The History of Christmas

The following article is dedicated and credited to my professor Dr. Bruce Forbes of Morningside College.

It's the time of year when Christmas rolls around. And we see all the lights, and the decorations, Christmas trees, and the nativity scenes. We hear the "Keep Christ in Christmas" campaigns and the "Happy Holidays" vs "Merry Christmas" people. I recently sat through two lectures about the history of Christmas, and I've realized that both the religious Christmas celebrations and the cultural Christmas celebrations are both right.

Dr. Bruce Forbes of Morningside College, who personally is my favorite professor (sorry Dr. Tinklenberg, you're a close second), has written a book, Christmas: A Candid History, about the history of Christmas, and where it comes from. And as I sat through this lecture I couldn't help but realize that I completely understand now. And it makes totally sense.

We all have had the wintertime blues. With the days too short, the nights too long, and it getting dark way too early. And, so, how did the early European cultures fight off the wintertime blues? Well, they threw a mid winter party of course.

These mid winter parties were filled with drinking, food, lights, family, decorations....does any of this sound familiar? It fell around the winter solstice, when the days finally started getting longer again. It was a great time, and people were just trying to make it through a depressing time of year.

When did Christians get involved? Well, in the 300s. We don't know an actual date because we have two conflicting documents. But the thought comes, did it happen because Constantine converted to Christianity and people thought that maybe they should like, tone down the partying. And so, in the Roman culture, with a party for the solstice and a party for the new year, they plopped it right in the middle.

Skip ahead a few centuries, and we have people who no longer want to celebrate Christmas. Particularly in the Anglican church, and for about 100 years, they didn't. Businesses were open, kids still in school, they did not celebrate the holiday because they believed it was too much about the world. In the colonies, or in certain places, people were fined or thrown in jail for celebrating Christmas.

John Wesley, founder of the United Methodist tradition, lived during this time. He never once preached a Christmas message. In fact, it was in the 1800s that people again began to celebrate Christmas. Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" was the type of Christmas he desired to have, not the Christmas he celebrated. And it was partially because of his book that traditions began to change.

There are so many other things that I could say about the history of Christmas, but honestly I don't remember everything word for word. But I know that Santa is based off of Saint Nicholas, who is known as a generous saint. There are so many stories, and the image of him has transformed over time. If you wish learn more I highly recommend Dr. Forbes's book. It's on Amazon, and makes a great gift. It's written for a general audience, which is probably the best part of the book.

No, Christmas isn't a truly pure holiday, but it's okay to celebrate it both within the culture, and as a Christian. Because the two contain my favorite parts of the season. As a practicing Christian, I still love the culture side of it too.