Christmas is almost upon us. Already, we can sense the fragrance of the “Sapin de Noel.” We can feel the excitement of finding our gifts at its feet early in the morning of 25th December, imagining ourselves ripping off the wrapping in our barely contained eagerness to find out what Santa has brought us this year. Well, we know it’s not Santa really but hush, don’t say it too loud if somebody had spilled the beans to you about good old “Bonhomme Noel.”
But hang on one second, where does the Christmas celebration come from. Christmas literally means “Mass on Jesus’ Day.” Is it really the birthday of Jesus Christ? Is it some other long-forgotten pagan rite that has silently inserted itself into the tradition of the modern world over centuries?
The answer is neither the one nor the other. Long before the birth of Christ, humanity across very diverse locations celebrated the winter solstice, which is the mid-point of the cold season. The Norse people called this day Yule; in Germany, people honored the pagan god Oden at the same time; and even in Rome where winters are more benign, Saturnalia was celebrated in honour of the Roman God Saturn.
In the early days of Christianity, celebrating the birth of martyrs, including Jesus, was not allowed. But by the fourth century, the Church decided to make the birth of Jesus a holiday. Pope Julius l chose December 25 even though it was not clearly evidenced that this date was indeed the day that Jesus Christ was born. Historians believe that the Church chose this date to absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival.
The feast day reminded Christians of God’s gift of Jesus to humankind and the notion of offering gifts was further correlated by the coming of the Magi to Bethlehem when they brought gifts to baby Jesus. Initially named the Feast of the Nativity, the custom rapidly spread across the Roman Empire and eventually became a worldwide celebration as we know it today.
As far as Santa Claus is concerned, his story runs parallel to that of Christmas but converges obviously with the gift’s tradition. The legend of the jovial and rotund old man dressed in red and white can be traced back to a monk named St. Nicholas who was born in Turkey around 280 A.D. He was very generous and distributed all his inherited wealth as he travelled to help the poor and sick. St. Nicholas first entered American popular culture in the late 18th century in New York, when Dutch families gathered to honour the anniversary of the death of “Sint Nikolaas” (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). “
Santa Claus” is the shortened version of the Saint’s name. In the 19th century, a church
official (Clement Clarke Moore) wrote a Christmas poem called “An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas.” The poem narrated the journey of Santa Claus as a jolly man who flies from home to home on a sled driven by reindeer to deliver toys. The iconic version of Santa Claus in red with a white beard and a sack of toys was immortalized in 1881 when political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Moore's poem to create the image of Pere Noel. Here’s hoping you have been nice, and he brings you many, many gifts.
Writer: Ashita Veerapen
Editor: Khisha Callicharrun