FAQ: The Annual Holiday Debate--Is it Christian Christmas or Neo-Pagan Yule?

This 2011 holiday season, the annual debate was sparked by a recent news event.

Olivia Katrandjian, Mich. Residents Receive Letter Calling Christmas Lights 'Pagan', ABC News, December 17, 2011.

Michigan residents received a letter addressed to "Hi, neighbor," calling the electric strings of holidays lights "pagan."

This news article describes an anonymous letter which residents of Vintage Drive in Hudsonville, Michigan, found attached to their mailboxes on Wednesday night, December 14, 2011 explaining that Christmas lights, candles, etc, are not really Christian.

This is an old, old debate. It seems to revolve around which holiday can claim proprietorship over the month of December.

Over the years, I’ve addressed this debate in numerous ways. I’ve written cool analytical papers with footnotes and credible academic sources. At other times, I’ve passionately discussed different points of view. I’ve written essays about my personal feelings and perceptions involving archetypal images, poetry, inner symbolism, etc. No matter how many times I go over it, I always find myself going over it again later with other people. This time I’m going to explore the debate with a slightly whimsical attitude. No footnotes, no endnotes, no deep meaning. I will be putting sundry side comments and bits of illuminating information like this in boxes.

From what I can see, "Anonymous," "Anni" for short, complains about Christmas lights being like the pre-Christian bonfires, Saturnalia candles, and Yule logs. Anni doesn't like evergreen wreaths or Christmas trees either. Anni seems sure that Yeshua (Jesus) wouldn't approve of any electric Christmas lights because that does not honor "...the life of Yeshua the Christ..." or something like that.

Whoever wrote this, she or he is probably not a member of the Christian denomination, Jehovah Witness. While Jehovah Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas, the anonymous letter writer uses the name "Yeshua." Jehovah Witnesses use the name "Jesus," not "Yeshua." Nevertheless, Anni is espousing a certain point of view taken by certain Christians at certain points in history. Anni even refers to the letter as a "love note." Anni is probably referring to the concept of Christian love or agape. Anni is therefore attempting to lovingly correct her or his fellow Chrisitians.

Furthermore, the “anonymous letter writer” or Anni is someone who has only superficially studied ancient Roman paganism.

Anni mentions "giving Saturn's nativity birth gifts to the children." The Saturnlia (December 17-23) is NOT the birthday of Saturn/Saturnus.

Anni is mistaken on several historical points. During the Saturnalia, slaves were allowed great liberties in honor of Saturn's Golden Age, and the pater familius or male head of the household served his slaves meals at the family table. Men did not wear such formal attire as the toga. The Opalia was on December 19 which was sacred to Ops, an agricultural Goddess of abundance. There was much revelry, public feasting, drinking, some "decadent drunkenness," and certainly randy plays and professional dancers. Ancient Romans traditionally gave each other gifts of evergreens, candles, and sillaria. More about sillaria later. However, there is no indication that ancient Romans thought of December 25 as the nativity of Saturn.

Anni mentions "the Sungods rebirth." The Roman December date that was linked to the birth of a deity was December 25, which was the Roman Mithraic festival, the Natilus Sol Invicti, "Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun." This day was probably the birthday of Mithras, not Saturn. It might have been the birthday of Sols.

True, simply due to Saturnalia's proximity on the calendar to the Natilus Sol Invicti, "Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun," may have seemed to link the two holidays in the mind of the general Roman populace. (Both holidays were apparently linked to the December solstice.) That still doesn’t mean that they thought of the Saturnalia as the birthday of Saturn.

Candles and symbolism

Here's the simple answer to this debate: Symbols, like candles, can mean more than one thing. For example, there are four holidays celebrated around the same time in the 21st century USA: the Neo-Pagan/Wiccan Yule, the Jewish Hanukkah, the Christian Christmas, and the African American Kwanzaa are all holidays that use candles as a symbol. A. Hanukkah, B. Yule, C. Christmas, and D. Kwanzaa all take place during midwinter in the northern hemisphere.

Yet, they are all different holidays which celebrate different things.

A. Hanukkah, Hanukah, or Chanuka is a Jewish midwinter holiday in the northern hemisphere, known as the "Festival of Lights." It uses nine candles on the menorah, eight candles for eight nights, plus a one more candle, the shamash candle which is used to light the other candles. Hanukkah is an eight-day holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century bce. As it occurs on the 25th day of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar, it may fall anytime during late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. Thus in the in the Northern Hemisphere, Hanukkah is celebrated in wintertime, and in the Southern Hemisphere, it is celebrated in summertime. This year, Hanukkah starts at sunset on Tuesday, December 20, 2011, and ends at sunset on Wednesday, December 28, 2011.

