‘Tis the season once again! The unmistakable shift in the air signals the approach of mid-December, transforming the ordinary into a festive spectacle. Those dwelling far from their kin start preparing for the journey home, while the wistful reminiscence grips those unable to reunite with loved ones. The spirit of the season ignites fervent home adornments and sparks a shopping spree for new attire and heartfelt presents. Excitement ripples through the younger ones, anticipating the arrival of a certain benevolent saint clad in festive red. No matter the destination, a subtle reminder lingers — Christmas is on the horizon. Undoubtedly the grandest festivity worldwide, Christmas unfolds with unparalleled zeal and gusto.
Amidst the toils of a year filled with challenges, ups, and downs, this moment marks a collective shift. People cast aside their worries, basking in gratitude for life’s blessings. Celebrated globally on December 25 to honor the birth of Jesus Christ, Christmas extends its festive embrace, making it nearly impossible to elude the joyous atmosphere. Across the majority of nations, December 25 transforms into a public holiday, emphasising the universal significance of this jubilant occasion. While the enormity of Christmas is apparent, have you ever delved into its origins?
While we joyously celebrate Christmas on December 25, marking the supposed birth of Jesus Christ, the historical truth is that the exact date remains shrouded in mystery. The New Testament narrates the humble setting of Jesus’ birth in a Bethlehem stable, where Joseph and Mary sought refuge due to a lack of available inn rooms. The heavenly proclamation of Christ’s arrival was made to shepherds, who became messengers of this divine news.
Despite the absence of a specified date in the Bible, the Western Christian Church, in the early to mid-4th century, designated December 25 as the day of celebration, a choice later embraced by the East. Presently, Christmas is widely observed on December 25, following the Gregorian calendar. However, certain Eastern Christian Churches adhere to the older Julian calendar, aligning Christmas with January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. Notably, this date coincides with the Western Christian Church’s celebration of Epiphany, occurring one day later. In an effort to foster universality, the Church proclaimed the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany as a cohesive festive cycle, acknowledging the significance of both Western and Eastern Christmas dates.
The selection of December 25 as the date for Christmas has sparked various hypotheses, each offering a distinct perspective on this significant choice. Widely accepted is the theory that ties it to the winter solstice on the Roman calendar, strategically positioned around nine months after the vernal equinox on March 25, a date associated with the conception of Jesus. This alignment was further influenced by the belief in Jesus as the ‘Sun of righteousness,’ symbolically choosing the shortest day of the year for his birth, with the subsequent lengthening of days representing the increasing light he brought to the world.
Another hypothesis, proposed by French writer Louis Duchesne in 1889, suggests a Calculation hypothesis based on the celebration of Annunciation on March 25, the traditional equinox date. Annunciation marks the angel Gabriel’s announcement to the Virgin Mary, foretelling her conception of Jesus, the Son of God. According to this calculation, an earlier March 25 holiday, linked to the incarnation, paved the way for Christmas to be observed on December 25, nine months later.
The ‘history of religions’ hypothesis puts forth the idea that December 25 was strategically chosen to coincide with existing Roman festivities dedicated to the Sun god Sol Invictus. In 1743, German Protestant Paul Ernst Jablonski argued that Christmas was intentionally placed on this date to align with the Roman solar holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, suggesting a form of paganisation. In response, Christians countered that Emperor Aurelian’s institution of the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti in 274 aimed to assign a pagan significance to a date already significant to Christians in Rome.
A manuscript from the 12th-century Syrian bishop Jacob Bar-Salibi sheds light on the interplay between Pagan and Christian celebrations, acknowledging the Christians’ participation in the festivities surrounding the birthday of the Sun on December 25. Recognising this inclination, church leaders deliberated and decided to solemnise the true Nativity on that day, embracing and reshaping the existing cultural practices.
As time progressed, the evolution of Christmas customs took a path distinct from the original commemoration of Jesus Christ’s birth. These traditions, deeply rooted in pre-Christian festivals observed by pagans who later embraced Christianity, were particularly prominent around the winter solstice. In the pre-Christian and early Christian eras, the winter solstice marked a season of reduced agricultural activities and an anticipation of improved weather with the onset of spring, giving rise to numerous festive celebrations during this period.
Many aspects of modern Christmas customs trace their roots directly to these ancient winter solstice festivals. The practice of gift-giving and festive revelry during Christmas is thought to have originated from the Roman festival of Saturnalia. The incorporation of greenery, festive lights, and charitable activities can be linked back to Roman New Year celebrations, while the popular Yule logs and various culinary traditions are believed to have evolved from Germanic feasts. The symbolic representation of the Virgin Mary with Jesus Christ may even find its origins in the depiction of the Egyptian deity Horus being nourished by his mother, the goddess Isis.
In the early middle ages, Epiphany held precedence over Christmas, but as the High middle ages unfolded, Christmas emerged as a highly significant and celebrated festival. Key events, such as the coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor on Christmas Day in 800, the anointing of King Edmund the Martyr on Christmas in 855, and the crowning of King William I of England on Christmas Day in 1066, played pivotal roles in elevating the status and acceptance of Christmas. Chroniclers began documenting the festive celebrations of those of noble birth during Christmas, marking a shift in the cultural landscape.
