How did the festive Christmas as we know it today, shape itself over time? Well, it all started with people we call Pagans, who did not call themselves pagans!
Who were these pagans?
Once Christianity started spreading throughout Europe around the 4th century, the missionaries encountered people, cultures and groups that believed in different and older systems, religions and traditions. Everyone that was not Christian was seen as pagan to these missionaries. It originated and stayed as an offensive term for a long time, only in recent decades has started being reclaimed by modern practicing pagans. It is an umbrella term for a lot of cultures, religions and beliefs. But most importantly it essentially meant “non-Christian”. Different sources claim some of these Christians were fascinated by pagan ways so they took those traditions and molded it into Christianity, others claim that pagan traditions and sites were simply claimed by Christianity, as it was a practical way to convert non-believers.
Wodan Heals Balder’s Wounded Horse, Emil Doepler, 1905
But let’s start with the date of Christmas itself. Why December 25th, in the middle of winter? There’s a list of pagan celebrations that specifically honour The God (or Gods) of the Sun, so there is a good chance Christians took inspiration from that. These celebrations were held around the winter solstice and it was called Yule in Western Europe, Yalda in Iran, Inti Raymi in Peru and the one that is perhaps the closest to our modern version of Christmas - ancient Roman festival Saturnalia.
So, we know that Christians took and adapted traditions, but which ones in specific?
Saturnalia was an Ancient Roman holiday between the 17th and 24th of the month of December, honouring the god Saturn. He was the god of agriculture and around that time of the year, the last planting season would be completed. So during this festive time, ancient Romans would use it to engage in a week of traditions. Traditionally, this time would be filled with gambling, socializing, playing music, and singing. Alongside these, gift giving was one of the primary traditions as Romans believed those small acts of kindness will bring a bountiful harvest in the next year. There would be lots of feats to go around and all around cheerfulness we know this festive time by today. Fir branches (and other greenery) would be brought into homes to brighten this dark and gloomy time of the year, which is probably the very beginning of having a Christmas tree in our houses during this festive time.
A Roman Feast, late 19th century, Roberto Bompiani.
Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program
In the Saturnalia festival, 25th December was considered the climax and had a special name – Brumalia (Sigillaria by some sources). On this day many Romans would give their loved ones small terracotta figurines, which is believed to be an evolved tradition that previously involved human sacrifice. It was a time even the Roman slaves could enjoy public celebrations and not work on the last day of the festival.
So, the bible does not actually give Jesus’s birthday, so arguably the most important thing we have taken from Saturnalia is the date. Given that there are even theologians that concluded that Jesus was probably born sometime during spring, which would explain the shepherds and sheep in the Nativity story.
And we come to the Vikings and their traditions…
Yule is considered one of the oldest pagan celebrations happening during the Winter Solstice.
To start off easy, the word “Yule” comes from a Viking festival that was held to keep optimistic spirits high during the cold and dark days of winter. Yule is a festival during the winter season that was practiced by the Germanic and Scandinavian people, that later got incorporated into the Christmas holiday as missionaries were converting pagans into Christianity.
Like Saturnalia, Yule is also a Sun themed celebration. In old Norse, Jul (Jol?) could refer to a feast to the sun or even one of Odin’s nicknames, the Yul-father due to his strong association with the sun. Of course, a widespread tradition like this will have many differences in the specifics based on location. Some regions might celebrate for 12 days or a month, but they mostly start on the Winter Solstice. It is important to note that Winter Solstice is on the 21st or 22nd of December, but back then it fell on the 25th December, so if the Christmas date was taken from Saturnalia or from Yule is up to speculation.
Children hauling a Yule log, Britannica
The tradition that involves a Yule Log is a widespread tradition with many localized differences as well, even though the origin is not fully known. It is also a tradition that has massively been changed due to the times and specifically how people live in mass populated cities, not having space for it or for safety reasons. That’s why you’ll most likely see a Yule Log Cake at the next Christmas party, as the tradition evolved from burning a whole log during the whole Yule festival, to a cake shaped like a log that also depends on contents based on location and family history.
Another part of our Christmas tradition that has roots in the Viking Age is the Mistletoe. And it all stems from a Norse myth that goes like this. Baldr, son of Odin and Frigg, was driven to insanity and paranoia, plagued by visions of his own death. Frigg made every earthly object to vow to never harm Baldr. He became known for his untouchable nature. All was good until Loki made a weapon out of Mistletoe, the one thing that has not made Frigg’s vow. Baldr was murdered, and once Frigg started crying, her tears graced branches of mistletoe and turned into the white, pearl-like berries that now forever lie a symbol of her love for him.
The History of the Mistletoe, Details Flowers
And our last one before we go, we have to talk about Odin. The Allfather was the father of all the gods, has been traditionally portrayed as an old man with long white beard accompanied by his eight-legged horse called Sleipnir who he would ride among the skies just like Santa does in modern portrayals with his reindeer. Kids during winter would fill their boots filled with carrots and place them around the chimney in hopes of Odin coming by and leaving presents in return for Sleipnir eating those carrots. Remind you of something?
We will leave the blog at that, hope you learned something interesting, enjoyed finding out some new facts before Christmas.
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Cover Photo By: Annie Spratt on Unsplash
