So, in which country do we see the first celebration of what we now call Christmas?  Remember that these celebrations, customs, and traditions came into existence prior to the birth of Christ or the existence Christianity, and even before the language of English was used by the Celtic people. 

  1. Egypt’s celebration to honor their god Ra began before Israel was in captivity there.  Ra had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown.  At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from the illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized, for them, the triumph of life over death.
  2. Sino-Tibetan, which includes India, China, and the orient; one of the oldest cultures, in existence since about 3,000 B.C.  They serve the god Buddha, celebrating their own holiday on December 8th, which celebrates the day Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (Shakyamuni), achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree. This holiday, “Bodhi Day”, is celebrated by eating cookies (preferable heart shaped – which matches the leaves of fig, or Bodhi, tree) and rice, drinking milk and decorating trees with bright lights. In Asia, Buddhists decorate fig trees, but since Western climate can be harsh and these trees cannot survive, many Western Buddhists instead decorate evergreen trees. Buddhists decorate these trees with multi-colored lights which represent the many different paths to achieve enlightenment.
  3. Although the English language did not exist until 450 A.D., the people of that region did exist; they were the Celtic peoples.  Their religious system was Druidism, and their god is called Jove.  Although the Germans are credited for decorating the first Christmas tree, in Druidism, trees are sacred, and to decorate them during this celebration was common.  The priests of the ancient Celts also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life.  Celtic and Teutonic peoples (Germans) had long considered mistletoe to have magic powers.  They say it has the ability to heal wounds and increase fertility.  Celts hung mistletoe in their homes in order to bring themselves good luck and to ward off evil spirits.
  4. Germany has also existed since 500 B.C., known as Teutonic peoples; they honored their god Oden during the mid-winter holiday.  Germans were terrified of Oden, they believed he made nocturnal flights through the sky observing his people, and deciding who would prosper or perish.  Because of his presence, many people chose to stay inside.
  5. In Scandinavia, the Norse, or Vikings, celebrated Yule to honor their sun-god Balder.  This celebration occurred during the winter solstice, from December 21 through January.  Norway is the birthplace of the Yule log.  “Yule” came from the Norse word hweol, meaning wheel.  The Norse believed that the sun was a great wheel of fire that rolled towards and then away from the earth.  In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire.  The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days.  They believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.  The Vikings also thought that evergreens were the special plant of their god.
  6. Early Romans, beginning in 500 B.C., marked the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, their god of agriculture.  The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon farms and orchards would be green and fruitful.  To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs.
  7. The Jews (not the Hebrews) celebrate Hanukkah, which is not a version of Christmas, but does occur about the same time of year.  Hanukkah is an eight-day festival beginning on the 25th day of Kislev (third month of Israel’s calendar), commemorating the 165 B.C. victory of the Maccabees over Antiochus Epiphanies (c. 215-164 B.C.) and the rededication of their Temple at Jerusalem.  The interesting point is that they also call their celebration the Feast of Dedication, or the Feast of Lights; and notably, it has nothing at all to do with Jesus Christ or Christianity.
  8. France, which came into existence in 58 B.C., also burns a log in their homes from the winter solaces until New Year’s Day.  This stems from an ancient tradition in which farmers would use part of the log to ensure good luck for the next year’s harvest.

This brings us to the beginning of the traditions that we now call Christmas.  Christmas as we know it today is a Victorian invention of the 1860s.  With every second generation the beliefs, rituals, and customs of any given event or tradition is accepted by the practitioners as being “this way from the beginning of time”.  And I suppose that is somewhat understandable, it has been that way since the beginning of their memories.  To be more accurate, people should say “this is the way I’ve always done or remember it”.