We\u2019re just about ready to close up for the Christmas holidays and it\u2019s all we\u2019ve been able to talk about here at the library. Besides thinking about our Christmas shopping, having to meet up with the family. And getting ready for Christmas dinner. We\u2019ve also gave a bit of thought about how Christmas became what it is today, and the different ways that it has changed over the century. So we decided to have a quick look into it today.<\/p>\n
Midwinter and the period stretching from the winter solstice (which usually falls around the week of the 21st<\/sup>) up to early January has long been a time of celebration and festivities across many cultures and faiths. Archaeological evidence indicates such celebrations were being held as far back as the Neolithic period (almost nine thousand years ago!) with the speculation being that ancient sites such as Stonehenge served as places to conduct such ceremonies and festivities.<\/p>\n Many religions have used this time as a period to commemorate the births of their respective deities as well, with the ancient Egyptians using this time to mark the birth of their god Horus. It is in such early winter celebrations that we can find the origins of Christmas, with early Christians in the Roman Empire likely drawing inspiration from the Roman festival of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti<\/em>, (held on the 25th<\/sup> of December), and the Roman holiday of Saturnalia, which was a gift giving holiday in the week up to the 25th<\/sup> of December in honour of Saturn. By the medieval period, the Catholic Church decided to unite both traditions by officially declaring the period of the 25th<\/sup> of December to the 6th<\/sup> of January as being Christmastide, or the Twelve Days of Christmas, with the weeks leading up to Christmas being marked as the Advent period. Which would serve as a time of preparation and anticipation for the upcoming Christmas celebrations.<\/p>\n Early Christmas celebrations would usually involve traditions associated with local pre-Christian winter festivals, especially the festival of Yuletide observed by the Norse and Anglo-Saxon people. To the point that today the name Yuletide is considered synonymous with Christmastime. It\u2019s from these Yuletide celebrations that we get the Christmas traditions of decorating homes using seasonal fruits and plants and Yule log. It is even speculated that Christmas Carols have their roots in Yuletide singing, where it was custom to go door-to-door singing in exchange for gifts and alcohol. Although Yuletide singing is recorded as being a much rowdier affair than Christmas carolling usually is!<\/p>\n Over the centuries Christmas began to grow in popularity as many kings and emperors of Europe chose to be crowned on Christmas Day, and it soon became custom for monarchs and nobles to host lavish Christmas feasts every year. As part of these feasts, it was expected that the host would hire a troupe of actors (called Mummers) to stage a play for the entertainment of guests. These plays would usually involve crude humour and stage fights, and would over time evolve into Christmas pantomimes that are still popular in Britain today. Of course, these wouldn\u2019t be the only plays associated with Christmas time. The staging of a Christmas Nativity play depicting the birth of Jesus is a tradition that goes back even further to around the early 1200s when Saint Francis of Assisi oversaw the staging of such a play in Italy, with the practice spreading overtime to other Christian countries.<\/p>\n Back in the day, Christmas celebrations in Britain put a great emphasis on partying and \u201cmisrule\u201d, with a member of the party being appointed the Lord of Misrule (called the Abbot of Unreason up here in Scotland) who was responsible for overseeing the party and encouraging drunkenness and unruly behaviour. This tradition was controversial at the time as it was seen as sinful and was outlawed in Britain by the 17th<\/sup> century. The tradition would be forgotten overtime as Christmas changed to become more centred on family and religious observance. This push to change Christmas from a time of drunken revelry to a time of faith and family is also part of the reason why we give each other gifts on Christmas.<\/p>\n Because early Christmas celebrations were more focused on partying and feasting, there wasn\u2019t much time spent on the gift giving that we associated Christmas with today. Instead, gift giving was typically split between two different days. On the 6th<\/sup> of December presents would be given to the children in a community in celebration of St Nicholas Day, with adults being given gifts at New Years. The shift of gift-giving to Christmas Eve or Christmas Day came partially due to the Protestant reformation resulting in much of Europe stopping observing most Saint days, and partially the result of the aforementioned push to change Christmas from a period of drunken celebration to a more wholesome time.<\/p>\n
\nIn addition to religious connotations, holding festive celebrations during the period also served a practical purpose of lifting community spirits during the darkest and coldest time of year.<\/p>\nRoman Christmas<\/h2>\n
\nAt the same time, Christians living to the East of Rome primarily celebrated Jesus on the 6th<\/sup> of January, on an occasion known as Theophany, or The Epiphany, believed to be the date the three wise men visited Jesus.<\/p>\nMedieval Christmas<\/h3>\n
\nIt was from these Christmas feasts that we start to see some of the modern Christmas cuisine start to emerge, with King Henry VIII beginning the tradition of serving turkey for Christmas dinner shortly after the bird was imported to Britain, as a way of showing off his great wealth. Expensive birds soon became a staple of royal Christmas dinners, although many normal households would struggle to afford such food until many centuries later, instead usually settling for more affordable meat like duck.<\/p>\n1800s Christmas<\/h4>\n