The Origins of Christmas: From Pagan Celebrations to Christian Festivities

Every year, people celebrate the most auspicious event of the year, Christmas. The flowers, the tall Christmas trees, the jingle bells, the stockings by the fireplace, the wreaths, the garlands, and of course, the bright lights all remind us of a time of celebration and sincere happiness. It may be that you have not stopped to wonder how all these came to be and how Christmas became a holiday. Here’s how.

No one knows the real birthday of Jesus. No date is given in the Bible, so why do we celebrate it on December 25th? The early Christians certainly had many arguments as to when it should be celebrated. The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). But it was not an official Roman state festival at this time.

The Evolution of Christmas Traditions: Trees, Presents, and Santa Claus

However, there are many different traditions and theories as to why Christmas is celebrated on December 25th.

A very early Christian tradition said that the day when Mary was told that she would have an exceptional baby, Jesus (called the Annunciation) was on March 25th – and it’s still celebrated today on March 25th.

Nine months after the March 25th is the December 25th! March 25th was also the day some early Christians thought the world had been made, and even the day that Jesus died on when he was an adult.

March 25th was chosen because people had calculated that was the day on which Jesus died (the 14th of Nisan in the Jewish calendar), and they thought that Jesus was born and had been killed on the same day of the year.

Some people also think that December 25th might have even been chosen because the Winter Solstice and the ancient pagan Roman midwinter festivals called ‘Saturnalia’ and ‘Dies Natalis Solis Invicti’ took place in December around this date – so it was a time when people already celebrated things.

So whenever you celebrate Christmas, remember that you’re celebrating a real event that happened about 2000 years ago, that God sent his Son into the world as a Christmas present for everyone.