In the early 17^th century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday.

The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.

After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America’s new constitution. Christmas wasn’t declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.

Washington Irving reinvents Christmas

It wasn’t until the 19 century that Americans began to embrace Christmas. Americans re - invented Christmas, and changed it from a raucous carnival holiday into a family - centered day of peace and nostalgia. But what about the 1800s peaked American interest in the holiday?

The early 19^th century was a period of class conflict and turmoil. During this time, unemployment was high and gang rioting by the disenchanted classes often occurred during the Christmas season. In 1828, the New York city council instituted the city’s first police force in response to a Christmas riot. This catalyzed certain members of the upper classes to begin to change the way Christmas was celebrated in America.

In 1819, best - selling author Washington Irving wrote The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent., a series of stories about the celebration of Christmas in an English manor house. The sketches feature a squire who invited the peasants into his home for the holiday. In contrast to the problems faced in American society, the two groups mingled effortlessly. In Irving’s mind, Christmas should be a peaceful, warm-hearted holiday bringing groups together across lines of wealth or social status.

Irving’s fictitious celebrants enjoyed “ancient customs”, including the crowning of a Lord of Misrule. Irving’s book, however, was not based on any holiday celebration he had attended — in fact, many historians say that Irving’s account actually “invented” tradition by implying that it described the true customs of the season.

Before the Civil War

The North and South were divided on the issue of Christmas, as well as on the question of slavery. Many Northerners saw sin in the celebration of Christmas; to these people the celebration of Thanksgiving was more appropriate. But in the South, Christmas was an important part of the social season. Not surprisingly, the first three states to make Christmas a legal holiday were in the South: Alabama in 1836, Louisiana and Arkansas in 1838.

In the years after the Civil War, Christmas traditions spread across the country. Children’s books played an important role in spreading the customs of celebrating Christmas, especially the tradition of trimmed trees and gifts delivered by Santa Claus. Sunday school classes encouraged the celebration of Christmas. Women’s magazines were also very important in suggesting ways to decorate for the holidays, as well as how to make these decorations.

By the last quarter of the nineteenth century, America eagerly decorated trees, caroled, baked, and shopped for the Christmas season. Since that time, materialism, media, advertising, and mass marketing has made Christmas what it is today. The traditions that we enjoy at Christmas today were invented by blending together customs from many different countries into what is considered by many to be our national holiday.

An overview:

