Ancient Celebrations Of The Christmas Holiday
By Dominic Ferrara

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Christmas may very well be the oldest holiday that is shared
across the many cultures of the world; it is traditionally
celebrated during the winter season (or even the warm summer
season if you count Australia, where Christmas is celebrated as
an official holiday). 

Before Christmas was celebrated, people were finding time to
celebrate in Europe during the winter holiday before the birth
of Jesus Christ ever even occurred! 

The Winter Solstice has always been a time to celebrate and
rejoice; it is celebrated on December 21 in the northern
hemisphere and it was after the Winter Solstice that the worst
part of the year was behind them. It was at that point during
the year that the days began to get longer, giving the people
more time to spend outside on their crops and tending to their
animals. 

In Scandinavia during the Winter Solstice, men and their sons
used to go in to the woods to cut a tree down. After the tree
had been felled, a nicely sized log was cut out of it, and the
men would carry the log back to the home. This log was dubbed a
Yule Log, and the Yule log was burned in the fireplace. The
entire time the Yule log burned, the family would feast. Often
times the Yule log might burn for a whole twelve days! Of
course, as the Yule log burned it sent sparks out of the hearth
and as the sparks flew out of the fire place, the family would
count the sparks and each spark stood for a farm animal (a cow,
a goat, a pig, etc) that would be born on their property that
year. It is important to note that farm animals were signs of
wealth back then. 

Saturnalia is a celebration of the Winter Solstice that
occurred in ancient pagan Rome. Saturnalia was celebrated in
honor of the god of agriculture, who was named Saturn. During
the time of Saturnalia, the entire Roman empire is in a state of
social disarray. Servants and peasants spend time with and
celebrate the holiday with people of higher classes, which was a
rarity back then. 

The Saturnalia festival in itself can last as long as an entire
week in Rome. During that time, people rejoiced all over the
country of Rome. The phrase ‘eat, drink, and be merry’ was
played out to its fullest. Shops and businesses are closed
during the Festival of Saturnalia. Following the first week of
Saturnalia, the festival itself usually ends, but the Saturnalia
period itself does not end. 

In addition to Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture, the Romans
also worshipped an infant type god named Methra, who was carved
out of a rock. On Mithra’s birthday, people also rejoiced, just
as they did during Saturnalia. The day of this rock god’s
birthday was one of the most sacred days of the year for the
Roman people. It was a time for celebration and togetherness,
and for family.

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