The History Of Christmas Christmas Time
    The tradition of winter festivals is a long-standing one. Many civilisations believed that the cold and dark of winter was a time when their Gods were in battle with enemies, and they would hold celebrations in order to help their deities win. Scandinavia, where the concept of a 'Yuletide' originally evolved, would experience a period of several days where the sun did not show at all in the depth of winter, and would hold a festival in order to herald its reappearance. The winter solstice was also the most practical time for feasts to be held: cattle which could not be fed through the winter were slaughtered in the late autumn, and as a result the winter would be the one time when European peasants were most likely to have a stock of fresh meat, which needed to be either salted, or eaten. Equally the beer which had been brewed in the autumn would be just ready to drink by the time that the winter festivals came around. It is therefore no surprise that by the time of Christianity there was already an established history of festivals which were held in late December. One of the most notable celebrations was the Roman Saturnalia - a hedonistic festival where friends would be visited and presents exchanged. However, the 25th of December was also sacred to the Persian religion of Mithraism, as the birthday of their God.The early Christian Church did not celebrate the birth of Christ, preferring to concentrate on his death and resurrection at Easter. Christmas may have been celebrated from as early as 98AD, but it was only in 350AD that Pope Julius I declared Christmas to be the 25th of December. The date of Christ's birth is not actually mentioned in the Bible, and the presence of shepherds grazing their sheep on the hillsides has led many biblical scholars to suggest that Christ must have been born during the spring. However, the choice of the 25th of December has influenced the development of the Christmas festival irreversibly. Many of the traditions associated with winter solstice festivals seamlessly became part of the Western tradition of Christmas time. Over the centuries many have tried to revert to a more solemn celebration of Christ's birth: Oliver Cromwell cancelled Christmas after the events of the English Civil War, disgusted by the behaviour of common people on what was supposed to be a religious festival. The puritans in Boston even declared Christmas illegal for a period in the 17th century, and there was a fine for anyone who celebrated the occasion. Although Christmas would not become a federal holiday until 1870 in the US, the traditions surrounding Christmas developed and grew during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, to become the Christmas that we, and the shopping centres of the world, celebrate today. Christmas Trappings
    Many of the established Christmas time traditions have little or nothing to do with the biblical account of Christ's birth. Some existed for hundreds, or thousands of years before Christianity, whilst others have evolved, seemingly out of nothing, over the past few centuries.Evergreen trees and plants were often used in the religious festivals of the past. During the winter, when everything else was dying, the continuing green of fir-trees and mistletoe was considered to symbolise the rebirth that would come in the spring. As a result evergreen foliage was used in winter festivals by the Vikings, whilst Druids in Britain and France would decorate trees with fruit and candles in honour of their harvest gods. The Roman Saturnalia also used to decorate their houses with trees bedecked with candles and other bright trinkets. According to legend, Martin Luther decorated trees with candles to reflect the beauty of the stars. In England, the tradition was resurrected by Prince Albert in 1841. The royal family led the fashion and Christmas trees became an established part of the festive season.Holly and Mistletoe have also become a central part of Christmas. Mistletoe was often used by druids. It was believed to have mystical powers, and it was often hung over doors in order to keep out evil influences. The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe may have come from Scandinavia, where mistletoe was associated with the goddess of love, Frigga. Because of its pagan associations, the Christian Church objected to mistletoe being used for Christmas celebrations. As a substitute they suggested holly, another evergreen, claiming that the sharp leaves represented Christ's crown of thorns, and the red berries symbolised drops of his blood. Both plants have become a part of the seasonal festivities.The twelve days of Christmas do apparently have a Christian origin: they are the twelve days between Christmas day and the feast of the Epiphany (which according to different interpretations is either the day of Christ's baptism or the visit of the wise men). It is considered bad luck if all of the Christmas decorations have not been taken down by the end of the twelfth day - the 6th of January.Christmas cards emerged in Germany in the fifteenth century. Rather than being greetings cards, they were devotional pictures to be hung in the home, wishing the family a good and blessed year. In the eighteenth century the tradition began to grow, when seasonally decorated cards were used as visiting cards left for absent friends. However, Christmas cards would reach their peak with the advent of the British mailing system in the mid-nineteenth century. Now that letters could be sent around the country at high speed and for low costs, Christmas cards became popular as a cheap way to send Christmas wishes to friends and relatives that you would not see over the festive season.They were particularly popular as a card, sent in an unsealed envelope cost only half a penny, half the price of a full letter.Father Christmas' story is well known. The original model for Santa, was Saint Nicholas, the bishop of Myra. ............