I’m writing this article in the midst of winter, under a foot of new snow. It’s inconvenient with the errands we have left, but I can’t manage to care. At last, today is two minutes longer than yesterday. Business for the week will wrap up early. Nights are cheerful and cozy, despite the dark and cold. People smile, greet each other and wish strangers well. Most of us eagerly anticipate the gatherings, the merriment, and the abundance we share, no matter how humble.
Or... we’ll jostle in a rush of angry shoppers, burn the cookies, pick up the tree the cat knocked down, overspend, envy what others have, get trapped for a night at the airport, then flip to the wrong cable channel and feel the visceral and moral certitude that something has been “lost” or “forgotten.” It’s not about buying things, but when you do (and you’d better) saying anything other than “Merry Christmas” is unacceptable. There is a war going on here after all, and we need to “fight” to “return” things to “the way they were.”
Hey Christmastime, what the hell?
What’s with the yin/yang, right/wrong, good/evil, Christian/non-believer, collective forgetting/remembering we’re all forced to endure this time of year? Am I supposed to take sides about something? What if I don’t talk about or celebrate my holiday traditions properly? What if I do things for the wrong reasons?
Answer me this, so that I can get it right: When exactly did Christmas happen just as it was supposed to? I am led to believe that someone did have it right at some point. What is the Christmas prototype? What is the origin of the “one true meaning” this time of year is supposed to hold for billions of people?
Before you puzzle too long about it (or answer too quickly in your recitation of historical “fact”), there is not a sociologist, anthropologist, historian or religious scholar alive today who can answer that question. Neither can you. Human history is anything but linear and simple. The world-wide cultural phenomenon of Christmas is a perfect example of how this is so.
The First Christmas
Wasn’t that when Jesus was born? Well, the bible makes no mention of exactly when Jesus was born, and it wasn’t until hundreds of years after his death that anyone took to commemorating his birth. If you want to get technical about it, according to multiple corroborating texts, Jesus was probably born in September or October, when shepherds were still out with their flocks, before returning home for the winter.
As well, most rituals dedicated to those who have come before us were conducted upon the anniversary of the individual’s death (or reputed resurrection, as in Easter). It’s unusual then, that Christmas should be such an exception. Unless of course you consider the objectives of early Christian leaders in spreading the faith, and finding a way to leverage winter customs for their own purposes. It is unequivocally acknowledged in the Catholic church that placing Christmas on December 25th was a pragmatic choice in inventing a new custom, as opposed to a historical determination. However, more scholars now argue that the date of his birth was determined by the date of his death, the same day as his conception, nine months prior to December 25th.
Regardless, the raucous Roman celebration of Saturnalia is often considered a major catalyst in forming a celebration of Christ’s birth. If you’re going to party hard, you better end it with a bang - the rebirth of the sun! Or, instead, how ‘bout we wrap up a crazy week of partying with the birthday of our lord and savior? After all, Saturnalia was about remembering the ideals of a better, more egalitarian time, when the harvest was always plentiful, and no one went hungry. Seems Christians aren’t the only ones who enjoy a dose of nostalgia, albeit for mythical times.
Saturnalia was also known for role-reversal, when masters served slaves, and parents served children with gifts. Sounds familiar. More on that later.
Christmastime Imagery
So, why does Christmas look like it does? Well, depends on the part. Like Saturnalia, there are dozens and dozens of historical examples of traditions that predate Christian practice.
If you google “Festival of Lights” most of the first page is dedicated to locating massive incandescent displays that are associated with “the holidays,” but Christmas imagery typically dominates. You’d be excused if you didn’t know just how far back Festivals of Lights took place. Saturnalia, naturally, included lots of candle lighting in anticipation of the solstice, and the conquering of light over darkness.
The Romans might have just gotten that from the Jews who were celebrating the religious holiday of Hanukkah, The Festival of Lights, albeit a tad more subdued, for hundreds of years before anyone wa....no, wait... Diwali, the religious Hindu Festival of Lights trumps the Jews by at least 400 years, so surely they....oh, the Persians? They did what? They had a secular Festival of Lights holiday, known as Chaharshanbe Suri at least 1,000 years before the Hindus?
