Christmas Caroling Traditions

The holiday Christmas has traditionally represented the birth of Jesus Christ. Christians worldwide have celebrated December 25 as their God’s birthday; however, Christians have held no historical significance to the holiday. Most customs involved in Christmas have originated from ancient pagan celebrations. The customs have dated back to events like Saturnalia and the Unconquered Sun, proving the ideas stemmed from pagan roots not Christian. For instance, the date of Christmas has held no significance to Christians. According to Elisha Israel, the Bible has provided no biblical evidence of December 25 representing Jesus Christ's birthday, but it has provided the evidence of his birth happening in a complete opposite season (4). During
For example, Christmas caroling has originated from the pagan tradition of wassailing. During wassailing, people went from door to door singing and drinking wishing hope to their neighbors. Caroling also has stemmed from when villagers would adventure though their fields shouting and singing to scare off the malicious spirits that endangered upcoming crops (Wigington 1). Another origin of Christmas caroling has derived from when less fortunate people went door to door to wealthy people in a trick or treat manner promising misery if they did not receive what they desired (Claerr 1). Similarly, the yule log tradition has dated back to pagan origins. The Norse set fire to the yule log for twelve days which has occurred in occasional Christmas events (Claerr 1). The log also kept the house safe for the upcoming year by ridding the premise of wicked spirits (Mankey 4-5). Finally, the yule log served as a representation of the return of light (Wigington 4-5). Likewise, gift giving has dated back to pagan origins; however, people usually exchanged gifts on New Year's day and received only one present. During the pagan celebrations of Saturnalia and Kalendae, people exchanged gifts. Also, on St. Nicholas’ Eve French nuns gave food and clothes to the impoverished (Wigington 3-4). People exchanged gifts for the cheerfulness of the new season too (Johnson 1-2). Fruitcake has represented another Christmas tradition with pagan origins. In pagan myths, fruitcake magically appeared in the pantry bringing joy and surprise to people during the holiday season. In contrast, Ancient Egyptians placed fruitcakes on loved ones tombs since the cake supposedly lasted as long as the pyramids (Wiginton 3). The pagan traditions presented in Christmas have demonstrated Christmas’ pagan