A time for Joy and Giving

Across the globe most populations have adopted the season of winter and december as something more than just a period where snow begins to cover the streets or is colder than usual, deeming It as a date of celebration where the joy is to be found in the spirit of giving and good company, It being associated with the colors red and white, evergreens, socks, lights and Its most representative Icon: Santa Claus. These traditions and symbols can vary in each country, however, they tend to be the most common and shared between different nations. Almost everyone enjoys christmas as an eve in which to receive gifts and share with loved ones, however, not many know about the story of Christmas in Itself. That's why in this article I'll tell you about how this beautiful celebration came to be known as It is today, all while showing you what It meant to the people at the time to gain a better understanding of It. Let's begin

Older than you think

Many believe that christmas came to be celebrated after the birth of Christ, however, there are records of norse countries before the AD era celebrating the midwinter solstice around december 21st, a date where nights were the longest in the year and daylight the shortest one, in here fathers and sons brought evergreens indoors to celebrate life and lit logs on fire as promises of good fortune. Celebrations around this time of the year wasn't only limited to these particular region, as Ancient Rome had a particular type of festivity a week before winter solstice: Saturnalia, where It was organized an orgy of food and drink dedicated to Saturn, the god of Agriculture.

There was also a reduced sect of people who believed in Mithra, the God of Sun (specially between high officials of the government) where December 25th was celebrated as the birthday of this god and the holiest day of the year. Then, in the first century AD, christianity took over as a prominent religion in the empire, though the birthday of Jesus Christ still remained a mistery (Since It isn't mentioned in the Bible), so the date of 25th of december, celebrated already in pagan Rome, was assigned for this event until It was officially declared by the church in the 4th century.

At first, an initial conflict existed between pagan traditions and the ones dictated by the church, so the latter came to accept the first and the mesh of these brought a more familiar version of Christmas for us, where evergreens were decorated with apples, to eventually be replaced by ornaments and there was more jovial connotations to this celebration.

The Origin of Santa Claus

Originally, the Robust jolly friend with a white beard that we all know had a very different backstory from what we're told, as It all began in the 4th century with the death of Nicholas, a beloved turkish bishop who was beatified and his date of defunction, December 6th came to be known as St Nicholas Day, where good kids received gifts from the saint and kids who behaved badly received nothing.

Then in 19th century in America, a seminary professor, Clement Clarke Moore, rewrote the story of St Nicholas, with his universally recognized poem "A Night Before Christmas" telling the story of Santa Claus (Based on the Dutch word "Sinterklaas" a legendary figure based in Nicholas and who was a source for this story). A kind saint who was pulled by raindeer and came down chimneys in Christmas Eve to give gifts to the children. However, the exact image of Santa Claus that we know today wasn't seen until 1863, where the caricaturist Thomas Nast, better known for his work as a political cartoonist, came with the portrait of a senior with a beard and hair that have the color of snow while wearing a red shirt with suspenders and carrying gifts for the children, being adopted universally as the symbol for Christmas.

I hope this article could have brought you enough information about the story of Christmas, all so you can recognize what were Its roots and you can understand how It came to be so popular as It is today, leaving you with knowledge that can be valuable in this time of the year. Thank you for your support and good luck!