The Truth Behind Christmas

With another holiday around the corner, it’s easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of it all. But have you ever wondered what it is you’re actually celebrating when you put that tree up or when you wrap those gifts?

Have you ever considered that not everyone feels the same about Christmas or even celebrates Christmas in the same way you do? Well—believe it. The Christmas holiday has changed over the decades. There are countries all over the world that celebrate this time of year… just in their own way.

What Is Christmas?

Christmas is said to be the celebration of the birth of Jesus. That is— a very Christian holiday. But it wasn’t always this way. Christmas didn’t always belong to the Christian religion.

A Pagan Festival

Before Christianity took off as a major religion, Christmas and even days surrounding it were a part of the Pagan Midwinter festival. But because Paganism was frowned upon, the entire festival was essentially scrapped and turned into what we now know as Christmas.

Christianity Saunters In

Exactly how it sounds— Christianity sauntered into the world and established that the birth of Jesus was more important than whatever Pagans were celebrating during their Midwinter festival. They chose to make Christmas a “holy day”, transforming Pagan traditions with sweetener and creating transitions of their own.

The Reason It’s On the 25th

The end of year already had its holidays. Romans celebrated the Festival of Saturnalia. Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah. The week of Christmas was essentially already spoken for. So, why the 25th of December?

Christians believed it was in direct 9-month correlation with the conception of Jesus. So, it made sense that he would be born exactly 9-months later.