In this video, we take a look at origins of the world’s most popular holiday, from the first Christmas, to the raucous Medieval Christmases, to the development of the modern holiday and its major traditions, and more.
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The following music performed by Kevin Macleod Available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
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Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies
Deck The Halls B
Fairytale Waltz
Heavy Heart
Teller of The Tales
Silent night
Angels We Have Heard
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Jingle Bells Calm
What Child is This
Frost Waltz
Up on a Housetop
These songs provided by the YouTube audio library
Tribal War Council
No. 8 Requiem
The First Noel
Yonder Hill and Dale
Simple Gifts
Joy To The World
12 Days of Christmas
Harpsichord Fugue
Deck The Halls (Instrumental)
Jingle Bells
Oh Christmas Tree
Hark The Herald Angels Sing
Sources
https://www.academia.edu/1366945/Jul_disting_och_f%C3%B6rkyrklig_tider%C3%A4kning
https://www.jstor.org/stable/458120?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3Afc020cfa07ecc41479146a93b31acf77&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonarg%C3%B6ltr
https://www.jstor.org/stable/25220439?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3A12de143b5f4f25da20d44f29fab81a75&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
https://www.worldhistory.org/Saturnalia/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saturnalia-Roman-festival
https://web.archive.org/web/20111127215401/http://www.catholicireland.net/liturgysacraments/liturgical-year/936-the-origins-and-spirituality-of-the-epiphany
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2&version=NIV
https://www.bestofamishcountry.com/post/old-christmas
https://armenianchurch.org.uk/why-do-armenians-celebrate-christmas-on-january-6th/
https://web.archive.org/web/20081211044524/http://touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=16-10-012-v
https://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/chronography_of_354_12_depositions_martyrs.htm
https://www.academia.edu/18110500/Calculating_December_25_as_the_Birth_of_Jesus_in_Hippolytus_Canon_and_Chronicon_Vigiliae_Christianae_69_5_2015_542_63
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Advent
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/medieval-christmas
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christmas
https://books.google.com/books?id=daAXccS5DVgC&q=%22Council+of+Tours%22+Christmas&pg=PA26#v=onepage&q=%22Council%20of%20Tours%22%20Christmas&f=true
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1288/a-medieval-christmas/
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/A-Medieval-Christmas/
https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/blog/very-medieval-christmas-anne-lawrence-mathers
https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/how-did-medieval-londoners-celebrate-christmas
https://web.archive.org/web/20061121055727/http://www.timetravel-britain.com/05/Dec/ban.shtml
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Vindication_of_Christmas_Or_His_Twel.html?id=aubSMgEACAAJ
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_controversies
https://www.google.com/amp/s/ageofrevolutions.com/2015/12/22/christmas-a-revolutionary-holiday/amp/
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/dickens-and-construction-christmas
https://archive.org/details/christmasinameri0000rest/page/n10/mode/1up?view=theater
https://www.britannica.com/art/mumming-play
https://www.stnicholascenter.org/who-is-st-nicholas/stories-legends/classic-sources/michael-the-archimandrite
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Krampus
https://www.britannica.com/topic/A-Visit-from-St-Nicholas
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Santa-Claus
https://web.archive.org/web/20110718194304/https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/html/1807/4350/poem1485.html
https://archive.org/details/santaclausbiogra0000bowl/page/37/mode/2up
https://archive.org/details/worldencyclopedi00gerr/page/156/mode/2up
https://time.com/5736523/history-of-christmas-trees/
https://www.altogetherchristmas.com/traditions/reindeer.html
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.history.com/.amp/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas-trees
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree
https://www.britannica.com/plant/Christmas-tree
https://www.livescience.com/32901-why-we-kiss-under-mistletoe.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20181226184212/https://derdutchman.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/why-do-amish-celebrate-old-christmas/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule_goat
https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/christmas-traditions-worldwide
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41 Comments
Thank you so much for giving me a history of Christmas and Santa Claus. I didn’t know about some of those things that you spoke of. It was very interesting.
You sound like the YouTuber Masaman. Great video.
I never understood families that exchanged gifts and did all their celebrating on Christmas eve. Sure, as we grew up and learned that Santa was really just our parents, but that was no reason to just scrap the whole idea of opening presents on Christmas day and having the big dinner celebration later that day.
Oh wow…the comment section is partially insane…not a big surprise
Bad children go to Spain. Now I remebered)
Charles Dickens is quoted as to why he wrote "A Christmas Carol." He wished to expose greed in Capitalism and businesses exploiting child labor and the (at the time) modern workforce. It was a cautionary tale that has since gone on to lose all original meaning.
Can anyone explain history of Christmas in Africa? Why Santa claus never "come" here?😂
❤
Not me watching this on December 24th 2023 BC I'm bored
👏👏🎁🎊
Merry Christmas 2023, Everyone!
Danke!
Saint Nicholas
I have always told my kids that St. Nick was a spirit that lived within us, more than a real person. A charitable and loving spirit. I thought that it would cushion the truth when they heard it.
Has anyone checked to see when the census was taken at the time? They would coincide, wouldn't they? The Roman's are very good at recording their events.
I'm watching this video to clear up some facts as I write my Christmas Eve sermon. My intro is about a true Christian (by that I mean not Mormon or JW) who didn't celebrate it. He said it was a pagan holiday…
I live in a region of the US where there's an overwhelming preponderance of Religious BS ("Satan's Claws", "Witchmas Trees", "Hell -A-Vision", "Hell-I-Net", "Hell-A-Phone", "Hell-E-Potter", and so on.) These hills are infested with those "Anti-Everything" Fundamentalist Extremists!
