It’s that time of year folks!  Lights are hung, trees are trimmed, and everyone is excited to celebrate the season and looking forward to break (just ask your teachers). Have you ever wondered where some of the Christmas traditions came from? Here are a few.

First of all, what is Christmas? Most people would agree that it’s a sacred religious holiday celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Jesus. Sometime around the 4th century, the Catholic church chose December 25th to celebrate his birth. Many believe that even though Jesus was likely born in the spring, this date was chosen due to the timing of pagan winter solstice festivals that were already happening. This is not proven, though. The season of Christmas is celebrated by religious and non-religious people alike as a time of kindness and helping others. Many people and organizations volunteer time and money to help families in need at this time of year. It’s also a time for people to come together with friends and families to share time, meals, and presents.

Decorating Christmas trees comes from the ancient traditions that used evergreen trees to celebrate new life during the pagan winter solstice. Christians later added candles to symbolize Christ’s light. Now we use the much safer option of electric lights, and instead of acorns and nuts, we follow the German tradition of decorating with ornaments.

Holiday movies have been around since 1898, with the short film, “Santa Claus”. Since then, there have been tons of great Christmas movies, like Meet Me In St Louis (1944), Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), Elf (2003), and Daddy’s Home (2015). These movies have contributed greatly to pop culture around the world.

Christmas has really developed in many ways since its ancient roots and includes traditions based on many different cultures. I wonder how it will change in the future.