The Real Meaning of Christmas

It is pretty unlikely that Jesus Christ was born on 25 December, but does that matter? To many faithful Christians, no, it doesn’t seem to, much. Christmas day is the day they celebrate the birth of Jesus. Whether he was really born on that particular day is a bit of a side issue (after all, the actual date is not in the Bible).

But if the 25th is not the day Jesus was born, why do we celebrate it? Well, the truth is that the early Christians probably chose the date in order to commandeer the Pagan celebrations which happened around that time of year. "Saturnalia" was a Roman Pagan festival, starting on the 17th and ending on the 23rd, which included super-indulgence in food, drink, gift giving, and (of course, since we’re talking about Romans here) swinger-parties.

So, abundance, indulgence, giving (and giving-out) have always been part of the Christmas tradition! But it was not only the Romans who celebrated around (or mostly, just before) the 25th. The 21st is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and, to all Pagans attuned to the cycles of the seasons, this is highly significant – the day of greatest darkness, but also the day that the "tide turns" and things begin to be reborn.

But what about Father Christmas, the Christmas tree, etc., etc.? Well, here it becomes a little complicated; after all, Europe has been Christianised for a very long time, and inevitably the Pagan traditions which originated in the distant past have been mixed with Christian elements. For instance, many believe that the Christmas tree is clearly derived from the Norse Pagan Yule tree. At solstice time (known to the Vikings/Norse as "Yule"), Norse people would cut down an evergreen tree and bring it into their home for the season. They did this because evergreen trees were understood to somehow be immune from the darkness of winter, and therefore they could be expected to bring this immunity into the home.

On the other hand, decorated Christmas trees are believed to have originated in early medieval Germany, and on the other hand again, decorated trees were part of Hebrew celebrations and they appeared as part of the Christian Mystery plays, and on the other hand yet again, "The Dream of the Rood" is a Christian, Anglo-Saxon, English poem which predates all of this (probably 7th century) and describes a "tree of the forest," decorated with gems, which was also the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Just about the only thing that can be said for certain is that the "modern" Christmas tree was introduced into the English-speaking world in Victorian times through the influence of Queen Victoria’s German consort, Albert.

When it comes to Father Christmas, things are even more complex, but perhaps also, very simple. Odin is often claimed as the original for Father Christmas. The king of the Norse gods, he presided over many feasts, including those at Yule time, and he was also known as the "gift-bringer" or "ring-giver." However, it does have to be said that he wasn’t, generally, a jolly avuncular figure; he was more into ripping the still-beating hearts from Christians’ chests than ripping wrapping paper open to reveal a new pair of socks. The tradition of St. Nicholas, who replaced the somewhat alarming figure of Odin, was based on someone who probably did exist, and who sought out needy children to give presents to. Whooshing, like Santa’s Sleigh, through a few centuries or so, we come to 17th century, Restoration England, where the figure of "Father Christmas" (rather than "Santa"), that of a jolly fat old man, generally somewhat the worse for a few too many beers and brandy-laced mince pies, was used in folk plays and other customs to represent the mediaeval, jolly aspects of Christmas that the dour Cromwellian Puritans had attempted to suppress. And Coca-Cola? It is very true that they used, and popularised, the red-suited Father Christmas via their advertising, but he did exist before then.

So why did I say it was simple? Well, because this rather convoluted chain of traditions is all rather irrelevant to the Father Christmas which is now part and, um, parcel of our modern Christmas celebrations. Or rather, this historical background is relevant, precisely because it is irrelevant. Sorry, I do intend to explain. You see, we started out with some Pagan festivities, happening in the darkest winter months, which celebrated abundance, indulgence, and gift-giving, and what have we ended up with? The same (minus, perhaps, the Pagan element). Why? Well, because it is natural to our human condition, living on this planet, to have a celebration of abundance precisely at that time of year when nature is not abundant, regardless of the religion or creed (consumerism?) which predominates. It’s also natural to have a human figure to personify and preside over this celebration. So it could be said that this is the true meaning of Christmas, and of Father Christmas. What Christianity brought to the ancient tradition was the element of "goodwill to all men" though that was represented, to some extent, in the Roman Saturnalian tradition of allowing slaves to become masters and masters, slaves for the period.

Oh, and I forgot Charles Dickens. Sorry, he just loved Christmas — and so do I!