Can’t say any of this is surprising. Winter was always dark, long before recorded history, and we’re humans, we’re doers, so our ancestors did what they could to improve their situation and make the most of difficult circumstances. And yes, there are celebrations related to light and the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere... in June.
What about the greenery? Deck the halls with bows of holly and all that? Yeah, everyone did that. Winter isn’t just dark. It’s dead and brown. Get some evergreens and “spruce it up,” to borrow an apt phrase. Romans did it, sure. So did those pagans in Northern and Central Europe, including the Germanic and Scandinavian people. “Yuletide” has long since been assimilated as another word for Christmastime, albeit a winter celebration like so many others that had nothing at all to do with Christianity for ages. Mistletoe? Forget about it. Pagan.
While it has been supposed that Christians adopted the evergreen Christmas tree from the pagans, others argue they substituted it for oaks or other symbols, in part due to it’s triangular shape that evokes the Holy Trinity. And besides, they’re pretty.
Christmas Values
I really like Christmas, and the notion that hope, joy, family and giving are central to the season. Thank goodness past generations of Christians were unsuccessful in their attempts to kill all that which existed for millennia prior to their own celebrations, and persisted in many cases in spite of them. No, you read that correctly.
Gathering loved ones to celebrate the year and express hope for the new has both secular and religious roots across cultures. The Catholic church in the middle ages, however, wasn’t fond of the earth-bound optimism, frivolity and otherwise unholy nature of gift-giving, thus banning it. Of course, that didn’t last. Who doesn’t want to give and receive gifts?
Once again during the Protestant Reformation, attempts were made to squelch the merriment. Christmas celebrations were actually outlawed in England, causing riots, no less. When the Puritans settled in the New World, they made it illegal to show anything resembling Christmas spirit. Culprits could actually be fined. How sad.
Following the Revolutionary War, it wasn’t Christians so much as patriots who sought to do away with Christmas celebrations, not because they were seen as pagan, but rather because they were considered too English! Can’t blame them, I suppose.
Christmas Mythology
As a reaction to cultural strife and class resentment, the early 1800s saw a resurgence of Christmas in large part due to the works of Washington Irving in the United States, and Charles Dickens in England. Together, these two are widely credited with rekindling the Christmas spirit by constructing imagery of the tender, family-centered celebrations that we know today. Much of the old-timey style of Christmas decorations hearken directly to their romantic imaginings.
Is it any surprise then that as soon as 1850, there was more noise being made about how the true meaning of Christmas was being lost to the purchasing of gifts? See, ideas about what Christmas “was” come pre-wrapped in most Christmas lore.
The myth of Santa Clause can’t escape this distorted backward-looking lens either. In fact, proto-Santa ideas can be downright disturbing, but so were a lot of mythological characters from way back. I’m more curious about Santa’s universal appeal as the central figure throughout the Christmas season, and how that seems to be just fine with the vast majority of Christians.
Here’s why it’s fine: Because our winter traditions that have evolved and coalesced around what is now called Christmas really matter to us. No one owns them. No one master-planned them. They make us feel good. They capture and reflect essential needs we have as humans who struggle, but want to do better. Who want to feel comfort and hope in the darkest of times.
You’re not going to nail down that “true meaning” of Christmas, because there isn’t one. Try as you might to place the birth of Jesus at the center of it all, and as we’ve seen above, the very idea falls apart. Moreover, it’s hard for many to believe a narrow set of theological concepts, and even more so to live them on a daily basis-- even for lots of Christians.
Most of us find it more true, more palatable, and more important to live with the traditions that shape our shared experiences which both change and connect one generation to the next. We all cherish those shared experiences for our own personal reasons. All very real, yet all very different. During Christmastime, I’m going to focus on that, and I’m going to feel good about it.
