All About Christmas

Commercial activities during Christmas today are often decried as making the season too materialistic. This has caused comments that the religious aspect of Christmas is so overlooked and overshadowed that its celebration seems to be purely pagan. But today’s comparisons aren’t the first there has been some link between Christmas and pagan celebrations. As a religious, church leaders instituted Christmas during winter because that time of year was a popular for the celebrations of many pagan festivals. The hope was that Christmas would also become a holiday that would gain much popularity.

Long before the birth of Jesus Christ, people in various parts of Europe would celebrate light and birth in the darkest days of winter. The winter solstice, when the harshest part of winter was over, was a time of celebration for many peoples because they would look forward to more hours of sunlight during the longer days ahead.

The Norse in Scandinavia celebrated Yule from the winter solstice on December 21 through to January. Men brought home logs that were lighted and a feast would take place until the log was completely burned. Each spark from the fire was believed to represent a new pig or calf to be born in the coming new year. The pagan god Oden was honored by Germans during the mid-winter holiday. Oden inspired great fear in the Germans who believed that Oden traveled at nights through the sky to observe people and make a decision about who would perish or prosper in life. This belief caused most people to stay inside during the period.

In Rome it was the god of agriculture, Saturn, who was honored in a holiday called Saturnalia. It was a holiday that started during the week that led up to the winter solstice and continued for a month with hedonistic celebrations. There was plenty of food and drink and the normal social class rules of who had privilege and power in Roman society were totally disregarded as everyone participated in the festivities. Some Romans also had a feast called Juvenalia to honor children and the birthday of the sun god Mithra was sometimes celebrated by the upper classes.

In the early years of the start of Christianity the main holiday was Easter. It was in the 4th Century that church officials made a decision to have the birth of Jesus celebrated as a holiday and Pope Julius I chose December 25 as the day of Jesus’ birth. The holiday, which was first called the Feast of the Nativity, spread to England by the end of the 6th Century and to Scandinavia by the end of the 8th Century.

Church leaders achieved the goal of having Christmas celebrations, including attendance at church, become popular during the winter solstice, but they were unable to control other pagan-like celebrations during Christmas. Believers would attend church on Christmas and then participate later in raucous and drunken celebrations. But by the Middle Ages, from around the 5th to the 16th Century, Christianity had outgrown paganism as a religion.

The celebration of Christmas in Europe changed in the early 17th Century when Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans gained power in England in 1645. To remove decadent behavior from the society, Cromwell cancelled Christmas as the Puritans noted that the Bible doesn’t mention any date for Jesus’ birth. The lack of this information and specific Biblical references to Christmas is also cited by religious groups like Jehovah Witnesses as the reason they don’t observe or participate in Christmas. Christmas celebrations returned in England around 1649 when Charles II was restored to the throne.

Christmas wasn’t a holiday in early America because the Pilgrims who came to America had even stricter beliefs than Cromwell and the Puritans. Christmas celebrations were even forbidden in Boston from 1659 to 1681. During the same time however, settlers in Jamestown in Virginia were reported to have enjoyed Christmas.

After the American Revolution Christmas again lost popularity and it wasn’t until June 26, 1870 that Christmas was declared a federal holiday. Christmas in the United States gained popularity as a holiday period during the 19th Century. Christmas celebrations also changed at that time to be more family-centered rather than being carnival-like.

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In Central and South American nations, which have a fairly large Christian population, the Nativity or Manger Scene is the main decoration in homes at Christmas time. In Mexico, a Christmas tree may also be set up in some homes along with the Nativity scene or Nacimiento. The Christmas tree is usually a small artificial tree, called arbolito. It can also be as simple as a branch cut from a special type of tree or a type of shrub that is then minimally decorated.

The primary Christmas celebration in Mexico is called La Posada. It is a religious procession that dramatizes how Joseph and Mary tried to find a place where Jesus could be born. During the procession, the participants carry images of Mary and Joseph and go from house to house seeking a place to stay. During Midnight Mass, which is called la misa del gallo or ‘rooster’s mass,’ those in attendance sing lullabies to Jesus. On Christmas Day children receive gifts as well as candies that are stuffed into a piñata. This may be one or more sculptures made of papier mache that are hung from the ceiling. Children are blindfolded and take turns hitting the piñata until it breaks and scatters the candies on the floor. All the children then scamper around as they try to get as much candy as they can. Children also receive a gift on Jan. 6 from the Three Wise Men, if they were good.

People in Venezuela usually put out pesebres, which show the Nativity scene, on Dec. 16. Early morning church services, called Misa de Aguinaldo, are also common from Dec. 16 to Christmas Eve. After Mass on Christmas Eve, a grand dinner is traditionally enjoyed.
In Argentina, red and white garlands are used to decorate houses. After attending Midnight Mass, Argentinians have a meal, toast each other, dance and go out to see fireworks. The meal may be roasted pork or turkey, stuffed tomatoes, mince pies, Christmas bread and puddings. Drinks such as cider and juice made from different fruits are used for the toast. Christmas gifts are opened on Christmas Eve just before the family retires to bed.

