Pagan Christmas

It may sound blasphemous but Christmas, or at least the festivities of the season, had not always been to celebrate the birth of Christ. Indeed, the origin of the celebrations in mid-December is pagan. Each year around December 17, the Romans celebrated to honor Saturn the ancient god of agriculture in a festival they called Saturnalia. The festival lasted for seven days and included the winter solstice, which usually occurred around December 25 on the ancient Julian calendar.

During Saturnalia the Romans – not unlike what we do now at Christmas – feasted, postponed all business and warfare, exchanged gifts, and temporarily freed their slaves. It was to celebrate longer daylight as the days moved away from the winter solstice. Through these rituals they glorified Mithra, the ancient Persian god of light. These and other winter festivities continued through January 1, the festival of Kalends, when Romans marked the day of the new moon and the first day of the month and year.

For Christian Philippines, our celebration is a hodge-podge of rituals and customs of our colonizers, first from Spain and then from America. These plus our unique way of adopting these borrowed customs into our own indigenous cultures makes up our Christmas.

Although, most Filipino Catholics would not dare accept any other interpretation of Christmas except as celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the messiah, this is now changing. New evidence keep cropping up to make us question the certainty of beliefs behind these rituals. Many scholars themselves are even unsure exactly when Christmas was first celebrated to mark the Nativity of Christ. It is believed that Christmas as a Christian celebration may have began in the 4th century. But it is true to say that even then the Christian meaning was an overlay and did not really replace the original pagan celebrations of the winter solstice.

So although Christians know of Christ’s birth in detail from the Gospels, in fact they do not mention the date. What seems to be true is that the celebrations of mid-December came first rather than the birth of Christ. Man had celebrated the coming of light after a dark winter generations before it became a Christian tradition. It is believed that the Roman Catholic Church chose December 25 as the day for the Feast of the Nativity in order to give Christian meaning to existing pagan rituals. For example, the Church replaced festivities honoring the birth of Mithra, the god of light, with festivities to commemorate the birth of Jesus, whom the Bible calls the light of the world. By allowing pagan revelry the church hoped to draw pagans into its religion.

In fact, Christmas Day did not officially come into being until c. 350 when Pope Julius I proclaimed December 25 as the date of the Nativity. In doing so, he was following the early Church’s policy of absorbing rather than repressing existing pagan rites which, since early times, had celebrated the winter solstice and the coming of spring.

This can be initially shocking to most Filipinos who have been trained to accept custom and tradition bequeath by the Spanish. But in the long run, it is good to know this background which can well contribute to the understanding of other peoples with differing cultures and customs. Better to celebrate how to be true to ourselves than to celebrate what stands in shaky grounds. So what if the Chinese or the Arabs celebrate Christmas detached from the Christian version of the birth of a Savior? So what if they are more joyful because there are more sales in department stores and office parties galore?

Although the religious aspects of the celebration were not forgotten like the Nativity crib and Christmas carols, it is the lavish feasting which dominated the festivities by rich and poor alike. It may be interesting to note that because some of these celebrations had become excessive in Britain the Puritans had forbidden it in 1562 even when they migrated to Massachusetts. The celebration of Christmas was returned only to England in 1660 with Charles II and the Restoration. Can you imagine what Christmas would be in London without the Harrod sale?

One image I do not have a special love for is Santa Claus, with his sleigh, reindeers, and sack of toys which is an American invention. Santa first appeared in a drawing by Thomas Nast in Harper’s Magazine in 1868 but it is totally out of place in our tropical environment. Why are we stuck with our colonial complexes? Every time I see a Santa in a Christmas party in Manila, I feel sorry for the guy with his winter clothing, red it may be. Again the legend of Father Christmas is ancient and complex, being partly derived from St Nicholas and a jovial medieval figure, the "spirit of Christmas". In Russia, he traditionally carries a pink piglet under his arm. In many countries the custom of lighting the tree, singing carols around it, and opening presents is celebrated on December 24, Christmas Eve which is also true in the Philippines. The noche buena is the highlight of Filipino celebration.

What about other parts of the world where Christianity is not native to cultures, for example in Africa? How do they celebrate Christmas there apart from shopping and feasting? Like us, European missionaries introduced Christianity to the continent, so the Christmas celebrations are very much like western holiday traditions but they add European celebrations with their own local customs. In Ghana children travel in groups from house to house, chanting and singing songs that use imagery from local folklore. If a member of a household rewards them with a gift, the children sing a song of thanks. They go by the customs of whichever country colonized them. For example in former English colonies of Africa, children hang their stockings for Father Christmas and carolers make rounds in the community on Boxing Day. Boxing Day does not have anything to do with Manny Pacquiao’s preoccupation. It means the day of giving when you put your presents in boxes.

In the former French colony of the Republic of the Congo, Catholics dramatize Mary and Joseph’s search for lodging, much as Catholic communities do elsewhere in the world. In Ethiopia, Orthodox Christians observe the Julian calendar and celebrate Christmas on January 7. They call this celebration Lidet or Genna, and attend a church service lasting throughout the night.

Because Christianity is not officially sanctioned by the Chinese government, they have adopted more of the commercial aspects of Christmas. Where do you think we get all those Christmas lights so cheaply? They also have Santa Clauses in department stores handing out candies. Suddenly waiters in restaurants are wearing Santa hats. For the Christian Chinese who are very few in the mainland they make do with artificial trees – called trees of light – and decorate them with paper chains, flowers, lanterns, and other ornaments. Children hang muslin stockings in hopes that the mythical figure Dun Che Lao Ren (the Chinese version of Father Xmas) will fill them with presents.

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