Christmas is one religious holidaybut today it is mainly associated with secular and commercial customs. The origins of the celebration date back to first centuries of the Christian era and most likely they are related to pagan cults who celebrated the winter solstice. The choice of a day for the birth of Jesus caused divergences between the Christian communities of the late ancient era and only in the 5th century was the date of December 25th. Over the centuries, the traditions that still characterize Christmas were born: the tree, the nativity scene, the habit of exchanging gifts. Only in the contemporary age, however, did the celebration took its current form.
The origins of Christmas
The origins of the celebration of Christmas are uncertain. As we know, according to Christian tradition the anniversary celebrates the “birthday” of Jesusborn in Bethlehem on 25 December.
The word Christmas is in fact the abbreviation of Dies Natalis Christithat is, “Christ’s birth day”. The date of birth of Jesus, however, is far from clear. The gospels do not mention it and in the first centuries of the Christian era it communities recognized different datesincluding January 6th. On 25 December, documented for the first time in Rome inyear 336, it only came into common use in the 5th century.
Because Christmas falls on December 25th
Almost certainly, the “choice” of December 25th originates from pagan cults. In many pre-Christian religions there were celebrations of “rebirth of nature” after the winter solstice which, as we know, is the “shortest” day of the year, i.e. the one with the fewest hours of light and, according to the current calendar, typically falls on December 21st or 22nd. From the following day the days begin to “get longer” and the light takes over again. Close to the solstice, the Romans celebrated the Saturnaliaa festival in honor of the god of agriculture Saturn, which in the imperial age lasted from 17 to 23 December.
In the 3rd century AD the cult of the unconquered Suntransplanted from the East and associated with an Indo-Persian deity, Mithras. The celebration fell on December 25 (winter solstice in early versions of the Julian calendar) and was known as Dies natalis Soli Invictithat is, the day of birth of the unconquered sun, as it is the day on which the Sun is “reborn”taking over the night again. According to a widely accepted interpretation, the celebration of the birth of the unconquered Sun would be at the origin of the choice of December 25th for the birth of Jesus.
Not everyone, however, agrees with this theory and some intellectuals maintain that the choice of the date was developed in a Christian contextwithout connections with pagan cults. Other scholars trace the origins of Christmas to Jewish festival of lightsthe Hanukkahwhich celebrates the consecration of a new altar in the Temple of Jerusalem. Christmas, according to this interpretation, would be the Christian version of a Jewish holiday, as happens with Easter and other celebrations that “passed” from Judaism to Christianity.
The spread of the celebration
From the fifth century onwards, the celebration of Christmas gradually gained prestige, influencing the liturgical calendar. In 567 the Council of Tours established that the “Christmas season” lasted twelve days, from 25 December to 5 January, thus connecting it to the Epiphany. In this way the principle from which today’s laws derive began to establish itself Christmas holidays.
As the centuries passed, the celebration of Christmas spread to the entire Christian world and the traditions that still exist today were born, including that of crecheborn in the 13th century in Assisi, and that of the tree, established in northern Europe in the 15th-16th centuries. Since the Middle Ages, the habit of exchange giftsbut originally the exchange took place on December 6, St. Nicholas Day. Through some passages, the character of was derived from the figure of Saint Nicholas Santa Claus.
In contemporary times the Christmas holiday has taken on its current form. In the nineteenth century it became a celebration centered on the family, also thanks to authors such as Charles Dickens And Washington Irvingwho in their works described the anniversary in terms similar to current ones.
In the twentieth century, social changes – the decline of peasant civilization, the development of mass society and the increase in well-being in the Western world – transformed Christmas into a celebration predominantly commercial and consumerist.
Christmas today
Today Christmas is celebrated in almost all countries in the worldincluding many of those where Christianity is not the prevailing religion.
The anniversary has not lost its religious significance and is the day on which the churches register the largest presence of faithful, but it is mainly seen as an occasion for socialization and consumption. For example, in the United States the average spending of citizens for Christmas is just under a thousand dollars, with variations depending on the year. In Italy, the average expense is lower, but it is still very high. In 2022, according to the Consumer Federation, every Italian spent an average of 168 euros on gifts alone.
