Saturnalia: The Origins of Christmas

Do you ever wonder where the celebration of Christmas really began? Many Christians believe Christmas to be a Christian holiday, but people have been celebrating Christmas long before the birth of Christ. The festivity was known then as Saturnalia.

Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honor of the deity Saturn. It originally was held on the 17th of December in the Julian calendar, then later expanded to last through the 25th. The festival began with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, followed by a public banquet, private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival-like atmosphere in the streets. Roman social norms were overturned in this time; gambling was permitted and masters provided table service for their slaves.

In Roman mythology, Saturn was an agricultural deity who was said to have reigned over the world in the “Golden Age”, a time when humans enjoyed the spontaneous bounty of earth without labor. The celebration of Saturnalia was meant to reflect the conditions of the lost mythical age. The Greek equivalent of this was Kronia.

It is the best-known Roman holiday, but there is no record describing Saturnalia from the beginning to the end in any ancient source and the information known about Saturnalia is from several accounts dealing with various aspects. The popularity of Saturnalia continued into the third and fourth centuries AD. As the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, some of its customs have influenced the seasonal celebrations surrounding

When the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, Saturnalia was challenged because there was nothing in relation to Christianity concerning Saturnalia. To remedy this, the Christian leaders named the last day of Saturnalia, the 25th, to be Jesus’ birthday. Some of the Christmas customs we celebrate now were influenced by Saturnalia, including but not limited to Christmas trees, mistletoe, and Christmas presents. Even long after Saturnalia was removed from the official calendar it continued to be a secular celebration. It later evolved into a pagan festival and now is believed to have died out, leaving only hints and traces in numbers of medieval and modern customs.

Special thanks to cleopatra. and losing control. for editing.

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