B. Yule is one of the common names of the Neo-Pagan Midwinter Holiday. Yule is the name frequently used by Wiccans. Technically, it occurs on the date of the Winter Solstice, which is known as "the Shortest Day" or the "Birthday of the Sun." In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice occurs on the December Solstice, usually December 21 or 22. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice occurs on the June Solstice, usually June 20 or 21.

The date of the Winter Solstice marks the longest night in the year, after which the hours of daylight slowly start to lengthen.

Candles for all sorts are used by Wiccans at the celebrations of Yule. Not only do they adorn the altar and quarters, I've seen multicolored "Yule Candles," yellow/gold "Sun Candles," bright red "Fire Candles," "bayberry-for-year-long-luck-candles," "Saturnalia candles," "birthday candles on a sheet cake for the Baby Sun," "Solstice pledge candles," "candles set in cauldrons," etc. Often these candles are lit to symbolize that the Winter Solstice is when the daylight hours grow longer.

Frequently, Yule is observed on the weekend closest to the Solstice, or on the weekend in which a suitable venue could be rented. This year Yule in the Northern Hemisphere will technically be on Thursday, December 22, 2011. (For example, sundry Pagans I knew in Maryland celebrated Yule on 12/10/11, 12/17/11 and 12/18/11.) This year Yule in the Southern Hemisphere technically occured on Tuesday, June 21, 2011, which was the Winter Solstice on that portion of Gaia (Earth).

C. Christmas is a Christian midwinter holiday in the Northern Hemisphere, known "Christ's Mass" or as the religious observance of the "Birth of the Light of the World," "the Savior's Birth." It commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ at the time of either 1 ce or 4 ce. There are numerous types candles used at Christmas. In Christian theology, these could symbolize their deity, Jesus--as one of this titles is the "Light of the World." In the Western Christian Church, Christmas occurs on December 25 according to the Gregorian calendar. Some sects of Christianity celebrated this holiday as a twelve day observance which ran from December 25 to January 6.

Thus, in the in the Northern Hemisphere, Christmas is celebrated in wintertime, and in the Southern Hemisphere, it is celebrated in summertime. This year, Christmas occurs on Sunday, December 25, 2011.

D. Kwanzaa is a week-long holiday designed to honor people of African heritage and celebrate their culture. It embraces seven principles: Unity (Umoja), Self-determination (Kujichagulia), Collective Work and Responsibility (Ujima), Cooperative Economics (Ujamaa), Purpose (Nia), Creativity (Kuumba), Faith (Imani). A candle holder called a Kinara holds seven candles, one for each day of Kwanzaa. Three candles are green, symbolizing hope, growth, and lush green plants from Africa. Three candles are red, symbolizing the blood shed by the African American people. One candle is black symbolizing the black race. Dr. Maulana Karenga, an African American educator and leader, proposed this observance to fill the days that African American children were home from school between Christmas and New Years with fun and inclusive family activities. During Kwanzaa, a wooden unity cup is used to pour libations. Kwanzaa was first celebrated between December 1966 and January 1967. Originally designed as an African American celebration, the holiday of Kwanzaa is now observed in numerous places. Kwanzaa occurs during December 26 to January 1 on the Gregorian calendar. Thus, in the Northern Hemisphere, Kwanzaa is celebrated in the wintertime and in the Southern Hemisphere, it is celebrated in the summertime. This year, Kwanzaa begins on Monday, December 26, 2011, and ends Sunday, January 1, 2012.

No holiday has proprietorship over candles.

Where does anyone get the right to say this holiday or that holiday owns the symbolism of candles? And who thinks they have the right to dictate what the candles symbolize?

The simple answer is symbols can and do mean more than one thing to different people, and everyone should simply accept and respect that.

History and symbolism

There is a more complicated aspect of this debate, taking us down a rather long and winding path of historical information. Personally I love walking around in history. I can easily get engrossed in the trivia to the point of being annoying to others.

As symbologist Robert Langdon explained in the Da Vinci Code movie, it is the context of the symbol that provides the meaning of the symbol. Although Langdon is a fictional character, he's got a point, so let's review symbols in the context of history.

I will try to avoid being annoying here.

"Christmas" is the English name for the holiday. The name for the holiday in the Romance languages relates to the word "nativity," meaning of course the nativity of the Christ child. "Natale" (Italian) "Navidad" (Spanish) "Natal" (Portuguese) and Noel (French). The name of the holiday in German is "Weihnachten." The word for "Christ" in German is "Christus." In German one can't "Keep the Christus in Weihnachten," because "Christus" isn't part of the word "Weihnachten." Perhaps a German slogan should be "Halten Sie die Weihnachtenman in Weihnachten."

