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History of Christmas

Christmas is a holiday tradition with uncertain origins, influenced by ancient Roman and Greek customs like Saturnalia and Sol Invictus. These pagan festivals celebrated the winter solstice with feasting and gift-giving, symbolizing hope during the darkest time of year. As Christianity spread, the church adapted these pagan celebrations into Christmas, using them to honor the birth of Jesus, whose actual birth date was unknown.

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5 views1 page

History of Christmas

Christmas is a holiday tradition with uncertain origins, influenced by ancient Roman and Greek customs like Saturnalia and Sol Invictus. These pagan festivals celebrated the winter solstice with feasting and gift-giving, symbolizing hope during the darkest time of year. As Christianity spread, the church adapted these pagan celebrations into Christmas, using them to honor the birth of Jesus, whose actual birth date was unknown.

Uploaded by

nemishah21
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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History of Christmas

Christmas is a beloved holiday tradition that has been celebrated around


the world for centuries. Its exact origin is unknown, however there are
several theories as to how the holiday began. One theory suggests that
Christmas was inspired by ancient Roman and Greek customs such as
Saturnalia and Sol Invictus. These pagan festivals were held during the
winter solstice and celebrated with feasting, gift-giving, and
merrymaking. This idea of merriment during the darkest time of year
became symbolic of hope in many cultures, including Christianity.

Both ancient European pagans and Romans contributed to the


development of Christmas. In the month of December, Romans had two
separate holidays. The first was Saturnalia, which was a two-week festival
honouring their god of agriculture Saturn. Mithra, their sun god, was born
on December 25th, and his birthday was honoured. Intoxicated revelry
was the order of the day at both events.

In addition, the winter solstice occurs in December, prompting pagan


societies to celebrate by lighting bonfires and candles. Celebrations of this
sort were also adopted by the Romans. The Christian clergy in Europe
could not stop the widespread practise of pagan rituals and festivals even
as Christianity swept across the continent. Since no one knew when Jesus
was born, they substituted a pagan ritual for a birthday party in his
honour.

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