Some Christmas History - "Saturnalia - the Birth of Christmas"
No one knows the real birth date of Jesus - it's not recorded anywhere that can be found or verified. There came a time when
a celebration was wanted to celebrate the Holy Birth.
The Roman celebration of Saturnalia was at winter solstice about
mid December for a number of days, and this honored the Roman god Saturn - eventually picking the shortest day of the year
for the celebration in honor of the sowing and harvesting of crops. It was a celebration of gift giving, feasting,
and was a wild time without control. Homes were decorated in greenery. This celebration evolved to
represent a celebration of Jesus' birth. This wasn't without objection - early churches objected to the pagan celebration, and
did not want to associate Christ's birthday with the Saturnalia. Many people felt the celebration of Saturnalia was so
deep in custom and emotions, and felt that it should be renamed and reflect another type of celebration, and so it evolved into
"the Mass of Christ" which eventually shortened into Christmas.
Customs taken directly from the Saturnalia include:
Good will among all - people are to be looked at as equals
Times were merry
Peace among all
Mirth, frolic, feasting and revelry
Many days were spent in preparing for the celebration
A great feast with much variety
People wished each other a "Bona Saturnalia" - hence "Merry Christmas"
Renewal of old acquaintances, visiting friends and family
Exchange of gifts between people
People marching down the streets with garlands and candles, as carolers do
Decorating their homes
It is pretty much certain that Jesus was not born in the middle of winter, since the shepherds were tending their sheep outside.
It is more likely the Holy Birth happened in the spring, or a warmer season since the shepherds were outside tending
to their flocks.
Over time all the varied traditions were born, or borrowed from the Saturnalia, a true ancient pagan festival. The celebration
eventually lost its true meaning - people forgot that it celebrated Saturn and sowing. Today many people also forget that Christmas is
a celebration of Christ's Holy Birth - and think it's all about partying and Santa and presents.
"The Ancient Roman Saturnalia" was an 18 page term paper I typed (with a typewriter) in college, getting an "A" on it -
the research I did plus the fact I was taking Latin classes and in Latin Club since 7th grade gave me a great deal of
insight into the Pagan Saturnalia celebration.
Pauliina Roe is a webmaster & funding agent, and writes articles. See more articles at
http://www.doubleii.com/articlesreports.htm
