Christmas a Pagan Holiday
'Tis the Season to be Jolly,
The Naive Christian Tradition
10.05.201 Large pockets of neighborhoods throughout the world anticipate the coming celebration for the birth of Christ. During the last month of the Gregorian calendar, followers of Christian faith gather with their families and church congregations to fellowship as a method of remembering the life of their savior, Jesus. The singing of carols, displaying of Christmas trees, and exchanging of gifts are traditions normally associated with the festive celebration. Although many traditions seen today makes modern Christmas intriguing to Christians and Non-Christians alike, it is far from the European Pagan festivals it was derived from. In an effort to show possible elements that came to encompass this Christian holiday, one can look at the representation of the modifications each region has included to their Christmas celebration. This allows one to grasp how and why it still has a modern-day significance. Christian customs, specifically Christmas traditions have evolved over the years since the time of the European festivals that it was once molded after. Most people have a vague impression that many of these traditions are pagan practices in nature, but few have an understanding of how come these customs became fused with the Christian belief. The subject matter is immense and is still in the ongoing process of understanding, but historians and religious scholars have conclusive ideas and have developed many more hypotheses. Many, if not all, of the traditions most Christian believers observe during the Christmas season began several hundred years prior to the birth of Jesus Christ. Decorating of trees, exchanging of gifts, and community caroling are all practices that originated before Christ was born, but were later assimilated into the Christmas due to a variety of possibilities. Over 4000 years ago, the people of Mesopotamia celebrated each passing new years with a twelve day
The Naive Christian Tradition
10.05.201 Large pockets of neighborhoods throughout the world anticipate the coming celebration for the birth of Christ. During the last month of the Gregorian calendar, followers of Christian faith gather with their families and church congregations to fellowship as a method of remembering the life of their savior, Jesus. The singing of carols, displaying of Christmas trees, and exchanging of gifts are traditions normally associated with the festive celebration. Although many traditions seen today makes modern Christmas intriguing to Christians and Non-Christians alike, it is far from the European Pagan festivals it was derived from. In an effort to show possible elements that came to encompass this Christian holiday, one can look at the representation of the modifications each region has included to their Christmas celebration. This allows one to grasp how and why it still has a modern-day significance. Christian customs, specifically Christmas traditions have evolved over the years since the time of the European festivals that it was once molded after. Most people have a vague impression that many of these traditions are pagan practices in nature, but few have an understanding of how come these customs became fused with the Christian belief. The subject matter is immense and is still in the ongoing process of understanding, but historians and religious scholars have conclusive ideas and have developed many more hypotheses. Many, if not all, of the traditions most Christian believers observe during the Christmas season began several hundred years prior to the birth of Jesus Christ. Decorating of trees, exchanging of gifts, and community caroling are all practices that originated before Christ was born, but were later assimilated into the Christmas due to a variety of possibilities. Over 4000 years ago, the people of Mesopotamia celebrated each passing new years with a twelve day
Bibliography: Kertzer, David. The Popes Against the Jews: The Vatican’s Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism. New York: Knopf, 2001. Miles, Clement. Christmas Customs and Traditions: Their History and Significance. (New York: Dover Publications, 1976) 178, 263-271. Nissenbaum, Stephen. The Battle for Christmas: A Cultural History of America’s Most Cherished Holiday. (New York: Vintage Books, 1997) 4. Wright, Addison, Roland Murphy, and Joseph Fitzmyer. “A History of Israel” in The Jerome Biblical Commentary. (Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Pearson Education (US), 1990) 1247. [ 2 ]. Stephe Nissenbaum. The Battle for Christmas: A Cultural History of America’s Most Cherished Holiday. (New York: Vintage Books, 1997) 4 [ 3 ] [ 4 ]. “Holidays Toys: Christmas Unwrapped,” The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/videos/holidays-toys-christmas-unwrapped (accessed Sep 19, 2011).