• 1600’s: The Puritans made it illegal to mention St. Nicolas’ name. People were not allowed to exchange gifts, light a candle, or sing Christmas carols.
• 17th century: Dutch immigrants brought with them the legend of Sinter Klaas.
• 1773: Santa first appeared in the media as St. A Claus.
• 1804: The New York Historical Society was founded with St. Nicolas as its patron saint. Its members engaged in the Dutch practice of gift-giving at Christmas.
• 1809: Washington Irving, writing under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, included Saint Nicolas in his book “A History of New York.” Nicolas is described as riding into town on a horse.
• 1812: Irving, revised his book to include Nicolas riding over the trees in a wagon.
• 1821: William Gilley printed a poem about “Santeclaus” who was dressed in fur and drove a sleigh drawn by a single reindeer.
• 1822: Dentist Clement Clarke Moore is believed by many to have written a poem “An Account of a Visit from Saint Nicolas,” which became better known as “The Night before Christmas.” Santa is portrayed as an elf with a miniature sleigh equipped with eight reindeer which are named in the poem as Blitzem, Comet, Cupid, Dancer, Dasher, Donder, Prancer, and Vixen. Others attribute the poem to a contemporary, Henry Livingston, Jr. Two have since been renamed Donner and Blitzen.
• 1841: J.W. Parkinson, a Philadelphia merchant, hired a man to dress up in a “Criscringle” outfit and climb the chimney of his store.
• 1863: Illustrator Thomas Nast created images of Santa for the Christmas editions of Harper’s Magazine. These continued through the 1890’s.
• 1860s: President Abraham Lincoln asked Nast to create a drawing of Santa with some Union soldiers. This image of Santa supporting the enemy had a demoralizing influence on the Confederate army - an early example of psychological warfare.
• 1897: Francis P Church, Editor of the New York Sun, wrote an editorial in response to a letter from an eight year-old girl, Virginia O’Hanlon. She had written the paper asking whether there really was a Santa Claus. It has become known as the “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” letter.
• 1920’s: The image of Santa had been standardized to portray a bearded, over-weight, jolly man dressed in a red suit with white trim.
• 1931: Haddon Sundblom, illustrator for The Coca-Cola ™ company drew a series of Santa images in their Christmas advertisements until 1964. The company holds the trademark for the Coca-Cola Santa design. Christmas ads including Santa continue to the present day.
• 1939 Copywriter Robert L. May of the Montgomery Ward Company created a poem about Rudolph, the ninth reindeer. May had been “often taunted as a child for being shy, small and slight.” He created an ostracized reindeer with a shiny red nose who became a hero one foggy Christmas eve. Santa was part-way through deliveries when the visibility started to degenerate. Santa added Rudolph to his team of reindeer to help illuminate the path. A copy of the poem was given free to Montgomery Ward customers.
• 1949: Johnny Marks wrote the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Rudolph was relocated to the North Pole where he was initially rejected by the other reindeer who wouldn’t let him play in their reindeer games because of his strange looking nose. The song was recorded by Gene Autry and became his all-time best seller. Next to “White Christmas” it is the most popular song of all time.
• 1993: An urban folk tale began to circulate about a Japanese department store displaying a life-sized Santa Claus being crucified on a cross. It never happened.
• 1997: Artist Robert Cenedella drew a painting of a crucified Santa Claus. It was displayed in the window of the New York’s Art Students League and received intense criticism from some religious groups. His drawing was a protest. He attempted to show how Santa Claus had replaced Jesus Christ as the most important personality at Christmas time.

The Worlds First Christmas Card

In 1843 John Horsley was commissioned to create a Christmas card for Sir Henry Cole (the first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum) because he did not have the time to write all of his friends as he had done in previous years.

The cards were created on lithographs and hand-colored. The first card was supposed to have depicted poor people being fed and clothed but instead Horsley created a family party in progress showing a child sipping wine. The original intent was to remind Sir Henry’s friends of the great needs for the persons in poverty during this season. Instead it caused an uproar for “fostering the moral corruption of children”.

It is said that Sir Henry did not send out any cards following that year but Christmas cards were already on their way. The first year 1000 cards went on sale in London for one shilling each.

It didn’t take long for Christmas cards to evolve from religious in nature to patriotic themes. Cards have been made with luxurious ribbons, silks, satins, and fringe to shapes, pop ups, metal, puzzles, and even ones that make noise. Christmas cards have been used to pay tribute to gardens and cultures, the old and the new.

As we make our cards, it really is amazing to think of the first cards and their significance to our history. And to think it was all just to save a little time.

Christmas Ornaments

In A.D. 336, an early Roman calendar first mentions December 25 as the date of Jesus’ birth. This date was likely influenced by the year-end pagan festivals to celebrate the harvest. Celebrations included specially prepared meals, decorating of homes, gift-giving and singing. Gradually, pagan traditions became a part of the Christian celebrations. Most Christmas traditions such as the Christmas tree and ornaments came from central Europe. The earliest German Christmas trees were decorated with food; apples, onions, pears, nuts, candies, and fruits were placed on a tree.

In the 1800s, glass ornaments were first made in the Lauscha, Germany. This cottage industry involved the entire family. Generally, men did the glassblowing, women did the silvering and the children helped to paint and finish them. These beautiful new glass ornaments began to replace edible decorations.

