Many of the customs associated with Christmas are about overcoming darkness — a fitting metaphor for Christianity. But decorated trees, yule logs, and even singing “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” have nothing to do with Christianity.
Most ancient cultures had a festival associated with the winter solstice. In parts of northern Europe, pre-Christians referred to this changing of the seasons as “Yule.”
Winter arrives officially Thursday, Dec. 22 at 5:30 a.m. This is the shortest day of the year. The sun will rise at 8:05 a.m. and will set at 4:40 p.m. There will be a minute or two more of daylight Dec. 23 as the days will start getting a little longer leading up to the summer solstice six months from now. (The 2012 winter solstice will take place Dec. 21, 2012, the speculated date for “the end of the world,” according to some creative interpretations of a Mayan calendar.)
Saturnalia was a winter festival celebrated by the Romans that led up to the birthday of their sun god on Dec. 25. In 320 AD, Pope Julius I proclaimed Dec. 25 as the official celebration date for the birthday of Jesus Christ. A few years earlier, Roman emperor Constantine co-opted Saturnalia traditions into the “Christian” holiday of Christmas.
The average Canadian spends $1,000 per person at Christmas according to Statistics Canada.
In the early 17th century, Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces cancelled Christmas in Britain because they considered it to be decadent and pagan.
In 1837, the British government made Dec. 25 a legal holiday. The Times of London made no mention of Christmas between 1790 and 1836.
Martin Luther in Germany is credited with inventing the idea of a lighted Christmas tree, but various pagan cultures decorated their homes with greenery, and others maintained the concept of a sacred tree during the winter solstice.
Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens were the Martha Stewarts of their day, each in their own way establishing the Victorian concept of Christmas in the British Empire.
Once the royal family had a Christmas tree, everyone wanted one.
Across the pond, Americans had to work Dec. 25 until 1870 when it was made a legal holiday. Harper’s magazine began to run illustrations of Santa with a beard and reindeer around 1862.
DeeAnn Mandryk in her book, Canadian Christmas Traditions, writes, “Canadian Christmas celebrations represent a rich tapestry of multi-cultural customs and traditions imported by European explorers, traders, pioneers, and settlers.” She might have added American pop culture into that tapestry.
And this brings us to 2011 when Elvis and Star Wars heroes are sold as Christmas tree decorations and people put inflated Grinches on their front yards.
Statistics Canada reports $196.2 million worth of decorations were imported to Canada in 2005. The bulk ($175.3 million) came from China, with Russia and some Eastern European nations supplying much of the remainder. The average Canadian spends $1,000 per person at Christmas according to Statistics Canada.
Christmas is a $38-billion industry in Canada. Let’s hope some of that money is spent on peace and goodwill.
Vicki Gilhula is the editor of Sudbury Living magazine.
Posted by Heather Green-Oliver