Interestingly, the "anonymous letter writer" in Hudsonville, Michigan, specfically complained about electric Christmas lights as being too "pagan."

The first electric light was made in 1800. Later, Thomas Edison created the very first strand of electric lights. During the Christmas season of 1880, these strands were strung around the outside of his Menlo Park Laboratory. In 1903 General Electric began selling pre-assembled kits of Christmas lights.

Thomas Edison wasn't Paleo-Pagan, Meso-Pagan, or Neo-Pagan. Thus, I'm pretty sure Thomas Edison wasn't trying to create some decorations to sell to the "pagans." Neither was General Electric. So historically speaking, Anni ("anonymous letter writer") is wrong. Christsians have a good historical argument for stringing up colored lights as part of their December Christian holiday celebrations. They've been doing it since the early 20th century.

Saturnalia candles

Don't the electric lights hark back to those pre-Christian Saturnalia candles? Well, yes, historically ancient Romans used candles in the Saturnalia celebration and in some other religious practices. There are some who claim that ancient Romans invented candles. Others, however, credit ancient Egyptians with the invention of candles.

According to "Piscinus," a practioner of Religio Romana, a story was told "...of how Hercules, while passing through Italy, taught some Greeks to abandon their blood sacrifices and instead offer candles to Saturn. It thus became a custom in ancient Rome to give out red candles to friends at Saturnalia..."

Orginally early Christians focused more on the time of the Resurrection of their Savior rather than on celebrating his birthday.

Jesus is THE reason for the CHRISTIAN holiday season.

That being said, the early Church Fathers of Rome could have picked December 25 to possibly usurp Natalis Sols Invicti ("Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun"). This Natalis Sols Invicti took place on December 25, and was apparently the birthday of Mithras or Sols or both, as celebrated in ancient Rome.

"The axial tilt is the reason for the season." Not just the winter season, but any season.

Interestingly, prior to the 4th century, the generally accepted date in the Eastern Christian Church was Jan. 6. Why didn't the Western Christian Church use Jan. 6?

I'm tempted to agree with Linus in the satire, "What is Christmas All About? December 22, 2010" as he explained:

DECEMBER 25TH IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE BIRTH OF MANY PAGAN GODS, INCLUDING MITHRA, HORUS, HERCULES, ZEUS, AND SOL INVICTUS. THE ROMAN FESTIVAL SATURNALIA WOULD ALSO END AROUND THIS TIME. CHRISTIANITY IMPORTED MANY OF THESE PAGAN MYTHS AND TRADITIONS INTO ITS OWN CUSTOMS AROUND 400 AD...

What symbols are pre-Christian Pagan?

Historically, the pre-Christian Romans definitely used candles at the Satunalia. It's true that candles are old, older than Christianity.

What else is unquestionably pre-Christian? There's the evergreens: the holly, ivy, mistletoe, pine, etc. We know the Druids revered the mistletoe as "All Heal." Mistletoe grew green while attached to the branches of a tree which foliage had turned brown in winter. Norse pagan nature worship probably involved evergreens, like holly, fir, hemlock, and pine.

"Piscinus," a practitioner of Religio Romana, also wrote: "One story tells how Saturn came to Rome by boat and was greeted by the arborigenes with a bough of pine. Pine is a symbol of purity in the Religio Romana..." The tree, bay laurel was sacred to the Grecco-Roman Sun God, Apollo. Admittedly, I haven't found a reference to it being used to honor Apollo at the Solstice.

There is also the pre-Christian custom of gift giving on the last day of the Roman Saturnalia. On December 23, the Sigillaria, people gave little inexpensive gifts to each other, such as evergreens, candles, or wax, or pottery,figurines.

In ancient Roman tradition, sigillaria were the name for the little figures made from wax or pottery. Sigillaria was also the name of the marketplace where those holiday sigillaria were sold as well as the day, December 23, when those inexpensive little gifts were given.

To be honest, nobody seems to know how old wassail, the hot spiced cider beverage, which was served at the Saxon Yule was. The term, "wassail," was from Old English, wes haeil from Old Norse, ves heill, meaning "be hale," "be healthy." It goes back to 6th century England, possibly older. The custom in Saxon England may have become entwined with Roman veneration in England of Pomonia, the Roman Goddess of orchards. In Saxon times, the greeting was was hail (be whole). By the 12th century this greeting was used as a toast of good cheer. The individual being toaste replied, drink hail, meaning "drink good health." Interestingly, the custom of wassailing was not abolished when Christianity first entered the British Isles.

