Even as an ardent non-Christian/Atheist, I’m a big fan of the whole Christmas phenomenon. Staff and students get time off to spend with their friends and family. Many people get the opportunity to travel. And there’s a definite magic associated with being a child (or man-child in my case) opening presents on Christmas morning.
It’s been a while since I was forced to attend church, but I think I can cover the gist of the story of Christmas for those who may rusty on their ancient history. Mary and Joseph, two young lovebirds, travelled to Bethlehem, which is in modern-day Palestine.
Even though they were engaged to be married, the Virgin Mary was pregnant, which was a major red flag for Joseph.
However, Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel …show more content…
Ancient Romans would hold giant parties, secretly give gifts, and offer charity to those in need. People would even greet each other with the holiday expression of “Io Saturnalia!” The 7-day festival of Saturnalia was a time of pure celebration and relaxation after the harvesting season. If you think this whole Saturnalia business is a shameless imitation of Christmas, then you’re only half right; it’s the other way around.
Saturnalia was celebrated as early as the 1st century CE, over three hundred years before the first recorded Christmas celebration. While the exact starting year of Saturnalia celebrations isn’t known, they did occur during the reign of Emperor Augustus, who ruled the Roman Empire from 27 BCE to 14 CE. With Jesus’ recorded death being somewhere between 30-36 CE, Christmas’ roots in Saturnalia could therefore precede the birth of Christ Himself.
While cultural traditions are important to hold onto, they’ll inevitably change. As the Roman Empire gradually converted to Christianity, Saturnalia was replaced with a newer, trendier holiday for December 25th. Christians borrowed many elements of Christmas from the Romans (Israel was province of the Roman Empire at the time) but added their own, particularly in the form of Christ’s
It’s been a while since I was forced to attend church, but I think I can cover the gist of the story of Christmas for those who may rusty on their ancient history. Mary and Joseph, two young lovebirds, travelled to Bethlehem, which is in modern-day Palestine.
Even though they were engaged to be married, the Virgin Mary was pregnant, which was a major red flag for Joseph.
However, Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel …show more content…
Ancient Romans would hold giant parties, secretly give gifts, and offer charity to those in need. People would even greet each other with the holiday expression of “Io Saturnalia!” The 7-day festival of Saturnalia was a time of pure celebration and relaxation after the harvesting season. If you think this whole Saturnalia business is a shameless imitation of Christmas, then you’re only half right; it’s the other way around.
Saturnalia was celebrated as early as the 1st century CE, over three hundred years before the first recorded Christmas celebration. While the exact starting year of Saturnalia celebrations isn’t known, they did occur during the reign of Emperor Augustus, who ruled the Roman Empire from 27 BCE to 14 CE. With Jesus’ recorded death being somewhere between 30-36 CE, Christmas’ roots in Saturnalia could therefore precede the birth of Christ Himself.
While cultural traditions are important to hold onto, they’ll inevitably change. As the Roman Empire gradually converted to Christianity, Saturnalia was replaced with a newer, trendier holiday for December 25th. Christians borrowed many elements of Christmas from the Romans (Israel was province of the Roman Empire at the time) but added their own, particularly in the form of Christ’s