Origins Of Christmas
Christmas is celebrated somewhat differently between cultures. It helps to briefly explain different Christmas origins between some of these countries.
Though not all people today celebrate it, some people agree that the origin of Christmas began with and because of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. On the other hand, debate continues to this day on whether the origins of Christmas truly began during the time of the Romans and Greeks as part of Saturnalia, an annual week long festival celebrated between December 17th-25th. This week of lawless partying welcomed good and bad behavior, often with much wine, with little to no consequence. Another debate claims the Christians used parts of other cultures and ideas, such a winter solstice, to make up Christmas origin stories.
How people celebrate Christmas is more varied than the origin of Christmas. The origin of the Christmas tree has been found in many cultures. Ancient people in Egyptian, Greek and Roman cultures brought trees indoors as they prayed to their gods to grant them a good crop for the following year. The Christmas tree origin history in Egypt claims they used a palm tree. Part of Greek and Roman lore for the origin of the Christmas tree states that the mother of Adonis (the sun god) was changed into a fir tree before her son was born from a branch. A Christmas tree is one of the more popular traditions associated with the holiday. The origin of a Christmas tree in Germany credits it within the 16th century when Christians brought the tree indoors and decorated them. In 1841, the origin of Christmas tree becoming fashionable in Europe began when Prince Albert decorated the first Christmas tree in Windsor Castle with sweets, fruits and candles.
The origin of Christmas lights began before Prince Albert decided to glue them to the tree. The first candles to be glued with wax to trees came from Germany in the sixteenth century. Very few people used this method at the time. Two more centuries passed before the idea caught on in Germany and Europe. Longer still before other countries used this method of decoration.
The Christmas card origin began in the 1800s. Personal and handmade greeting cards found their way through the post office during this time, but it wasn't until 1840 when the Penny Post postal service created a Christmas Greeting card that Christmas cards were made for commercial purposes. Sir Henry Cole, the first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, is credited with being the earliest known Christmas card designer.
Another origin is the origin of Christmas stockings. When a nobleman squandered all his money after his wife's death, he left his three daughters (in some stories only one daughter) without dowries. Saint Nicolas heard of the girl’s problem and decided to help. He threw pouches of gold coins down the chimney where they were caught by the stockings the girls hung up to dry earlier that night.
Another Christmas tradition comes to the twelve days of Christmas origin. Some misunderstand this song to mean the twelve days before Christmas. The 12 days of Christmas origin comes from early Christians, but the traditions go back even further. The actual time for the 12 days begins the evening of Christmas day and ends in January on Epiphany. More information on this is a cause for debate on what each day and gift in the song represents.
