The document provides a brief history of Christmas traditions and their origins. It traces how winter solstice celebrations in ancient Egypt, Babylon, Rome and Celtic traditions incorporated Christian elements over time. Decorating with greenery, gift giving, feasting and lighting candles can be traced back to pagan winter festivals celebrating the return of longer days. The Christmas tree tradition originated from Germany and the Puritans banned Christmas celebrations in England in the 1600s before it was revived. Carols, cards, crackers and other modern traditions developed through the 19th century.

1. The Celebration of Christmas
A brief history
Cameron Kippen
toeslayer2000@yahoo.com.au

2. Introduction
Celebrations in mid winter
predates Christian times by
millennium and whilst Christmas
became a Christian festival many
of the original superstitions of
pagan times are still observed.

3. The Egyptians
Four thousand years ago, the
Egyptians (3110- 30BC)
celebrated the rebirth of the
Sun with a festival that lasted
12 days to reflect the 12
divisions in the sun's calendar.
Palms with 12 shoots were
used to decorate their houses.Evergreens were cherished because
they symbolized the season to come. Greenery
featured prominently in mid - winter décor.

4. Zoroastrian Tradition
The Babylonians (1750 – 529
BC) celebrated renewal of the
year and the same festivities
were later adopted by the
Persians (529BC - 637AD).
The Romans continued the custom.

5. The Festival of Saturn (Saturnalia)
In Roman times people decorated their homes with
greenery but the usual order of the year was
suspended and grudges and quarrels forgotten.
Wars were interrupted or temporarily set aside and
merriment of all kinds prevailed.
The Roman mid-winter ‘festival of misrule,’ when
social order was temporarily subverted and masters
and slaves exchanged places.
The same practice continued throughout the
Middle Ages during other festivals such as The
Festival of Fools.

6. Saturn and Mithras
The 25th December was used to
honour Saturn (God of Harvest), and
Mithras, (God of light).
Pagans prepared special food,
decorated their homes with greenery,
and joined in singing and gift giving.
Once Christianity became the religion
of the Romans, the celebrations and
pagan customs became part of the
Christian way.

7. The Festival of the
Dead (Samhain)
According to Celtic myth Lugh, the Sun God was
defeated by his dark side and become the Lord of
Misrule. Good folk needed the comfort of their own
kind and protection from the evil forces of the dark.
The Festival of the Dead (Samhain) was celebrated on
three levels.
It was a time of plenty as the live stock were returned
from the hills before the severe winter ahead;
it was a time of great kinship, as the hill dwellers
came to the gathering;
and was the time of year when the darkness of night
prevailed over the lightness of the day.

8. Festival of Light
Samhain was an unreal time, when
one year turned into another. A
twilight zone where the spirits of the
dead and those not yet born, walked
freely among the living. Halloween or
the beginning of the Festival of the
Dead and Hogmanay, the end as
beginning of the New Year.
Many rituals and superstitions from
that time still prevail and are
incorporated into modern Christmas
customs. Christmas was called the
Festival of Light in the Western or
Latin Church. Lighting candles and
lamps helped return the light and
warmth as well as chasing away the
spirits of darkness.

9. The Birth of Christ
Christmas was not observed in Rome until about 300
years after the death of Christ.
In 274 C.E., the Roman Emperor Aurelian established a
feast of the birth of Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Sun),
on December 25. Christmas.
There is no evidence to support Christ was born on
December 25, but it is generally agreed as the date was
already popular in pagan religious celebrations it was a
deliberate compromise.

10. Christmas Day
Christians have celebrated Christmas Day
Since AD 336 and the earliest known
Christmas Day celebration in England was in
the city of York in AD 521 by King Arthur.
By the twelfth century, Christmas had
Become the most important religious
festival in Europe. The obsolete feasts of
antiquity were gradually adapted to the
main events of the life of Christ. Merriment and religious devotion were not associated in
the early church but were ultimately incorporated due
to political pressure.

11. The Three Wise Men
‘Now when Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judea in the
days of Herod the King,
behold, there came wise men
(Magi) from the east of
Jerusalem.’
Mathew 2:1

12. Nativity Scene
Unlike the modern interpretation of the
Christmas Nativity, it appears only shepherds
were present immediately after the Birth.
Most of the nativity scenes were painted in
the 15 & 16th centuries.
Christmas cards depicting the nativity
become popular only in the 19th century.
Gerard van Honthorst (1590 – 1656),
The Adoration of the Shepherds
(1622)

13. Twelve Days of Christmas
To promote universal celebration of Christ's birth
the main churches eventually agreed to accept
Twelve Days of Christmas.
In the Western Church this ran from Christmas Day
Until Epiphany, (January 6th).

14. Puritans banned
Christmas
In 1644 the English Puritans forbid any
merriment or religious services by Act of
Parliament.
Consider to be heathen practice, The
Puritans ordered Christmas to be kept as
a fasting day.
Charles II revived the feast, but the Scots
adhered to the Puritan view and refused
to celebrate Christmas for several
centuries.

