned and everyone was treated as equal. there was also grand feasts and gift-givings. In ancient Rome the pine trees were seen as sacred and an essential part of goddess' groves and were also brought home and decorated.

In Persia, the victory of light over darkness was celebrated in form of Yalda. in this festival people use to light candles and fires to ward off darkness along with feasts.

in China, Donghzi festival is celebrated, which is one of the most widely celebrated festival by Chinese people and the significance of the festival is to celebrate the seasons turning point towards warmer and lighter days of spring.

But the most significant, of all of this is the the old pagan celebration of  winter solstice - yule

According to pagan beliefs Yule is the birthday of sun rather than the birthday of Jesus. there is a story of two twin kings Oak king and Holy king , the Holly king is considered to be the king of waning period of sun and thus he use to rule from midsummer to Yule time (winter solstice) and during Yule he would surrender his throne to his younger brother the Oak king, the ruler of waxing period. both of them are considered to maintain the harmony of seasons and fight for the love of goddess. although many researchers consider them to be the same person.

A point to be noted in this context is the western world used to follow a sun calendar , where there seasons, months days and important times wee all based  on the position of sun. that's why the zodiac symbols are also called sun signs, So the sun held a huge influence and significance in rituals and beliefs of people.

Yule was also observed in old Germany, scholars have found some connections with the historic Germanic tradition and the wild hunt of Odin.

Now, you would be surprised to know that how much of the old traditions are still followed today in Christmas.

The first one is the concept of evergreen trees, yew, iris, ivy, were seen as sacred, though there is no historic proofs, if the trees were decorated or not, some scholars believed that that Christmas tradition of decking the halls was implemented from this old pagan tradition.

the concept of mistletoe came from this old tradition along with use of wreath to protect homes from evil and keeping them warm with love.

The famous Christmas tree or Yule tree was is thought to be introduced during Victorian times by  German prince albert. It was believed that bringing live pine trees into the house and decorating them with candles kept the houses safe and warm, as the wood spirits would be pleased. ( I don't think they would be very pleased if you empty the forest in the name of festival though).

Sometimes Christmas is also referred to as Yuletide or Yuletime, due to the similarities between the two. but now we know which one originated from which one. Though it is very plesant to see how Christmas  is celebrated throughout the world irrespective of the religion of person. It has truly become a widely accepted and loved festivals of time.

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Merry Christmas to everyone

blue rose belles        

   (Archie)   🎕