Why did humans make 'Christmas'?

readyletsgo

I have been think about why humans made Xmas. Not what it is today with religion and santa etc. But why, back when I guess pagans did it. Was it a reason to use up vegetables? Like Halloween? Things would have been so Bleeker back then, but sure they wouldn't know any difference.

When you look at all the lights on houses now, around city's around the world, was it a case of them lighting little fires around a 'village' to lift people's 'spirits' so to speak as it would be so cold and damp with not comforts at all.

Obviously all religions twisted and changed it over the last 2 millennia. But before all that. How did it actually come about back then?

King George VI

It was the birth of Santa 5000 years ago that started Christmas lol silly

blackwhite

Mid-winter festival - celebrating that the days were starting to get longer again.

Dr Crayfish

We created myths such as religion so that humans would all have shared beliefs to hang on to, this became essential for larger societies to stick together after the end of the hunter gatherer era.

To break the long monotony of winter, celebrating the beginning of longer days/shorter nights.

Kimbot

To celebrate the birth of the lord :pac:

colm_mcm

I think it was to do with the pudding surplus in the 1600s

Because it's fun

Candie

Candie wrote: »

To break the long monotony of winter, celebrating the beginning of longer days/shorter nights.

Great minds (or fools)! blackwhite said it first.

blackwhite wrote: »

Mid-winter festival - celebrating that the days were starting to get longer again.

Shenshen

Break the monotony of winter, give a bit of optimism that soon, it'll be lighter again and warmer, lots of lights to cheer people up during the long nights, and insane amounts of sweets as sugar will release endorphines - really it's all just combatting winter depressions, it's a way to ensure fewer cases of cabin fever when entire families are cooped up together inside for days on end.

Agricola

People have always wanted a reason for a blow out. They've just been calling it different names over the millennia.

readyletsgo

Candie wrote: »

To break the long monotony of winter, celebrating the beginning of longer days/shorter nights.

That's what I was thinking too. Broke up the long ass winter cold time. But when did it start? Who was it that came up with the idea? A celebration in the depths of winter in small pockets of people around the world. I find it fascinating.

Also, I don't mind Xmas, not its biggest fan, forced fun an all that. But I do love giving my niece's and nephews their presents. Their little faces.

And wasn't 'jesus' meant to be born in October (f that's even true)? That was moved to rid the pagan celebrations right? Mixed with Egyptian gods and other old religions right?

Fyi I'm not taking a bash at religions, just getting to the root of this massive world wide celebration is all 😊

nelly17

I think it was the Christian hijacking of Yule

JustShay

To abominate all the Turkeys! *bawk bawk!*

Fr_Dougal

It’s when baby Jesus fought the dinosaurs and killed them all so that we could have turkey. The dinosaurs were eating all the turkeys 🦃 and peeps were complaining.

Basically secured a second election for him, which was unheard of at the time.

Pyr0

readyletsgo wrote: »

And wasn't 'jesus' meant to be born in October (f that's even true)? That was moved to rid the pagan celebrations right? Mixed with Egyptian gods and other old religions right?

Basically yeah! The Church were looking for a less bloody way to convert the large populations of Pagans around Europe, so they used a lot of their holidays and imagery to make the conversion easier and more "to their level"

readyletsgo

readyletsgo wrote: »

That's what I was thinking too. Broke up the long ass winter cold time. But when did it start? Who was it that came up with the idea? A celebration in the depths of winter in small pockets of people around the world. I find it fascinating.

Also, I don't mind Xmas, not its biggest fan, forced fun an all that. But I do love giving my niece's and nephews their presents. Their little faces.

And wasn't 'jesus' meant to be born in October (f that's even true)? That was moved to rid the pagan celebrations right? Mixed with Egyptian gods and other old religions right?

Fyi I'm not taking a bash at religions, just getting to the root of this massive world wide celebration is all ��

Dates back to neolithic period about 10.5k years ago. People would hunker down for the first part of winter with fresh food preserved as well as possible but by mid-winter supplies would be low and low levels (at least) of starvation set in.

Animals would be slaughtered around this time because when the hardest part of winter set it they would starve and die anyway. So to use the meat they couldn't preserve, a celebration would be held and food consumed while it was still available as the early part of the year would inevitably bring some degree of famine.

silverharp

Apparently the Japanese are still trying to work it out

The Backwards Man

It was to celebrate the end of the last ice age.

John_Rambo

Solstice

D3V!L

An excuse for a good session

Grayson

The Backwards Man wrote: »

It was to celebrate the end of the last ice age.

Wasn't that the same day the indians attacked galway

The Backwards Man

Grayson wrote: »

Wasn't that the same day the indians attacked galway

Dunno, it was in them caves in France written as two antelopes, a spear and a funny looking cock. Roughly translated;

December 25 - Ice Age ended.

JustShay

An excuse to buy RC drones, helicopters and stuff we only use on Christmas day and never use again!

blackwhite

readyletsgo wrote: »

That's what I was thinking too. Broke up the long ass winter cold time. But when did it start? Who was it that came up with the idea? A celebration in the depths of winter in small pockets of people around the world. I find it fascinating.

Also, I don't mind Xmas, not its biggest fan, forced fun an all that. But I do love giving my niece's and nephews their presents. Their little faces.

And wasn't 'jesus' meant to be born in October (f that's even true)? That was moved to rid the pagan celebrations right? Mixed with Egyptian gods and other old religions right?

Fyi I'm not taking a bash at religions, just getting to the root of this massive world wide celebration is all ��

People were incredibly dependent on the seasons to survive. In a time where everyone lived on food that was grown/reared within their own communities, they needed to carefully track the seasons to ensure that food and farming was planned to match the seasonal needs. In subsistence societies one bad harvest could mean a village being wiped out.

Winter was a time of hardship, with no crops growing and any livestock needing to be fed from the same stores as people fed themselves from. Mid-winter was usually the time that animals were culled for meat, meaning there was fresh meat (an untold luxury for most) available, and beer/spirits brewed from the autumn harvest was usually fermented around the same time also.
A long winter could easily mean death from starvation for many, as supplies wouldn't be sufficient, so signs of the days getting longer was a source of celebration.


25th December was the traditional Roman celebration of mid-winter. The date was simply usurped as a convenient choice to celebrate the Christmas feast.

21Savage

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

It’s when baby Jesus fought the dinosaurs and killed them all so that we could have turkey. The dinosaurs were eating all the turkeys �� and peeps were complaining.

Basically secured a second election for him, which was unheard of at the time.

about as funny as cancer

topper75

silverharp wrote: »

Apparently the Japanese are still trying to work it out

Well done Japs - no extradition to the pole. I won't be helping the bastard down. He forgot my Lego set when I was 9.

JustShay

D3V!L wrote: »

An excuse for a good session

a good Zumba Session?

Crea

Christmas was invented to Christianise the pagan mid winter festivals, most especially Saturnalia and Yule.

server down

Crea wrote: »

Christmas was invented to Christianise the pagan mid winter festivals, most especially Saturnalia and Yule.

Of course the OP was asking why did pre Christians have a mid winter feast. So that answer tells us nothing.

Anyway interestingly enough mid winter wasn’t a major Celtic festival. The major Celtic festivals were all mid between the solstices and equinoxes

_Brian

Nothing more than a celebration held at the darkest time of the year. It’s to carry people along during these dark times, something to work towards. Shortly after the days are noticeably brighter and longer and so humans notice this and the mood lifts.

Piggy backed by Christianity.