Many of the traditions and customs that are part of our current Christmas festivities have been with us since long before the birth of Christ. Christmas, as we know it today, evolved from year end and new year holy days that were celebrated in the Near East, Rome and Northern Europe.

Before Rome “converted” to Christianity there were three major holy days that were celebrated.

Saturnalia
Saturnalia began on December 17 and lasted for eight days. This festival was in honor of Saturn who was a prehistoric king and god that was believed to have taught their ancestors agriculture, civilization and peace. The celebration started with the sacrifice of a pig which was attended by the public. Some of the other traditions and observances for Saturnalia included: Games, feasting, no punishment for criminals, schools closed, and no working. All fights and arguments were forgotten and grudges were supposed to be forgiven (at least for the duration of the festival).

Natalis Solis Invicti (Birthday of the Unknown Sun)
A holy day in honor of the god Mithras which was held on December 24. This festival was originally supposed to have been held on the Winter Solstice, but the date was miscalculated. Mithras was the god of light and truth who was believed to be responsible for the vanquishing of the Winter, providing for the return of Spring.

The Kalends
This festival was held during the first few days of January in honor of the god Janus. During this time people were expected to be very generous. Presents were bought for friends and family and donations were made to help the poor.

The Romans kept candles and lamps burning continuously to keep away evil spirits and they decorated their homes with green boughs of laurel. They even decorated trees with toys, trinkets and masks of the god Bacchus. Those who followed Mithraism also placed an image of their sun god at the top of the tree and added candles to the tree’s decorations.

While this is only a brief introduction to the similarities between our current Christmas and the holy days of the ancients one can see how these traditions and customs found their way into Christianity after Rome became “The Church”. These holy days of the gods were not abandoned by the new religion, they were embraced by it. They were disguised and incorporated into Christianity and over the hundreds of generations that passed they have become widely accepted as being Christian in origin.

By David Slone, Copyright 2009 ChristmasChimney.com all rights reserved and may not be republished in any form.