Actually, wassail can be made with one or more other ingredients: wine, beer, apple schnaps, hard cider, or fresh cider. Some recipies call for seasoning with lemon juice or orange juice.

Does Christmas have Pagan DNA?

So does most of Christmas have Pagan DNA? Is Linus, in the Calamities of Nature satire, correct? "CHRISTIANITY IMPORTED MANY OF THESE PAGAN MYTHS AND TRADITIONS INTO ITS OWN CUSTOMS AROUND 400 AD..." Is that t-shirt, "For a religion so opposed to Paganism..." really true?

Well everything--custom, thought, word, deed, celebration--owes something to what went before it. "There is no thing new under the sun," and "Everything old is new again." Or something like that.

Yet, no thing ever sits still, either. The Neo-Pagan movement not only reclaimed stuff like evergreens (holly, mistletoe, ivy, fir, pine), Yule logs, inexpensive gift exchanges, and candles, we borrowed some stuff from Christian custom. Oh, yes, we did.

The Christmas tree

The Christian Jehovah Witnesses will cheerfully point out that that there are no Chrismas trees in the bible, adding that Christmas trees are a continuation of a "pre-Christian winter rite of tree worship by the pagan Germanic peoples."

It's pretty clear that the ancient Romans and others, including Germanic peoples, definitely used evergreen boughs of pine, holly, fir, and mistletoe, plus ivy vines during winter celebrations. However, there is no indication that the Romans or the Germanic peoples chopped down whole evergreen trees and brought them inside to decorate with treats or candles during the Saturnalia or the Natilus Sols Invicti. Indeed, there are few historical records of Christmas trees as we recognize them before 1600.

According to Robert Shea and Ruth Reichmann, "The first report of a decorated tree is from Strassburg in the Alsace. A traveler writes about the 1605 Christmas: 'Auff Weihnachten richtt man Dannenbäume zu Strassburg in den Stubben auf, daran henkett man Rossen aus vielfarbigem Papier geschnitten., Aepfel, Oblaten, Zischgold, Zucker ....' (Frank Gerhard, Es weihnachtet sehr, p. 80) Trees were decorated with roses made from colored paper, apples, wafers, yellow mica, sugar ...."

Reports of the British royal couple, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and the fashtionable custom of the Christmas tree became well-known in America in the late 1840s. For example in 1855, the New Orleans "Times-Picayune" in published an article about St. Paul's Episcopal Church and explaining Christmas tree custom. "This is a German custom, and one that has been of late years imported into this country, to the great delight of the young folks, who are its especial beneficiaries." Yet, Charles Follen, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is known to have set up the first documented Christmas tree in his home in the USA in the mid-1830s. A professor at Harvard College, Follen was a political exile from Germany.

The "Tannenbaum" or "der Tannenbaum" means "fir tree." The fir itself is often called "die Tanne." O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Wie treu sind deine Blatter! Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit, Nein, auch im Winter, wenn es schneit. O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Wie treu sind deine Blatter! Perhaps a German slogan should be "Halten Sie die Tanne in der Tannenbaum."

In the middle 19th century, a nostalgic interest in pre-Cromwell Christmas traditions swept Victorian England. There was a revival in carol singing after the publication of several Christmas song books: Davies Gilbert, Some Ancient Christmas Carols (1822), William B. Sandys, Selection of Christmas Carols (1833), and Thomas K. Hervey The Book of Christmas (1837). It is possible the popularity of this books inspired the title of the Christmas classic, A Christmas Carol (1843) by Charles Dickens.

An Illinois zoo creates Christmas ornaments from reindeer droppings. Staffers at Miller Park Zoo's gift shop in Bloomington, Illinois, make Christmas decorations out of droppings from the zoo's two reindeer, Ealu and Rika. The droppings are dried, then clear-coated and either painted or rolled in glitter. According to zoo spokeswoman Susie Ohley, these Christmas products each come with a label of authenticity.

"The Holly and the Ivy" is a traditional 19th century Christmas carol. If pre-Christian Pagans used holly and ivy in their mid-winter holidays, how did they end up as Christmas decorations? Evergreens were simply decorative and pleasent smelling. Christians used evergreen garlands (pine swags) draped over staircase railings, mantels, picture frames, and along ceilings. Ivy was orginially forbidden by Christian leaders, because it was associated with Bacchus, Roman God of the wine, winemaking, and the Bacchanalia. Yet, eventually ivy vines decked halls, homes, and churches. Why? It was pretty. It was green in the middle of winter, when lots of things looked dead. It grew all over the place, and--as a vine--it wrapped, draped, and wound about things nicely. The use of holly and ivy by Christians as a Christmas symbol dates back at least to the 15th century. For example, poles were garlanded with holly and ivy and set up at Christmas games in 15th century London.