A historic moment etched in time occurred during the reign of King Richard II of England in 1377 when a Christmas feast of grand proportions was hosted, featuring twenty-eight oxen and three hundred sheep. The medieval era witnessed the prevalence of the Yule boar as a common feature in Christmas feasts, and this period also witnessed the rise of caroling. While festivities embraced elements like drunkenness and gambling, a cultural transformation was underway, introducing traditions such as eating, singing, dancing, card-playing, and exchanging gifts, particularly within legal relationships like tenants and landlords.
By the 17th century, Christmas reached new heights with the organisation of lavish dinners and extravagant pageants on Christmas day. In 1607, King James I mandated a play to be performed on Christmas night, encouraging court members to engage in games. Emerging denominations like the Anglican Church and Lutheran Church continued the celebration of Christmas in its glorious form. Notably, in 1629, Anglican poet John Milton contributed to the festive spirit with his renowned work, “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity.”
Across history, Christmas faced prohibitions on multiple occasions, with one notable instance occurring in 17th-century England. Tensions flared between the Anglican and Puritan factions as the latter vehemently opposed Christmas celebrations, deeming it a Catholic invention and denouncing it as the “trappings of popery” or the “rags of the Beast.” Concurrently, the Anglican Church advocated for an enhanced observance of feasts, penance, and saints’ days, known as the calendar reform. This movement encountered resistance from King Charles I of England and the Catholic Church, which continued Christmas festivities with grandeur.
The Parliamentary triumph over Charles I during the English Civil War in 1647 led to the Puritan rulers in England imposing a ban on Christmas. This decision triggered protests, arguments, and even riots. The ban persisted until the restoration of King Charles II in 1660, marking the reinstatement of Christmas celebrations, albeit with subdued participation.
In a parallel scenario, the Parliament of Scotland officially abolished Christmas observance in 1640, claiming the purging of the church from “superstitious observation of days.” Remarkably, it took until 1958 for Christmas to regain its status as a Scottish public holiday.
Even in colonial America, New England’s pilgrims expressed disapproval of Christmas. In 1659, Boston outlawed Christmas observance, a ban that was eventually lifted. However, Christmas only gained widespread acceptance in the Boston region during the mid-19th century.
The transformative journey of Christmas into the grand celebration we recognise today owes much to the efforts of three influential authors in the 19th century. In 1820, Washington Irving, an American writer, penned “The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent,” a collection featuring numerous essays and short stories. Within this work, Irving depicted his literary alter-ego, Crayon, experiencing warm-hearted Christmas celebrations in Britain. The sketches vividly captured Christmas Eve, festivities at Squire Bracebridge’s home, and the traditional Christmas Day at Bracebridge Hall, culminating in a heartwarming Christmas Dinner. The success of this book played a pivotal role in reigniting Americans’ enthusiasm for the Christmas festival.
Around the same period, an anonymous author introduced the world to the iconic poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” with its famous opening line, “On the night before Christmas.” This poem immortalised the image of St. Nicholas enters homes through chimneys and filling stockings with toys for children. The poem, later revealed to be the work of Clement Clarke Moore, a professor of literature and divinity, solidified the popular image of Santa Claus, complete with fur-clad attire, rosy cheeks, and a jolly demeanor.
Adding to the Christmas literary canon, Charles Dickens, a literary genius, published the beloved novella “A Christmas Carol” in 1843. This timeless tale follows the transformation of the bitter miser Ebenezer Scrooge after encountering the ghosts of his former business partner and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Les Standiford’s work, “The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirit,” published in 2008, underscores Dickens’s pivotal role in shaping the contemporary Christmas celebration. Dickens further contributed to the festive spirit with works like “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton,” “The Chimes,” “The Cricket on the Hearth,” and “The Battle of Life,” as well as various stories in journals like Household Words and A Round of Stories by the Christmas Fire.
As the mid-nineteenth century unfolded, the somber Puritan sentiments that once hindered the joyous spirit of Christmas began to wane. By the year 1860, the tide had shifted, with fourteen states officially recognising Christmas as a legal holiday. The turning point came in 1875 when Louis Prang, hailed as the father of the American Christmas card, introduced the inaugural Christmas card to the American public. On June 26, 1870, Christmas received formal recognition as a United States federal holiday.
Despite occasional bans and protests in the 20th century, Christmas has endured as a widely celebrated festival, transcending religious boundaries to capture the hearts of people from all walks of life. The festival has undergone a remarkable evolution — from its raucous, carnival-like state in the Middle Ages to a gentler, more family-oriented and children-centred celebration in the 19th century. Today, Christmas stands as a global phenomenon marked by the harmonious melodies of music, the joyous cadence of singing, spirited dancing, festive feasts, the exchange of presents, and an abundance of love that permeates the air during the Christmas season.
(The writer can be reached at dipaknewslive@gmail.com)
