An enormous number of customs surround Christmas, and vary from country to country. Many aspects, such as the Christmas tree, holly, the Christmas ham, the Yule Log, and the giving of presents were appropriated from the earlier Asatru pagan midwinter holiday of Yule and the traditional celebrations of the Winter solstice, which were very popular in northern Europe long before the arrival of Christianity. (Other major pagan holidays similarly appropriated include Easter and Halloween.) Rather than attempting to suppress these popular feast days, the Christian missionaries simply gave them a new Christian interpretation, while permitting most of the associated customs to continue with little or no modification. A few Christian churches, most notably the Jehovah’s Witnesses and some Puritan groups, thus view Christmas as a pagan holiday not sanctioned by the Bible and do not celebrate it.
In most Western countries, Christmas celebrations have both religious and secular aspects. (via Wikipedia)
No tags for this post.
