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CHRISTMAS
2000
Years Before Christ
by
Clayton Steep
How did customs, celebrated long before the birth of Jesus,
come to be called "Christmas"?
I
T WAS
that festive season
again. The little children
were filled with anticipa–
tion and excitement.
The whole farnily was busily
involved in putting up decora–
tions. Boughs of holly and ever–
green were assembled and
placed about the house. The
mistletoe was hung. A tree was
chosen and decorated with trin–
kets and ornarnents.
lt was a season of giving and
receiving presents, a time to sing
songs, admire all the pretty ligbts
and burn the yule log. There were
to be parades with special floats ,
sumptuous meals and merry-mak–
ing.
A modern Christmas celebra-·
t ion?
Not at all!
At the end of December and the
beginning of January all these fes–
tive celebrations were taking place
in various nations of Europe centu–
ries before Jesus was born!
An " Oid-Fashloned" Chrlstmas
Where Cbristmas customs carne
from is really no secret. You can
read the origins of Christmas cus–
toms in encyclopedias and ready-ref–
erence works. The
Encyc/opcedia
Britannica,
for example, draws the
reader's attention to these facts:
"Christmas customs are an evolution
from times that long antedate the
Christian period- a descent from
seasonal, pagan, religious and
December 1981
national practices, hedged about
with legend and tradition" (15th ed.,
art. " Christmas").
In ancien.t times, many of the
earth's inhabi tants, realizing their
dependence upon the sun for light,
heat and t he growing of crops,
watched the
s11n's
y~arly
course
through the heavens with deep
interest. At different seasons, feasts
and celebrations were held to help,
it was thought, the solar orb on its
way.
The end of December was an
especially significant time in the
northern hemisphere. The days
were short. The sun was at its low–
est poin t. Special festiva ls of
thanksgiving and encouragement to
the sun were held. When, at the
winter solstice, the days began to
lengthen, there was great celebra–
tion lasting into the first part of
January. Tbe sun-the light of the
world- had been (re)born!
Such festivities, once meant to
honor the sun and its god, were
freely adopted by the spreading and
increasingly popular "Christian"
religion. Why not, in the same way,
honor Jesus-the real light of the
world (even though He was not
actually born in December!)?
Through the centuries different
combinations of customs developed
in different nations. But the funda–
mental origin of the celebrations go
back at least 4,000 years.
Trees and Candles
The modern Christmas t ree is sup–
posed to have originated in German
lands in the Middle Ages. But long
before that, their ancestors custom–
arily decorated their bornes with
lights and greenery at the winter
festival.
Since evergreens were green
throughout the dead of winter, the
ancient Germans looked upon them
as especially imbued with life.
It
was in honor of the tree spirit or
the spirit of growth and fertility
that greenery was a prominent part
of ancient pagan winter celebra–
tions.
The Romans trimmed trees with
trinkets and toys at that time of the
year. The Druids tied gi lded apples
to tree branches.
lt
is difficult to
trace back exactly where the legend
first gained popularity, but to cer–
tain peoples an evergreen decorated
with orbs and other fruit-like
objects symbolized the tree of life
in the garden in Eden.
Branches of holly and mistletoe
were likewise revered. Not only did
these plants remain green through
the winter months, but they actual–
ly bore fruit at that time, once
again honoring the "spirits" of fer–
tility. Still today, catching someone
under a branch of mistletoe can
serve as a convenient springboard
for romantic activity. Few people
stop to wonder what in the world
such strange customs have to do
with the birth of Jesus!
The ancients lit festive tires in
the last part of December to
encourage the sun just as Christ–
mas bonfires, candles and other
lights burn today at the same time
37