The iconography, characters and traditions of Christmas have a long history, stretching back across cultures and religions. From Germanic tribes to Roman holidays to Coca Cola commercials, how the holiday is celebrated draws from several places, and it was those origins that David Kuball, Treasurer of the Golden Valley Historical Society spoke to at the December Mendota After Hours last week.
As to the specifics of traditions, especially those dating back many hundreds of years, many have no exact point of origin or are unclear or contested. Instead, Kuball focused on that which is “reasonable and interesting,” when it comes to one of the most popular holidays in the world.
Kuball separated out the origins of Christmas into three categories: ancients, influencers and media.

Ancients
Modern-day Christmas celebrations share influences from Germanic winter solstice celebrations (where the tradition of Christmas trees would eventually come from) as well as the Roman festival of Saturnalia, which celebrated the God Saturn through feasts and gift-giving.
Winter Solstice celebrations, while technically on Dec. 21, were often celebrated on or through Dec. 25 because that was when days were first observed as growing longer.
It took until the third century for the celebration of the birth of Jesus to be settled on in December. While many early Christians celebrated the event, it was unclear when exactly Jesus was born so celebrations occurred at different times throughout the year, said Kuball.
Two main theories exist for how the date Dec. 25 was chosen for the holiday.
The first theory is that Dec. 25 is nine months after the celebration of the Annunciation, or when Mary was told she would conceive a child. Nine months after that point would be when the child was born, thus, Dec. 25.
The second theory is that early Christians simply adopted the current Saturnalia celebration into the church.
“Why not just use the existing holiday that people are used to?” said Kuball.

Influencers
Many figures from political leaders to writers changed how the holiday was celebrated, but especially in the early years of the United States, Christmas wasn’t as popular, or even unilaterally accepted as a holiday.
Puritans largely rejected the holiday due to lack of scriptural evidence for the holiday, Christmas’ ties to paganism, and the raucous celebrations that were common at that time.
“There was a time when Christmas was unpopular. It’s partly because of the way it was celebrated and because it was based on paganism,” said Kuball.
The celebration of Christmas was banned in Massachusetts from 1649-1686 for this very reason. The holiday was mocked as “foolstide,” and it was common for schools and businesses to remain open while churches were closed to discourage celebrations.
In fact, in the United States, Christmas wasn’t named a federal holiday until nearly 200 years later in 1870.
Kuball highlighted two other figures that influenced how Christmas is celebrated: Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens.
The first Christmas tree in London was brought by Prince Albert from Germany in 1848. Queen Victoria took to the tradition which grew in popularity as others followed in the Queen’s footsteps spreading across Britian in the following years.
Only a few years earlier, Charles Dickens’ 1843 novel A Christmas Carol became an instant classic, popularizing both the phrase “Merry Christmas” and centering the holiday on generosity, celebration, and family gathering.

Media
Many modern Christmas icons, especially those in the United States, only date back to less than 100 years ago in advertisements, children’s books, and movies and TV series.
“Radio, television and movies all affect the way we think about Christmas,” said Kuball.
For example, the now-iconic image of Santa Claus with a red cap and robe along with a white beard comes from a 1931 Coca Cola advertisement “as a modern interpretation of Santa,” built from older descriptions of St. Nicholas and Father Christmas, said Kuball.
Earlier depictions of St. Nicholas, like that from the 1823 poem T’was the Night Before Christmas dress St. Nick in furs while smoking a pipe, already distinct from the third century saint of the same name born in what is now Turkey.
Before that, the figure of Father Christmas was a rough personification of revelry from English folklore and didn’t have a firm description until into the Middle Ages.
Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, while originally written in 1939 for a commission from Montgomery Ward, was later turned into a cartoon in 1948 and song in 1949. The 1964 stop-motion adaption remains popular to this day.
Gene Autry’s 1947 classic song Here Comes Santa Claus was written about the Santa Claus Lane Parade in California from the year before.
The Grinch only dates back to the 1957 Dr. Suess book and was popularized through the 1966 TV series.
From ancient figures to Victorian royalty to commissioned advertisements, how Christmas is celebrated has changed over the years from a number of sources.
“Maybe you’ll see Christmas differently now,” quipped Kuball.
For more information on Dakota County Historical Society’s events, visit dakotahistory.org