In European astrological folklore, holly was associated with the planet, Saturn.

We have to remember stories and songs are always being created or recreated (updated) by people. If an anonymously created story or song was well liked enough, it was passed (retold, sung, etc) by lots of folks to other folks and then it becomes folklore.

Realizing that Christians spun their own pious stories and invented their own pious customs--like the Christmas tree--to celebrate their own midwinter holiday makes it rather ironic that some members of some Protestant Christian sects periodically denounce those customs, like the Christmas tree.

Cromwell, the Puritans, and banning Christmas

Partially, this practice of denouncing Christmas customs goes back to Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans. The Puritans were genuine Grinches "who hated Christmas the whole Christmas season." They preached mightilly against "the heathen traditions" of Christmas, which also had too many Catholic influences.

For those who are weak on British history, Cromwell firmly believed the Protestant Reformation (16th century) had not gone far enough and much of England wallowed in sin. Puritans disapproved of frivolous enjoyment. It seems Cromwell believed that everyone in the British Isles should lead their lives according to Puritan biblical interpretation. He governed England as Lord Protector from 1653 to 1658.

Oliver Cromwell is often described as fanatical in his religious reforms of Protestant England. He had a hatred for Catholics, and he is credited with this quote, "What is all our histories, but God showing himself, shaking and trampling on everything that he has not planted." Cromwell was such a cheery fellow.

John Foster said of Cromwell, "He lived a hypocrite and died a traitor." His political party overthrew the British monarchy. Cromwell was one of those who signed the execution order of King Charles I.

December 25 had long been a day of holy observance in England. Folks attended church on December 25. By the 17th century, Christmas had become a holiday of merriment and goodwill towards men. The Twelve Days of Christmas lasted December 26 to January 6. The Twelve Days of Christmas was a period of leisure, feasting and drinking, dancing and singing, as well as gaming, drunkenness, and, scandalously, sexual immorality. It was a holiday of "misrule" as well as well as merriment and kindness to others. This holiday frivolity was entirely un-Christian according to the Puritans.

Author Charles Dickens was someone who actively spearheaded the mid-Victorian revival of the holiday of Christmas through A Christmas Carol (1843). Dickens sought to envision the observance of Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, kindness, compassion, and generosity, as well as charity towards the poor. Dickens capitalized on the Victorian nostalgia for a time before the austerities of Cromwell. Dickens was keenly touched by the plight of the poor in the middle decades of the 19th century. A Christmas Carol is often described as indictment of 19th century industrial capitalism which exploited the poor. The main charactor of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge, reluctently allows his employee a day off from work on Christmas Day, considering Christmas "a poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December!" Clearly Scrooge did not believe Christmas day should be a holiday. In fact, much of capitalist Victorian England did not think Christmas should be a holiday. Like the Puritans before them, the capitalists believed the working class should not cease their labor in order to engage in Christmas frivolity.

One Christmas symbol which the Puritans didn't ban in England was the Christmas tree. However, that was not because the Purtitans approved the custom of the Christmas tree as a hallowed symbol of the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ. The custom of the Christmas tree had not yet arrived in 17th century Puritan England. Prince Albert married Queen Victoria in the 19th century and brought the German custom of decorating a Christmas tree to become part of the English Christmas traditions. It's likely the Puritans would have disliked Christmas trees as much as the Jehovah Witnesses do.

In the 21st century, many Christians are still worried about being too "heathenish." At times, Christians have complained about Christmas being "not biblical enough," "too secular," "too commercial," and "not in the Christian spirit." Supposedly, according to these Christmas celebration objectors, the observance doesn't focus enough on Christ. They repeat, "Keep the Christ in Christmas." What that "Keep the Christ in Christmas" involves seems to vary quite a lot from objector to objector.

Some Christians who view Christmas trees as "pagan" in origin point to Jeremiah 10:3-4: "For the customs of the peoples are false: a tree from the forest is cut down, and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan. People deck it with silver and gold they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move."

Still, many Neo-Pagans have championed the modern bauble bangled evergreen tree with electric lights and claimed it as a Neo-Pagan Yule Tree. Why not? I can remember newspaper articles in the 1970's in which Christian fundamentalists were interviewed, and would whine about the abundance of "idolatrous evergreen trees."