In Chile, Santa Claus is Father Christmas and is known as ‘Viejito Pascuero.’ He arrives in a similar but slightly different manner than Santa Claus because his reindeer is pulled by a taxicab. Chileans use small figures made from clay to place near the Christmas tree in a display called pesebre to show the Nativity story. The traditional Christmas dinner includes chicken soup with stuffed potatoes, onions and corn on the cob. Another favorite item is a Christmas bread that is called pan de pasqua and which is made with candies and fruits.

Christmas customs in Brazil originate from the many different ethnic groups who make up the country. The Nativity scene is called the Presepio and can commonly be found displayed in homes, churches and stores. Papai Noel, or Father Noel, resides in Greenland and brings gifts at Christmas. He is said to wear silk clothing because Christmas occurs during summer when it is very hot in Brazil. Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve is called Missa do Gallo, because the coming day is announced by the rooster and the Mass finishes at 1 am on the following day. A traditional Christmas dinner, called Ceia de Natal, includes ham, turkey, colored rice, a variety of vegetables and fruit dishes. Christmas Day Mass at Catholic churches are mainly held in the late afternoon because people enjoy sleeping late or going to the beach after having Christmas dinner. Christmas festivities, which include folk dancing and singing, continue until January 6th, which is called Three Kings Day.

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In Finland, Christmas Eve is the traditional time to set up the Christmas tree and it’s also traditional to visit the sauna and for families to listen to a broadcast of the national ‘Peace of Christmas’ on the radio. Christmas Dinner generally consists of a main dish of boiled codfish that is snowy and fluffy in appearance, served with cream sauce and boiled potatoes. Christmas dinner is rounded out with roast suckling pig or roasted fresh ham and vegetables. Among people, there is a tradition to tie a sheaf of grain, with nuts and seeds, to a pole that is put in a garden for birds. Many people will wait until after the birds have eaten before having their Christmas Dinner. And Santa Claus is expected to visit homes in person with his Christmas elves to give out Christmas gifts.

Christmas in France is called Noel, from the phrase ‘les bonnes nouvelles,’ or ‘the good news,’ which refers to the gospel. On Christmas Eve, cathedrals and churches are beautifully lit and filled with the sounds of Christmas carols, ringing church bells and carillons. The tradition among children is to put their shoes by the fireplace for Pere Noel or le petit Jesus to fill them with gifts. In the north of France however, children receive gifts on Dec. 6, St. Nicholas Day, instead of Christmas. Most French homes will have a Nativity scene or crèche on display during the season. In Southern France, some people will burn a log in their home from Christmas Eve until New Years Day, which comes out of a farming tradition of using the log for good luck in the coming harvest.

The French also make a traditional cake called the buche de Noel, or Christmas Log, which is shaped like a Yule log and is part of a late supper called le reveillon held after Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. The main dish for this meal generally consists of poultry, ham, salads, cake, fruit and wine but varies according to region. The main course in Burgundy is turkey with chestnuts and in Paris it’s oysters, foie gras and the buche de Noel cake. The wines generally served are Champagne, Muscadet, Sauterne and Anjou. An annual tradition of puppet shows, particularly in Paris and Lyons, is popular during Christmas time. In Paris, it’s also popular for big department stores to have grand, animated window displays.

Christmas in Italy is called ‘Il Natale,’ or ‘the birthday.’ Christmas season starts eight days before Christmas, a period called the Novena, and runs for three weeks. During the Novena, children dress as shepherds and go from house to house saying Christmas poems, singing and playing pipes. They often receive money to buy gifts during this activity. The Nativity scene, called the Presepio, has miniature figures, carved in great detail out of clay or plaster, of the Holy Family in the stable and is the center of Christmas for families. Families say prayers and children recite poems around the Presepio. Christmas Eve dinner, called cenone, is a traditional dish of roasted, baked or fried eel.

In some regions, various types of fish is prepared for this dinner, as well as pork, sausage in a pig’s leg or turkey stuffed with chestnuts. Christmas sweets are called panettone and traditionally have nuts and almonds. On Christmas Eve, children set out their shoes for a kind, old woman or ugly witch called La Befana, who rides on a broomstick down chimneys, to fill them with gifts of toys or candies. If they were bad, their shoes will be filled with coal. Some children wait until Jan. 6, the Epiphany, to receive gifts.

Norway is where the tradition of the Yule log started and which gave rise to log-shaped cakes, cheese and other desserts during the holidays. Norwegians today often go into the forest to cut their own Christmas trees, which is secretly decorated on Christmas Eve to surprise children. After the Christmas tree is revealed, Norwegians engage in ‘circling the Christmas tree,’ a tradition in which everyone joins hands forming a ring around the tree. They then walk around the Christmas tree singing carols. Gifts are distributed after this ritual is finished.

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