15. Modern Christmas
Queen Victoria enjoyed the German
style decorated tree and insisted in
having one in Buckingham Palace at
Christmas. She and Prince Albert
decorated it for the Royal children.
The Royal couple were so popular
loyal subjects took to the new
Christmas custom and every home
in England had a Christmas Tree
Initially the trees were decorated with flags
of the Empire but when Woolworth's
offered coloured lights, these were used
instead

16. Scots and Christmas The celebration of Christmas was banned in
Scotland after the Reformation.
Presbyterian ministers visited their flock to
check they had no festive foods in the
house.
Christmas was just another day with faint
echoes of bonfire ceremonies, more related
to pagan sun worship than celebrating the
birth of Christ.
Christmas in Scotland did not become a
public holiday until 1958.
Many viewed Christmas as an attempt to emulate
Hogmanay. Cynics viewed it as a time for Victorian
‘do good’ers’ to exercise charity to the less
privileged.

17. Colonial Christmas
At first Christmas was a time for colonists to link with
their homes and families.
Scottish tea planters in the east ate plum puddings and
turkey dinners long before their relatives gave
recognition to Christmas Day.
The first official Christmas celebrated in Australia was
Dec 25, 1788 at Sydney Cove.
No Christmas cheer was shown to the prisoners on that
day with the exception of Michael Dennison who had
been sentenced to 200 lashes. In the spirit of the
season the prisoner was given 150.

18. The Christmas Tree
The Christmas tree come from Germany
when St Boniface was converted to
Christianity. After he came upon a group of
Pagans worshipping at an oak tree he cut it
down and when a fir tree sprung up from
the roots this was taken as a sign.
By the 16th century fir trees were brought
into the home and it is reputed Martin
Luther was the first person to decorate the
tree with candles.
The lights which decorate the Christmas
tree was a remnant of paganism.

19. Electric Christmas Tree
German settlers are thought to have taken
decorated trees to North America when they
emigrated.
In the early 1800s when the first lit tree was
erected outside a church, many parishioners
protested because they felt the action was
pagan.
The introduction of electricity meant it was
much safer to illuminate the tree. Soon every
town community council had civic displays, all
trying to compete with each other.

20. Tree Decorations
Horns and bells were traditionally used to decorate
the trees. Later these ornaments took on a Christian
message i.e. heralding the birth of Christ.
Originally fairy like figures were used on the trees but
these later became angels.
The common belief a spider spoke to the baby Jesus
is thought to be the reason why tinsel was commonly
used as a tree decoration.
A spider's web on the Christmas
tree was thought to be a sign of
good luck.

21. Carols (songs of joy)
Families sang carols and clapped their hands
to keep warm. The custom started in
England and most carols were written in the
nineteenth century.
These scenes were graphically depicted in
the works of Charles Dickens’. For the first
eight years of the author’s life it snowed in
London. This was quite unusual but clearly
left a lasting impression with scribe.

22. Christmas Fare
The English enjoyed Christmas Dinner on
Christmas Day whereas many European
countries feast on Christmas Eve .
It is thought King Henry VIII may have been
the first English monarch to have turkey for
Christmas although goose was the
predominant roast until the Victorian era.
For Catholics fish pie became popular after
the Reformation and later ham also enjoyed
common.
Wartime rationing meant sausages became
usual Christmas far. Post war the rising cost
of goose saw chickens and turkey rise in
popularity
Christmas pudding dates from medieval
England.

23. The Yule Log
Pagan festivals included many superstitions
which eventually became part of the
Christmas tradition.
The Yule log was a Norse custom and
burning of the Yule was a celebration of the
sun during the winter months.
According to tradition it was extremely
unlucky for a barefooted woman or a man
with a squint in his eye man to see the yule
log. A flat footed visitor to the house whilst
the log was burning was a very bad omen.
Superstitious people kept a
piece of the log from the
previous year as a lucky
talisman.

24. Christmas Crackers
Christmas crackers were an attempt to
make a log shaped novelty similar
to the Yule log. They first appear in the
mid 19th century.
At first cracker bon bons contained sugar
almonds and love messages were placed
on the table. Later the 'snap' was
Invented to emulate the sounds of a
burning log.
These became popular and were used in
all manner of celebrations but later they
became exclusive to Christmas.

25. Christmas Cards
The first Christmas cards appear in England (1843).
Sir Henry Cole, director of The Victoria and Albert
Museum in London, became weary of hand penning
Christmas greetings and commissioned illustrator
John Callcott Horsley to design a printable card. The
card caused an uproar and cost about one week’s
pay at one shilling.
The postal act of 1840 brought about the Penny
post, which allowed mail to be sent anywhere in
England for a penny.
Cards became even more popular in the UK When
they could be posted in an unsealed envelope for
one halfpenny. Religious themed Christmas cards
were popular.

26. Christmas Gifts
"If you do not give a new pair of shoes to a poor
person at least once in your lifetime, you will go
barefoot in the next world."
This belief may be the reason why Christmas gifts
were exchanged by the middle classes to avoid
poverty. Many people gave presents to the poor and
miniature shoes became popular gifts for good luck
from the 18th century onwards.
One reason why miniature shoes were given instead of
the real thing might be because superstitious people
believed if you give a friend new shoes then they
would walk away.

27. Mistletoe
During the Feast of the Dead (Hogmanay) Druid
priests cut down mistletoe from sacred oaks with
golden sickles.
These were used to help Infertility and may
explain why, to this day, we kiss under a sprig of
mistletoe.

28. Trolls, Kallikantzartoi and Julenisse
Trolls Kallikantzartoi Julenisse

29. Commonwealth
of Australia
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