Some Neo-Pagans, including me, just said, "Fine. You don't want evergreen trees, we'll take them." Ah, but it's become even more complicated now. Some conservative Christians are claiming there is a "war on Christmas." According to them, atheists and secularists are trying to prevent them from decorating "Christmas trees."

I find it ironic that some Christians are now trying to save their local communities and schools from "secularized Christmas" by keeping the "Christ" in "Christmas trees."

In December 2011, Daniel Finnegan, a political conservative, asserted, "It's a Christmas tree. The decorated tree is a symbol of the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ." I started hearing about this concern in 2005. It seems that some conservatives think referring to the "Christmas tree" as a "holiday tree" indicates one is bent on undermining Christianity by propagating a form of secular socialist religion--or something or other like that.

In Colonial America, the celebration of Christmas was banned in the Massachusettes Colony by its Puritan leaders. Its celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681. The law declared that anyone caught "observing, by abstinence from labor, feasting or any other way any such days as Christmas day, shall pay for every such offense five shillings." This ban by the Puritans was revoked by English governor Edmund Andros. Yet, it was not until the mid 19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region.

Christmas was not observed as an American federal holiday until 1870. The U.S. Congress set in session on Dec. 25, 1789, the first Christmas under our current constitution and continued be in session on Christmas for most of the next 67 years.

Nevertheless, I do think that the Neo-Pagans did historically absorb the custom of whole decorated evegreen trees from a Christian custom.

I warned you the historical aspects of this debate were complicated.

Yule and Yuletide

Why do American Wiccans use the terms "Yule" and "Yuletide"? The word, Yule, is from the Old Norse Jul or Jol. It is definitely a pre-Christian term for mid-Winter Pagan holiday. One of the many names of the Norse God Odin is Jolnir. Thus, "Yule" is a modern Anglicized form of "Jul."

In modern Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, the contemporary name for Christmas holiday is "Jul" or "Jol." Do any of these slogans emphasize the Christmas spirit? Swedish: "Bevara Julen i Juletid!" Norwegian: "Holde Jul i Julen!" Icelandic: "Halda Jol í Jolin!"

I wish I knew someone selling little banners saying, "Keep the Yule in Yuletide."

What about the figure of the grandfatherly Santa dressed in fur and red? Who really is that man with the white beard?

In spite of the wonderful song by Larry Morris, "Santa Claus Is Pagan, Too," there is a good arguement that jolly old Santa Claus is borrowed from Christian customs. The name, Santa Claus, definitely has a Christian root.

The name of Santa Claus derives from Saint Nicholas of Myra. "Santa Claus" is an American mispronunciation of the Netherlands "Sinterklaas," which is shortened from "Sint Nikolaas" or "Sint Nicolaas."

A lot of European countries honored this saint as part of the December Christian holiday season. At some point, in some European countries, the good saint began giving little treats to children on his feast day (December 6) and Christmas, as somebody wandering around dressed in saintly bishop garb. This was part of the Christian custom of "guising."

Then, Protestantism sprung on the scene and saints were too Catholic. Martin Luther is credited with promoting the visiting Christkindl (Christ Child) figure for the December holiday season to de-emphasize "Sankt Nikolaus." In England, "Saint Nicholas" was replaced with "Old Father Christmas." Father Christmas was more of a figure that oversaw the community celebrations during the Twelve Days of Christmas rather than someone who gave presents to children. Once again, this had to do with the Christmas custom of guising.

Interestingly, the figure of the Christkindl (Christ Child), which was usually played by a young girl, didn't catch on in all of Germany. Some folks continued celebrating Nicholastag (Saint Nicholas's day). On the evening before the December 6, children placed their newly cleaned shoes in front of the door in the hope that Saint Nicholas might fill them with treats during the night as they slept. If the children behaved well, their shoes were filled with nuts, fruits, etc. Children who caused much mischief during the year received only a switch. In other parts of Germany, a grandfatherly figure came on the night before Christmas (Weihnacht, literally Weilh-night) to give little treats. He was known as the Weihnachtsmann (literally, the "Weihnachten man" aka the "Christmas Night Man"). The Weihnachtsmann is a direct descendant of the bearded Saint Nicholas. Other parts of Germany have the "Pelznickel" or "Belsnickel." More about Pelznickel and Belsnickel later.

In one of the weird ironies of history, the folk figure of the Christkindl got mixed up with Weihnachtsmann and Sankt Nikolaus, when it was Anglicized to Kris Kringle, causing Santa Claus in the USA to sometimes be called Kris Kringle. The USA 1947 movie "Miracle on 34th Street" promoted Santa Claus as Kris Kringle.