Ho ho ho, kids. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Mike Sobol builds online businesses. He’s a partner at Withoutthestress.com, a travel document expediting service specializing in passport renewals and same day passports.
posted on 23 December at 16:38
I’m writing this article in the midst of winter, under a foot of new snow. It’s inconvenient with the errands we have left, but I can’t manage to care. At last, today is two minutes longer than yesterday. Business for the week will wrap up early. Nights are cheerful and cozy, despite the dark and cold. People smile, greet each other and wish strangers well. Most of us eagerly anticipate the gatherings, the merriment, and the abundance we share, no matter how humble.
Or... we’ll jostle in a rush of angry shoppers, burn the cookies, pick up the tree the cat knocked down, overspend, envy what others have, get trapped for a night at the airport, then flip to the wrong cable channel and feel the visceral and moral certitude that something has been “lost” or “forgotten.” It’s not about buying things, but when you do (and you’d better) saying anything other than “Merry Christmas” is unacceptable. There is a war going on here after all, and we need to “fight” to “return” things to “the way they were.”
Hey Christmastime, what the hell?
What’s with the yin/yang, right/wrong, good/evil, Christian/non-believer, collective forgetting/remembering we’re all forced to endure this time of year? Am I supposed to take sides about something? What if I don’t talk about or celebrate my holiday traditions properly? What if I do things for the wrong reasons?
Answer me this, so that I can get it right: When exactly did Christmas happen just as it was supposed to? I am led to believe that someone did have it right at some point. What is the Christmas prototype? What is the origin of the “one true meaning” this time of year is supposed to hold for billions of people?
Before you puzzle too long about it (or answer too quickly in your recitation of historical “fact”), there is not a sociologist, anthropologist, historian or religious scholar alive today who can answer that question. Neither can you. Human history is anything but linear and simple. The world-wide cultural phenomenon of Christmas is a perfect example of how this is so.
The First Christmas Wasn’t that when Jesus was born? Well, the bible makes no mention of exactly when Jesus was born, and it wasn’t until hundreds of years after his death that anyone took to commemorating his birth. If you want to get technical about it, according to multiple corroborating texts, Jesus was probably born in September or October, when shepherds were still out with their flocks, before returning home for the winter.
As well, most rituals dedicated to those who have come before us were conducted upon the anniversary of the individual’s death (or reputed resurrection, as in Easter). It’s unusual then, that Christmas should be such an exception. Unless of course you consider the objectives of early Christian leaders in spreading the faith, and finding a way to leverage winter customs for their own purposes. It is unequivocally acknowledged in the Catholic church that placing Christmas on December 25th was a pragmatic choice in inventing a new custom, as opposed to a historical determination. However, more scholars now argue that the date of his birth was determined by the date of his death, the same day as his conception, nine months prior to December 25th.
Regardless, the raucous Roman celebration of Saturnalia is often considered a major catalyst in forming a celebration of Christ’s birth. If you’re going to party hard, you better end it with a bang - the rebirth of the sun! Or, instead, how ‘bout we wrap up a crazy week of partying with the birthday of our lord and savior? After all, Saturnalia was about remembering the ideals of a better, more egalitarian time, when the harvest was always plentiful, and no one went hungry. Seems Christians aren’t the only ones who enjoy a dose of nostalgia, albeit for mythical times.
Saturnalia was also known for role-reversal, when masters served slaves, and parents served children with gifts. Sounds familiar. More on that later.
Christmastime Imagery So, why does Christmas look like it does? Well, depends on the part. Like Saturnalia, there are dozens and dozens of historical examples of traditions that predate Christian practice.
If you google “Festival of Lights” most of the first page is dedicated to locating massive incandescent displays that are associated with “the holidays,” but Christmas imagery typically dominates. You’d be excused if you didn’t know just how far back Festivals of Lights took place. Saturnalia, naturally, included lots of candle lighting in anticipation of the solstice, and the conquering of light over darkness.
The Romans might have just gotten that from the Jews who were celebrating the religious holiday of Hanukkah, The Festival of Lights, albeit a tad more subdued, for hundreds of years before anyone wa....no, wait... Diwali, the religious Hindu Festival of Lights trumps the Jews by at least 400 years, so surely they....oh, the Persians? They did what? They had a secular Festival of Lights holiday, known as Chaharshanbe Suri at least 1,000 years before the Hindus?