In Victorian times, Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, a German, brought the tradition from Germany to his new home in England. Soon all of England was in on it.

In the 1840s, Europeans immigrating to North America brought with them their Christmas traditions. Prior to that time, Christmas was not widely celebrated in North America. As society became more prosperous, ornaments became larger in size and the colors become more vibrant to reflect the new wealth.

F.W. Woolworth was the first North American retailer to sell glass ornaments. The story goes that he was not too sure about this new product line. However, Woolworth changed his mind by 1890 when he was selling $25 million worth of ornaments in his five-and-dime stores.

Until 1925, virtually all hand blown glass ornaments were manufactured in Lauscha, Germany. By 1935, more then 250 million Christmas ornaments were being imported to the United States. After WWII, the Lauscha area became a part of East Germany. Many glassblowers fled to West Germany and the industry declined. Around this time, Japan and Czechoslovakia began producing ornaments for the North American market

In the 1960’s, glass ornaments went out of fashion when the aluminum tree adorned with ornaments of similar shape and color became the rage. Many traditional ornaments were thrown away during this period.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

The First Christmas. For Christians, Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ. But no one knows exactly when that was, and the four Christian gospels offer sometimes contradictory hints. It is believed that the early church first celebrated Christmas in the year 98. In 137 AD, the bishop of Rome ordered a solemn feast to mark the birth. Not until 350 AD did Pope Julius I fix the date of Christmas Day on Dec. 25.

In a Word. The word Christmas comes from the Old English Cristes Maesse, or Mass of Christ. It is sometimes spelled as Cristes-messe in old manuscripts. In Dutch, Christmas is Kerst-misse. The Latin term is Dies Natalis, which became Noel in French and Il Natale in Italian.

Eastern Outlook. Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, in accordance with the Julian calendar that is about two weeks behind the common Gregorian calendar. In Eastern churches, Christmas is a celebration of the adoration of the Magi and the baptism of Christ, as well as the Nativity. Many Western Christians mark the Epiphany on Jan. 6 – once the date of the Eastern Christmas – also marking Christ’s baptism in the River Jordan.

Years Without a Christmas. The Protestant Reformation was partly a protest against the lavish rituals of the established church. The Pilgrims did not celebrate Christmas after arriving in America in 1620. When the Puritans took over England in 1645, their leader, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas celebrations and ordered that shops remain open on Christmas Day. From 1659 to 1681, Christmas celebrations also were prohibited in Boston. Violators could be fined five shillings.

A Visit with St. Nicholas. Not much is known about St. Nicholas, who is generally listed as a Bishop of Myra, in what now is modern Turkey, during the 4th Century. But stories of his generosity led to a tradition of gift-giving on his feast day, Dec. 6. Such celebrations were suppressed during the Protestant Reformation – except in the Netherlands. There, St. Nicholas became known as Sinterklass. Meanwhile, in Germany, Martin Luther made the Christ child – Christkindl — the bearer of gifts. Sinterklass became Santa Claus and Christkindl became Kris Kringle – a name given today to Santa Claus.

America’s Santa Claus. Dutch settlers brought their Christmas traditions to the New World, including the legends of St. Nicholas, or Sinterklass. Nordic tales of a magician who have presents to good children and punished bad children became part of the American Santa Claus. Clement Clark Moore’s poem A Visit from St. Nicholas helped popularize the Santa Claus story, and cartoonist Thomas Nast drew the first portrait of a modern Santa for Harper’s Weekly magazine in 1862.

About that Partridge. Although the popular carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas” may date back to medieval times, it is believed to have taken on new significance during the Protestant Reformation. Catholics used the symbolism in the lyrics to instruct children at a time when such lessons were banned. For example, the two turtle doves refer to the Old and New testaments of Christian scripture. The 12 days begin on Christmas and culminate with the Epiphany on Jan. 6.