Meanwhile, we had the American Revolution in 1776 and the USA broke away from being part of the English colonies. While saints were too Catholic for Protestant England, Father Christmas was too British for Americans. It was at this same time Americans started drinking more coffee than tea. Tea was also too British for Americans. In the state of New York, residents looked back toward their German roots for Christmas customs.

On the other hand, Christmas hadn't been celebrated very widely in the New England states of the USA anyway, due to the Calvinist and Puritan roots of these states. The USA South was another matter. Some of the southern states had a stronger Catholic influence and other Christian sects (including Lutherans and Anglicans) were interested in celebrating Christmas. Christians residents of colonial Virginia and New York observed the celebration of Christmas without any restrictions.

Nevertheless, some German immigrants brought their mix of Protestant and Catholic Christmas customs to the USA. The Germans were not too German for newborn American patriotism and pride, because some German troops had assisted the American forces in the war against Britain. Therefore, these customs were viewed as quaintly "German" and quaintly "Dutch."

The USA 1947 movie "Miracle on 34th Street" and the 1970 TV Christmas special "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" promoted "Kris Kringle" as another name for "Santa Claus."

The name Belsnickel seems to have been used a lot in Maryland and Pennsylvania, as the name for the figure who brought little gifts and treats to children.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

In Germany, the Belsnickel/Pelznickel was either a servant (spirit) who traveled with good Sankt Nikolaus or sometimes represented Sankt Nikolaus himself. In the USA, Belsnickels traveled without anyone else dressed as the bishop clad in saintly robes. The bishop's garb might have been too Catholic.

Hence the name of Santa Claus came from "Sinterklaas" and his mode of dress comes from the "Belsnickel" who is described in the poem, "A Visit from St Nicholas."

If you haven't quite placed this poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas," it is more widely known under the title, "Twas the Night Before Christmas."

A "Visit from St. Nicholas" was first published in 1823. It later be came known as "Twas the Night Before Christmas."

Question from the back row: No--really--who's actually under that beard? Aren't there some pre-Christian roots to this holiday spirit?

Oh, admittedly, there are a whole bunch of of possible pre-Christian roots. I've tracked several of them down.

Some link Santa with the pre-Christian Saturn, the Roman God of the Saturnalia. The Saturnalia represented the golden age of Saturn. The popularity of the Roman holiday of Saturnalia did continue into the 3rd and 4th centuries.

It is possible that a bearded figure from the Saturnalia walked into early Christian holiday customs. However, I haven't found any record of it.

The Saturnalia celebration had the theme of temporary liberation from the strict social codes of Roman dress and behavior. Some Roman Imperial historical sources refer to the "Saturnalicius princeps," who oversaw the celebrations ruling as a master of ceremonies for the proceedings. Some sources said each household chose a Saturnalicius princeps. How this custom may have been observed would have varied widely, depending completely on the household.

The Roman Saturnalia was a large and important public holiday. We do know that a "Saturnalicius princeps" was elected to his position for the city celebration, but he was apparently not supposed to represent the God, Saturn.

In Rome, the image of Saturn was set on a couch (lectisternium), placed in front of the temple of Saturn. The woolen ropes that bound the feet statue of Saturn during the rest of the year were untied. The Saturnalia was also a public festival day (dies festus) which meant a public banquet was prepared. An image of the God Saturn may have been set up at the public banquet, as one of the guests.

The "Saturnalicius princeps" has often been compared to the medieval Lord of Misrule, who ruled during the Twelve Days of Christmas. In this way the "Saturnalicius princeps" was also similar to the later English figure of "Father Christmas."

Maybe the fellow under the white beard is Saturn. The Roman Saturn was depicted as an older God, with a beard and uncovered head, slightly balding. Santa has a white beard and, when he's not wearing his fur cap, you can often see his slightly balding head.

Others link Santa to the figure of medieval Lord of Misrule and then also link him back to the pre-Christian Saturnalicius princeps.

Some link Santa with the pre-Christian Odin/Woden, the Germanic/Norse/Scandinavian/Saxon God, who leads the wild hunt in the winter night sky. As said before, Germanic/Norse/Scandinavian/Saxons celebrated Jul or Jol in midwinter. Interestingly, one of Odin's many names is "Jolnir." In some stories, his wild ride in the winter nights was accompanied by a troop called "Jolareid." Just as the pre-Christian Odin was accompanided the "Jolareid," Sankt Nikolaus in the Alps was accompamied by a Krampus. (The Krampus is sort of a much more scary Belsnickle.) Sometimes Sankt Nikolaus in the Alps is accompanied by a whole pack of Krampusse.

