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Date:
25th December
The
history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many
of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries
before the Christ child was born. The 12 days of Christmas,
the bright fires, the yule log, the giving of gifts,
carnivals(parades) with floats, carolers who sing
while going from house to house, the holiday feasts,
and the church processions can all be traced back
to the early Mesopotamians.
Many
of these traditions began with the Mesopotamian celebration
of New Years. The Mesopotamians believed in many gods,
and as their chief god - Marduk. Each year as winter
arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle
with the monsters of chaos. To assist Marduk in his
struggle the Mesopotamians held a festival for the
New Year. This was Zagmuk, the New Year's festival
that lasted for 12 days.
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The Mesopotamian king would return to the temple of
Marduk and swear his faithfulness to the god. The traditions
called for the king to die at the end of the year and
to return with Marduk to battle at his side.
To
spare their king, the Mesopotamians used the idea of
a "mock" king. A criminal was chosen and dressed
in royal clothes. He was given all the respect and privileges
of a real king. At the end of the celebration the "mock"
king was stripped of the royal clothes and slain, sparing
the life of the real king.
The
Persians and the Babylonians celebrated a similar festival
called the Sacaea. Part of that celebration included
the exchanging of places, the slaves would become the
masters and the masters were to obey.
Early
Europeans believed in evil spirits, witches, ghosts
and trolls. As the Winter Solstice approached, with
its long cold nights and short days, many people feared
the sun would not return. Special rituals and celebrations
were held to welcome back the sun.
In
Scandinavia during the winter months the sun would disappear
for many days. After thirty-five days scouts would be
sent to the mountain tops to look for the return of
the sun. When the first light was seen the scouts would
return with the good news. A great festival would be
held, called the Yuletide, and a special feast would
be served around a fire burning with the Yule log. Great
bonfires would also be lit to celebrate the return of
the sun. In some areas people would tie apples to branches
of trees to remind themselves that spring and summer
would return.
The
ancient Greeks held a festival similar to that of the
Zagmuk/Sacaea festivals to assist their god Kronos who
would battle the god Zeus and his Titans.
The
Roman's celebrated their god Saturn. Their festival
was called Saturnalia which began the middle of December
and ended January 1st. With cries of "Jo Saturnalia!"
the celebration would include masquerades in the streets,
big festive meals, visiting friends, and the exchange
of good-luck gifts called Strenae (lucky fruits).
The
Romans decked their halls with garlands of laurel and
green trees lit with candles. Again the masters and
slaves would exchange places.
"Jo
Saturnalia!" was a fun and festive time for the
Romans, but the Christians though it an abomination
to honor the pagan god. The early Christians wanted
to keep the birthday of their Christ child a solemn
and religious holiday, not one of cheer and merriment
as was the pagan Saturnalia.
But
as Christianity spread they were alarmed by the continuing
celebration of pagan customs and Saturnalia among their
converts. At first the Church forbid this kind of celebration.
But it was to no avail. Eventually it was decided that
the celebration would be tamed and made into a celebration
fit for the Christian Son of God.
Some
legends claim that the Christian "Christmas"
celebration was invented to compete against the pagan
celebrations of December. The 25th was not only sacred
to the Romans but also the Persians whose religion Mithraism
was one of Christianity's main rivals at that time.
The Church eventually was successful in taking the merriment,
lights, and gifts from the Saturanilia festival and
bringing them to the celebration of Christmas.
The
exact day of the Christ child's birth has never been
pinpointed. Traditions say that it has been celebrated
since the year 98 AD. In 137 AD the Bishop of Rome ordered
the birthday of the Christ Child celebrated as a solemn
feast. In 350 AD another Bishop of Rome, Julius I, choose
December 25th as the observance of Christmas.
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