Can’t say any of this is surprising. Winter was always dark, long before recorded history, and we’re humans, we’re doers, so our ancestors did what they could to improve their situation and make the most of difficult circumstances. And yes, there are celebrations related to light and the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere... in June.
What about the greenery? Deck the halls with bows of holly and all that? Yeah, everyone did that. Winter isn’t just dark. It’s dead and brown. Get some evergreens and “spruce it up,” to borrow an apt phrase. Romans did it, sure. So did those pagans in Northern and Central Europe, including the Germanic and Scandinavian people. “Yuletide” has long since been assimilated as another word for Christmastime, albeit a winter celebration like so many others that had nothing at all to do with Christianity for ages. Mistletoe? Forget about it. Pagan.
While it has been supposed that Christians adopted the evergreen Christmas tree from the pagans, others argue they substituted it for oaks or other symbols, in part due to it’s triangular shape that evokes the Holy Trinity. And besides, they’re pretty.
Christmas Values I really like Christmas, and the notion that hope, joy, family and giving are central to the season. Thank goodness past generations of Christians were unsuccessful in their attempts to kill all that which existed for millennia prior to their own celebrations, and persisted in many cases in spite of them. No, you read that correctly.
Gathering loved ones to celebrate the year and express hope for the new has both secular and religious roots across cultures. The Catholic church in the middle ages, however, wasn’t fond of the earth-bound optimism, frivolity and otherwise unholy nature of gift-giving, thus banning it. Of course, that didn’t last. Who doesn’t want to give and receive gifts?
Once again during the Protestant Reformation, attempts were made to squelch the merriment. Christmas celebrations were actually outlawed in England, causing riots, no less. When the Puritans settled in the New World, they made it illegal to show anything resembling Christmas spirit. Culprits could actually be fined. How sad.
Following the Revolutionary War, it wasn’t Christians so much as patriots who sought to do away with Christmas celebrations, not because they were seen as pagan, but rather because they were considered too English! Can’t blame them, I suppose.
Christmas Mythology As a reaction to cultural strife and class resentment, the early 1800s saw a resurgence of Christmas in large part due to the works of Washington Irving in the United States, and Charles Dickens in England. Together, these two are widely credited with rekindling the Christmas spirit by constructing imagery of the tender, family-centered celebrations that we know today. Much of the old-timey style of Christmas decorations hearken directly to their romantic imaginings.
Is it any surprise then that as soon as 1850, there was more noise being made about how the true meaning of Christmas was being lost to the purchasing of gifts? See, ideas about what Christmas “was” come pre-wrapped in most Christmas lore.
The myth of Santa Clause can’t escape this distorted backward-looking lens either. In fact, proto-Santa ideas can be downright disturbing, but so were a lot of mythological characters from way back. I’m more curious about Santa’s universal appeal as the central figure throughout the Christmas season, and how that seems to be just fine with the vast majority of Christians.
Here’s why it’s fine: Because our winter traditions that have evolved and coalesced around what is now called Christmas really matter to us. No one owns them. No one master-planned them. They make us feel good. They capture and reflect essential needs we have as humans who struggle, but want to do better. Who want to feel comfort and hope in the darkest of times.
You’re not going to nail down that “true meaning” of Christmas, because there isn’t one. Try as you might to place the birth of Jesus at the center of it all, and as we’ve seen above, the very idea falls apart. Moreover, it’s hard for many to believe a narrow set of theological concepts, and even more so to live them on a daily basis-- even for lots of Christians.
Most of us find it more true, more palatable, and more important to live with the traditions that shape our shared experiences which both change and connect one generation to the next. We all cherish those shared experiences for our own personal reasons. All very real, yet all very different. During Christmastime, I’m going to focus on that, and I’m going to feel good about it.
Ho ho ho, kids. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Mike Sobol builds online businesses. He’s a partner at Withoutthestress.com, a travel document expediting service specializing in passport renewals and same day passports.