History of Christmas
The surprising origins of our Christmas celebration! Origins of Santa, the
Christmas tree, Nativity Scenes, Wreaths, Rudolph - much more!
Copyrighted and published 2007 - a JRT Text from NTIS.
Over 80 pages of little known information about the origins of the holiday that
drives the nation’s economy. The author has spent many hours digging into
ancient texts and numerous other resources to uncover the obscure and little-
known origins of the Christmas tradition / celebration.
Christmas is celebrated throughout most parts of the world. Where did the
celebration of this winter festival originate? Even though many people believe that
the origins of Christmas are found in the Bible, this simply is not true. If the God of
the Bible is not the One Who told us to celebrate Christmas, how did we come up
with the celebration?
And what about Santa Claus? Where did Santa come from? Is Santa based on
myth or reality? Is Santa based on a character from the Bible? How did Santa
come to be such an important part - for many, the most important aspect - of the
Christmas tradition / holiday?
The nearer aspects of the Christmas tradition have their roots in Roman custom
and religion. The earliest reference to Christmas as being observed on December
25 comes from the second century after Jesus’ birth. It is likely that the first
Christmas celebrations were in reaction to the Saturnalia - a Roman harvest
festival that marked the winter solstice - the return of the sun - and in honor of
Saturn, the god of sowing and agriculture. Saturnalia was a rowdy festival. It is
believed that Christmas developed as a means of replacing worship of the sun with
worship of the Son. At the Saturnalia, all classes of people exchanged gifts, the
commonest being waxed tapers (candles) and clay dolls. These dolls represented
original sacrifices of human beings.
There is absolutely no record in the Bible of anyone observing Christmas. There is
not even a hint of a Christmas celebration or anything remotely like it. When we
consider the customs associated with Christmas we have to ask ourselves just what
do decorated evergreen trees, holly, mistletoe, Yule logs, a jolly plump man in a
red suit, sleighs, and flying reindeer have to do with the birth of Jesus Christ? The
answer is nothing - absolutely nothing. However, these things do have a lot to do
with ancient pagan festivals. How did the date of December 25 come to be
assigned as the date of the birth of Jesus? Although it is difficult to determine the
first time anyone actually celebrated December 25 as “Christmas”, historians
generally agree that it was sometime during the fourth century - some 300 years
after Christ’s death. And then a contrived date was chosen because it was already
a popular pagan holiday for celebrating the birth of the sun god. Virtually all the
customs associated with Christmas are recycled from ancient pagan festivals which
honored other gods.
Christmas is a very popular holiday tradition and is celebrated by some 2 billion
people worldwide. In fact, people in nations with little or no Christian culture or
tradition are celebrating this holiday in increasing numbers. The celebration of the
holiday is so big that it plays a key role in the economies of many nations. In short,
“Christmas” is driven by commercialism. In view of centuries of criticism of the
commercialization of Christmas, it is worth noting that the holiday’s secular - and
not its religious aspect - has been most responsible for its popularity. In the United
States, retailers have come to count on Yuletide sales for up to 50 percent of their
annual profits.
Despite the number of times the Santa legend is told, the magical St. Nicholas-to-
Santa Claus fairy tale is simply not true. So where did Santa come from?
Many Santa researchers agree that some traits of Santa were borrowed from Norse
/ Scandinavian mythology. Some researchers associate Santa with the Norse god
Odin or Woden who was described as riding through the sky on an eight-legged
white horse named Sleipnir. Odin lived in Valhalla (the North) and had a long white
beard. Odin would fly through the sky during the winter solstice (December 21-25),
rewarding the good children and punishing the naughty. The origin of Santa can
also be traced to the Norse god Thor. Thor was the god of the peasants and the
common people. He was represented as an elderly man, jovial and friendly, of
heavy build, with a long white beard. His element was the fire - his color red. The
fireplace in every home was sacred to him, and he was said to come down through
the chimney into his element, the fire. Thor was said to drive in a chariot drawn by
two white goats called Cracker and Gnasher. He fought the giants of ice and snow
so he became known as the Yule-god. He was said to live in the Northland where
he had his palace among icebergs.
December 25 was the very day and season on which the pagans for centuries had
celebrated the birth of the Sun-gods.... That the various sun gods which were
worshipped in different countries were all believed to have been born at the same
season would seem to indicate that they were but different forms under different
names of the original son of the Sun-god: Tammuz of Babylon. In Babylon, the
birthday of Tammuz was celebrated at the time of the winter solstice with great
feasts, revelry, and drunkenness. The nativity worship of the sun-god, the hidden
god Tammuz (also known as Nimrod), was performed with carved idol images that
were set up in chamber rooms (manger scene sets) and prayed to.
Another part of the traditional Christmas celebration is the wreath. Following in the
footsteps of ancient Rome, this emblem is hung on doors, walls and even on
radiator grills of semi trucks. The wreath is alleged to be a reference to - and a
symbol of - the birth of Christ. But like everything else, the wreaths we use today
are tied to and have their origins in worship of the sun god. What we know as the
Christmas wreath comes from ancient practices. These wreaths were made from
evergreens and were most frequently round to symbolize the sun (just as do halos
in most religious art). Hence, the round Christmas wreaths stand for an eternal
sun, a never-dying or self-renewing sun.
The legends and myths of Santa Claus are steeped in the beliefs of pagan
witchcraft. The elf is one of the traditions associated with Ole Nick that can be
traced back to Celtic roots. Santa and his elves are the modern version of the
“nature folk” of pagan religions. Nature folk were the sprites that lived in the forest
and possessed magical powers. To the Druids, elves were tree spirits or demons.
There are volumes of information which detail the origins of the holiday as well as
the origins of the traditions associated with Christmas. This text uncovers the
ancient origins of Christmas which have been purposely hidden and obscured.
Who - or rather what - are we honoring and worshipping in the traditional
celebration of Christmas?
This book is a must-read for those who want to learn the real origins of this holiday.
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