Curious about the history of Christmas, particularly in the United States? Me too. When did we first celebrate the holiday, and when did Santa enter the picture? Did we celebrate the birth of Jesus before or after the arrival of Santa? This is what I found out:
An illuminated manuscript called the “Chronography of 354”, which was produced for a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus in 354 AD, stated the following for the year 336 AD: “25 Dec.: natus Christus in Betleem Judeae.” (December 25th, Christ born in Bethlehem, Judea.). So it is widely believed that December 25, 336, was the first recorded celebration of the birth of Jesus, or Christmas. I found it interesting to note that this manuscript was created a mere 300 years after Jesus died, and around the same time the first Bibles were being organized. Why December 25? That’s the topic in XMAS Tidbit #3!
Christmas commemorating Jesus' birth was officially recognized in England in 816 AD, while the first Christmas in America occurred in 1492 AD.
The modern figure of Santa Clause is widely believed to have originated from Saint Nicholas of Myra, a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra in Lycia, a province which is now in Turkey. Nicholas was famous for his generous gifts to the poor. He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life entirely to Christianity. Saint Nicholas became known as Sinterklaas in Amsterdam around the same time. In 841 AD, the first story about Saint Nicholas appeared, and his legend began to grow throughout Europe. In 16th century England, a character named “Father Christmas” evolved from the direct influence of Saint Nicholas/Sinterklaas. In the 18th century, Sinterklaas and Father Christmas were Americanized into “Santa Claus”, a name first used in the American press in 1773 (New York Gazette).
The current depiction of Santa Claus was thought to have been based on images drawn by cartoonist Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly beginning in 1863, which he based on Clement Clarke Moore’s 1822 poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas.” The first decorated Christmas tree was believed to have appeared in 1510 at Riga in Latvia. The idea of gift-giving was originally meant to remind people of the magi's offerings to Jesus and of God's gift of Christ to humankind. Modern gift-giving (specifically to children) did not become the central Christmas tradition it is today until the late 18th century.
It wasn't until the 20th Century that pop culture began to commercialize Christmas when Christmas trees, Santa Claus, snowmen, holly, mistletoe and eggnog began appearing in movies, plays and songs worldwide. Not surprising, the original focus on Jesus' birth began to diminish some once this started to happen.
So there you have it! December 25 originally began as a celebration of Jesus’ birth, and evolved throughout time to include the Christmas elements we know today. One thing I discovered when writing this is that there is anything but a shortage of resources online that discuss these subjects, that's for sure!
No comments:
Post a Comment