Maybe the fellow under the white beard is Odin/Woden as the Jolnir. Maybe Odin has links with the Yule Goat aka the Julbock (Sweden), Julebukk (Norway), or Joulupuuki (Finland). There's a well known historical image of Father Christmas riding a goat.

Father Christmas, with a wassail bowl, riding a goat. The Jul goat?

There are some who link Santa Claus to the Holly King, a seasonal figure also known as Winter King. Holly King is represented by holly and other evergreens, and personifies the cold time of the year. Holly King is a form of the archetypal Green Man, the spirit of vegetation. The English Father Yule is sometimes crowned with holly.

The Holly King may be related to the Christmas figures of the Holly Boy and Ivy Girl which were part of the 17th century Christmas festivities.

In Scandinavia and Norway there are the Julenissen (Jul Nisse, aka Yule elf) This tradition became popular from the 1800s. The Julenissen wear grey clothes and red caps and come down from the mountains to leave gifts for good children, who set out bowl of cream porridge--rather like American children leavoing cookies for Santa Claus. Even though the Julenissen has a similar tradition to Saint Nicholas/Santa Claus, the tradition is also likely to have developed from the gift giving Julebukk (Yule goat).

In Iceland, the Jolasveinar (Yule Lads) hide out in remote mountain caves of Iceland most of the year and only appear during December, often from December 11 to 24. During the night, they leave gifts in the good children's shoes which have been placed on windowsills. Those children who have not been so good only get potatoes.

The poem, "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" describes the family's visitor as a "right jolly old elf." Elves were spirits from the forest or wilderness in Germanic folklore.

What conclusion can we draw?

The question I was answering was "Is it Christian Christmas or Neo-Pagan Yule?"

My answer is there are several different holidays in December. As much as I enjoy studying history for its own sake, history cannot be used to prove Christians should not hang up mistletoe, feast on ham, turkey or goose on December 25, etc. The Neo-Pagan celebration of Yule is one holiday. Christmas is another. Everyone should enjoy their holidays.

No holiday owns the month of December.

Kwanzaa is not going away.

Hanukkah is not going to go away.

The Neo-Pagan Yule (or one of the other names used by Neo-Pagans for the Winter Solstice) is not going to go away.

Christmas is not going to go away.

Unlike Anni, the annonymous letter writer in Hudsonville, Michigan, I would not presume to dictate to others how to celebrate their own holiday, nor dictate which holiday they must celebrate.

Keep your holiday in the holidays.

References

Calamities of Nature, "What is Christmas All About?" December 22, 2010, accessed December 20, 2011.

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Christmas, accessed December 18, 2011.

Christmas Holly, 2011, accessed December 21, 2011.

December Holidays

Mara Freeman, Holly - Tinne, July 1997.

History of Saturnalia, accessed December 20, 2011.

Michelle J. Hoppe, Christmas In Victorian England, 1998, accessed December 2011.

Laurie Junkins, The War On Christmas: Myth or Reality?, December 12, 2011, accessed December 26, 2011.

Barbara and David P. Mikkelson, Donner or Dunder, 1995-2011, accessed December 23, 2011.

The Mystic Voodoo, Will the Real Santa Claus Please Stand Up? 2007, accessed December 26, 2011.

Pam, Icelandic Jolasveinar (Yule Lads) Come Calling Soon. Make One for Your Tree!, Saturday November12, 2011, accessed December 12, 2011.

"Piscinus" Deck the Halls, December 16, 2011, accessed December 20, 2011.

Ed Quillen, Quillen: The losing war on Christmas, December 25, 2021.

St. Nicholas Center, "Saint Nicholas and the Origin of Santa Claus", 2002-2011, accessed December 24, 2011.

"For a religion so opposed to Paganism, you sure stole a lot of our stuff!" teeshirt.

Phyllis Siefker, Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas, Spanning 50,000 Years, 1997.

Youtube: Jethro Tull Rare Promo Vid for Solstice Bells, 1976, accessed December 22, 2011. An interesting video showing the Lord of Misrule presiding over a medieval celebration for the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Youtube: Akim & Teddy Vann - Santa Claus Is A Black Man, accessed December 24, 2011.

Youtube: Original Hanukkah Song Here is a video by "The Jennwag" celebrating Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah Song," accessed December 20, 2011.

Youtube: Santa Claus Is Pagan, Too, accessed December 20, 2011.

Zoo creates ornaments from reindeer droppings, Published Friday, November 28, 2008, Associated Press, Hearst Communications Inc. 2011, accessed December 26, 2011.

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