THANK YOU FOR WORKING SO HARD ON THIS VERY WELL RESEARCHED WORK!
THE TRUTH WANTS TO BE KNOWN!
🙏🎉🎄💖
More importantly why do you think Christ was born in December? If at all?
This is great…I love when the simplicity of mankind reveals itself so easily…and I love how we choose to complicate the simplest things…the first note “winter is just a natural time to celebrate” is brilliant in its simplicity (I’m terrible at quotes, I process the sentiment moreso than the language, so sorry if that’s a misquote)…it’s funny how there’s a section in the video that says it’s either not Christian enough or it’s too Christian and then the comments express it…I’d think that Christians would be relieved to know that in its final form Christmas has nothing to do with anything anti-Christian and that Christians contributed everything to it and that non Christians would enjoy to know that in its development had little to do with the Christian faith although it was developed by Christians…it’s a celebration that represents being rewarded for being good people…through and through…and trying to find a reason to stand on not celebrating it is kind of sad and maybe should be concerning after watching this video…a good idea is a good idea no matter who comes up with it
Mightve watched it 2 times-
Wow need 2 know basis
Source?
Happy Holidays to All. God bless you❤
Great unbiased documentary. I thank you for taking the time to put together this very well researched video. I am a Messianic who doesn’t observe the holiday of Christmas because of the many unexplained traditions interwoven with the church-established birthday of our savior. Now, I don’t think it’s wrong to have a day to reflect on the birth of Jesus. It’s even more amazing how over two billion people in the world stop to celebrate the birth of a Jewish man who is the son of God and would save us from death. This video comes at a very convicting time for our whole family. Thank you.
I get so tired of people saying that Christmas was a pagan holiday that was Christianized by the Church. No kidding. Paganism is older than Christianity. If a holiday can be modified so that people can continue to enjoy the positive elements of it while dropping aspects that conflict with their beliefs or values, so what? Don't we do that all the time? How many pagans today give Christmas gifts? How many ACCEPT Christmas gifts? I know a Jewish man who sings "Silver Bells," every year at a Christmas party. Should I tell him to stop because it's not his holiday? That's insane. But people act like telling people that Jesus wasn't really born on Dec. 25 but the pagan god, Mithra, was, or that Yule predates Christmas is some kind of "gotcha!" for Christians or other people who just enjoy Christmas. Good grief. Everybody has some agenda & some people's goal seems to be to take the joy out of other people's lives!
Thank you for such a COMPREHENSIVE documentary. I'm impressed with all the RESEARCH you put into this & the variety of sources you used! You also presented a more nuanced view of the history of the holiday & how cultures influenced the development of Christmas, Santa, etc. into the traditions of today, including figures & celebrations that were combined, dropped entirely, or evolved into something different. You actually told me things I hadn't heard before, even though I've been binge watching vids on the history of Christmas traditions & Santa for the last couple of days. I'm putting your video into one of my Christmas playlists to share with others.
Most of the world is under the Gregorian calendar. Named after POPE GREGORY. So it should not surprise some, that if you unscramble Santa, you get SATAN. Santa Just so happens to don a RED SUIT.
Merry Christmas 🎄🥒
Winter is a very depressing time of year. It starts happily with Christmas but then goes downhill when the bills start coming in. 😂
Sooooo Santa is racist
Krampus should come for parents who give their kids socks and underclothes for Christmas. “I can't wait to try on my new socks and underwear.” said no kid ever.
I was born on Christmas day 86. Happy Christmas to all those celebrating in 2023 ❤
No no no – December 25th was the equivalent Jewish date of when the wise men finally caught up with Jesus and showered him with gifts.
Don't you know that the devil is a liar? And any date that they pick is an attempt to destroy the power of the Holy Spirit on the holy days
Modern day Christmas is where the elite take from the poor and give to the Rich. Very generous!!!
One could even see Jesus himself as the very first Christmas gift (the holiday name has His name in it, after all): a gift from God to mankind to help guide them along the path of Good and reject Sin
We need to be reminded of how all of the holidays are developed. I'm amazed at how unaware and confused I've happily been all these years😮 Before, I preferred the gifts or coal rule. But now, I can accept these histrionic recounts with adult understanding. I even believe Santa drank Coka Cola. It's all good.😮 No holds barred here. That's what's so great. Christmas seems made to fit all of us. Thanks for the vid Fire.😊❤😘FIRE. Merry Christmas🎅
Strange that Christmas Day is 12 days BEFORE the Epiphany conception 265 day gestation and birth on The Day of Atonement, and 12 days AFTER that is the Last Great Day – just like the "four and twenty elders" around the Throne of God in Revelations !
25th December was also never a part of the Roman festival of Saturnalia.
2+6+5=13
John the Baptist's gestation was also 265 days and he was born on the 10th Abib – the same day the Lamb of God came down the Mount of Olives on a donkey proclaimed in Greek as "Oh Saviour" ("Hosannah"), with the way being prepared for him with palm fronds – on the birthday of John the Baptist who prepared the way for Him, and the same day the Passover lamb is selected.
The 25th of December started Mary's follicular phase and Christ was conceived on the 13th day Epiphany.
12 disciples + Christ = 13
Don't let pagans steal and demonise Christmas Day without an in depth investigation first. I also made that same mistake on this journey,
Very decent job you did on this documentary! I quite enjoyed it.
And Christmas is about presents and buying stuff for people
Yeah it was a slow time for Europeans because Ya’ll didn’t grow anything! Stole all your food from The Americas. Potatoes tomatoes Corn Squash Beans and so much more. Thanks to the indigenous tribes that’s how Ya’ll are still thriving to this
Day!
Why on 25th December when hos birthday is late August ?