The Story of Christmas: Where It Came From

The birth at the heart of Christmas

The religious story comes from two books of the New Testament. The Gospel of Luke tells of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem for a Roman census, the baby laid in a manger and angels announcing the birth to shepherds. The Gospel of Matthew tells of Joseph's dreams, a star and wise men from the east who bring gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Neither gospel gives a date or even a season. Most historians place the birth of Jesus somewhere between about 6 and 4 BC, since Matthew links it to the reign of Herod the Great, who died around 4 BC. The exact year and day are unknown. For the full retelling, see our page on the nativity story.

Why December 25?

The earliest Christians did not celebrate the birth of Jesus at all. Easter was their main feast. Interest in the date of the nativity grew in the second and third centuries, and writers proposed several dates, including days in spring.

The first clear record of Christmas on December 25 comes from a Roman calendar known as the Chronography of 354, which lists the birth of Christ on that date and points back to a celebration in Rome around 336 AD. There are two main explanations for why that date was chosen, and historians still debate them:

• The pagan festival theory. December 25 was the date of a Roman festival honoring Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun, linked to the winter solstice. The church may have chosen it to give a Christian meaning to a popular celebration.
• The calculation theory. Some early Christians believed Jesus was conceived on the same date he died, which they placed on March 25. Counting nine months forward lands on December 25.

Both ideas have supporters, and they are not mutually exclusive. What's certain is that by the late 300s, December 25 was spreading through the Western church.

Saturnalia, Yule and other winter festivals

Many Christmas customs look older than Christmas itself, because midwinter festivals were common long before Christianity reached northern Europe.

• Saturnalia was a Roman festival in honor of the god Saturn, beginning on December 17 and eventually lasting several days. It featured feasting, gift giving, candles, relaxed social rules and general merriment.
• Yule was a midwinter festival among Germanic and Norse peoples. The word survives in English as Yuletide, and customs like the Yule log and evergreen decorations are often linked to it, although written records of early Yule practices are thin.
• Evergreens such as holly, ivy and fir were used in winter celebrations across many cultures as symbols of life continuing through the dark months.

It's fair to say these festivals influenced the mood and some customs of Christmas. It's not accurate to say Christmas is simply a renamed pagan holiday, since its central meaning, the birth of Jesus, is distinctly Christian.

Christmas in the Middle Ages

By the Middle Ages, Christmas had become one of the most important feasts in Europe. It opened a season that ran for twelve days, from Christmas Day to the eve of Epiphany on January 6, known today as the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Celebrations could be rowdy. Wealthy households held long feasts, villagers went wassailing door to door, and "Lords of Misrule" were appointed to oversee games and pranks. Nativity plays and carols grew in popularity, helped along by Francis of Assisi, who staged a living nativity scene in Greccio, Italy, in 1223.

When Christmas was banned

Not everyone approved of the feasting. After the English Civil War, the Puritan-led Parliament abolished Christmas as a holy day in 1647, viewing it as unbiblical and an excuse for excess. Celebrations continued in secret, and the restrictions ended with the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660.

In colonial New England, the Massachusetts Bay Colony fined people five shillings for celebrating Christmas between 1659 and 1681. Christmas remained a fairly quiet holiday in much of America until the 1800s.

How the modern Christmas took shape

The Christmas most people know today was largely shaped in the nineteenth century, especially in Britain and the United States.

• 1823: The poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, better known as "Twas the Night Before Christmas," gave Americans a jolly St. Nick with a sleigh and eight reindeer. Read more in who is Santa Claus.
• 1843: Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol, which tied Christmas to family, generosity and kindness to the poor. The same year, Henry Cole sent the first commercial Christmas card.
• 1848: The Illustrated London News printed an image of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert around a decorated tree, helping make the German Christmas tree fashionable in Britain and America.
• 1863 to 1886: Thomas Nast's drawings in Harper's Weekly fixed the American image of Santa Claus.
• 1870: Christmas became a federal holiday in the United States.

Over the twentieth century, department stores, radio, film and television added new layers, from shopping traditions to holiday movies and songs.

Christmas around the world today

Today Christmas is celebrated by Christians as a religious feast and by many non-Christians as a cultural holiday of family, food and gifts. Most churches mark it on December 25, while Orthodox churches that follow the older Julian calendar, including those in Russia, Serbia and Ethiopia, celebrate on January 7.

Each country adds its own customs, from Mexico's Las Posadas to Japan's Christmas cake. Explore them in our guide to Christmas traditions around the world.