The Real Story of Christmas - continued
The Roman Celebration of Saturnalia
In Rome, where winters
were not as harsh as those in the far north, Saturnalia, a holiday in honour
of Saturn the god of agriculture, was celebrated.
Beginning in the week
leading up to the winter solstice and continuing for a full month
Saturnalia was a hedonistic time. Food and drink were plentiful and the
normal Roman social order was turned upside down. For a month, slaves
would become masters. peasants were in command of the city, business and
schools were closed so that everyone could join in the fun.
In addition, around
the time of the winter solstice Romans observed Juvenilia, a feast honouring
the children of Rome. As well, the members of the upper classes often
celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on
December 25th. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a
rock. For some Romans, Mithra's birthday was the most sacred day of the
year.
The Early Years
In the early years of
Christianity Easter, or resurrection, was the main holiday and the birth
of Jesus was not celebrated. However, in the fourth century, church
officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday in an
attempt to draw people away from the Roman celebration of the same
day. Unfortunately the bible does not mention any date for Christ's
birth (a fact Puritans later pointed out in order to deny the legitimacy
of the celebration).
 Although some evidence
suggests that Christ's birth may have occurred in the spring (why would
shepherds be herding in the middle of winter?), Pope Julius I arbitrarily
chose December 25. It is commonly believed the church chose this date in
an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia
festival. At first this holiday was called the Feast of the Nativity and
the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth
century. By the end of the eighth century, the celebration of Christmas
had spread all the way to Scandinavia.
Today, in the Greek
and Russian orthodox churches, Christmas is celebrated on January 6, which
is also referred to as Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is the day they
believe that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.
By holding Christmas
at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders
increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced, but gave
up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated. By the Middle Ages
Christianity had, for the most part, replaced pagan religion.
On Christmas believers
attended church, then celebrated raucously in a drunken, carnival-like
atmosphere similar to today's Mardi Gras.
Each year a beggar or
student would be crowned the "lord of misrule" and eager
celebrants played the part of his subjects. The poor would go to the
houses of the rich and demand their best food and drink. If owners failed
to comply, their visitors would most likely terrorize them with mischief.
Christmas became the time of year when the upper classes could repay their
real or imagined "debt" to society by entertaining less
fortunate citizens.
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