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The ‘World’ marks the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25. However, there is no single mention of December 25 as the birth of Jesus in the Bible. In fact, the only mention of that date in the Bible was in Jeremiah 52: 31-34 when King Jehoiachin of Judahwas released from Babylonian prison. For the records, Jesus never celebrated his or any birthday while he was on earth.
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December 25 was probably chosen because it coincided with the ancient pagan festival Saturnalia, which celebrated the agricultural god Saturn with partying, gambling, and gift-giving.
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Many of the popular Christmas traditions today found their roots in Saturnalia: Branches from evergreen trees were used during winter solstice as a reminder of the green plants that would grow in spring when the sun gods grew strong.
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The evergreen branches became the foundation of the Christmas tree. Germans are thought to be the first to bring “Christmas trees” into their homes at the holidays and decorate them with cookies and lights.
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The Christmas tree made its way to America in the 1830s but wasn’t popular until 1846, after Germany’s Prince Albert brought it to England when he married Queen Victoria. The two were sketched in front of a Christmas tree and the tradition instantly became popular.
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The well-known reason why people give presents at Christmas is to symbolize the gifts given to baby Jesus by the three wise men. But it may also have stemmed from the Saturnalia tradition that required revellers to offer up rituals to the gods.
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Because of its roots in pagan festivals, Christmas was not immediately accepted by the religious. In fact, from 1659 to 1681, it was illegal to celebrate Christmas in Boston. You were fined if you were caught celebrating.
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Santa Claus delivering presents comes from Holland’s celebration of St. Nicholas’ feast day on December 6.
Children would leave shoes out the night before and, in the morning, would find little gifts that St. Nicholas would leave them. -
The present look of Santa Claus today was created at an 1804 meeting of theNew York Historical Society, where member John Pintard handed out wooden cutouts of jolly old St. Nick in front of stockings filled with toys.
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Now check this out! Though Santa Claus has worn blue and white and green in the past,his traditional red suit came from a 1930s ad by Coca Cola.
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And the image of him Santa Claus flying in a sleigh started in 1819…and was dreamt up by the same author who created the Headless Horseman, Washington Irving.
