Where Exactly Did Christmas Originate from?
Christmas, which is observed on December 25, is a holy religious event as well as a global cultural and economic event. People have been celebrating it with customs and rituals that are both religious and secular in nature for two millennia now. Christmas Day is marked by Christians as the anniversary of the birth of their spiritual figurehead, Jesus of Nazareth, whose teachings serve as the foundation of their faith. Popular traditions include gifting, erecting and decorating Christmas trees, going to church, gathering with loved ones for feasts, and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus. The origins of Christmas stem from both the pagan and Roman cultures. The Romans actually celebrated two holidays in the month of December. The first was Saturnalia, which was a two-week festival honoring their god of agriculture Saturn. On December 25th, they celebrated the birth of Mithra, their sun god. Both celebrations were raucous, drunken parties. In order to dispel the darkness, the pagan cultu...