A Hallmark Moment. The first Christmas card was sent in 1843, but greet cards have been exchanged for six centuries. Handmade cards were exchanged in Europe in the 1400s, including cards celebrating New Years and Valentines Day. The earliest known Christmas card dates to 1843, when Englishman Sir Henry Cole commissioned artist John Calcott Horsley to design a card for the holiday. Apparently, Sir Henry was looking for an alternative to the tedious task of writing Christmas greetings by hand. Today, Americans send more than 2 billion Christmas cards every year.

Real or Fake? In legend, Christmas trees date back to a 7th Century English monk who went to Germany on a mission to convert the local population to Christianity. He reportedly used the triangular shape of a fir tree to teach the concept of the Trinity. By the 12th Century, fir trees were being hung upside down as a symbol of Christianity. The first decorated tree was displayed in Riga, Latvia in 1510. Martin Luther is said to have illuminated a Christmas tree with candles. German settlers displayed Christmas trees in America in the 1700s, but only in the latter half of the 19th Century did decorated trees become established as part of the holiday celebration.

Logging Off. Although it has become less popular than a Christmas tree as a symbol of the season, the Yule log has been part of the Christmas celebration since the 4th Century. Pope Julius I, who set the date of Christmas on Dec. 25, near the winter solstice, “borrowed” the Yule log from pre-Christian Scandanavians. In Scandanavia, a burning log represented the Sun during the dark northern winters. Julius made the log representative of the light of the Saviour. Traditionally, in England, the log was supposed to burn for the 12 days from Christmas to the Epiphany. For many people, the burning of a Yule log still marks the start of the Christmas celebration.

The tradition of a placing a decorated tree in the White House began in 1889 on Christmas morning during the Presidency of Benjamin Harrison. The President’s grandchildren, young Benjamin and Mary McKee, led the Harrison household into the second floor Oval Room to take a look at the first White House Christmas tree, which was lit with candles. Filled stockings hung from the mantel, and presents, candy and nuts were distributed to family and staff. President Harrison gave turkeys and gloves to his employees, and he received a silver-dollar-shaped picture holder from his daughter, Mame Harrison McKee.

What began as a family gathering has become a national tradition. Over the years, the White House Christmas tree has reflected both the times and the tastes of the First Family. First Lady Frances Cleveland created a “technology savvy” tree in 1895 when she hung electric lights on the White House tree. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of Christmas Tree themes when she decorated the 1961 Christmas tree in toy trimmings from the Nutcracker Suite ballet by Tchaikovsky.

Today, the First Lady selects a theme and taps the talents of American artisans, who give life to the idea. Laura Bush chose “Home for the Holidays” for the 2001 theme, which features replicas of the family homes of the nation’s Presidents.

The History of Christmas dates back over 4000 years, and is associated with the early Mesopotamians. Christmas is the most popular holiday of the year in the whole world. About 400 millions people celebrates christmas holiday each year in winter. Many of Christmas traditions and ceremonial aspects were celebrated long time before Christ was born. The history of Christmas is, therefore, way back in centuries.

The Mesopotamians had 12 days of New Year’s festival called the Zagmuk, which was celebrated to help their chief god Marduk in his battle against the monsters of chaos. Each year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monster of chaos. However, the real king was spared and a mock king was slain.

The Babylonians and Persians celebrated the similar festival called the Sacaea. Part of the celebration included the exchanging of places, the slaves became masters and masters slaved about as servants.

Much in the same street as Zagmuk and Sacaea, the ancient Greeks had a festival to help their god Kronos in his battle against Zeus and his Titans.

Early Europeans believed in evil spirits, witches, ghosts and trolls. As the Winter Solstice approached, with its long cold nights and short days, many people feared the sun would not return. Special rituals and celebrations were held to welcome back the sun.

In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.

The Romans were celebrating their god Saturn. The festival was called Saturnia, which began in the middle of December and ended January 1st. The festival was featured boisterous shouts “Jo Saturnalia!”, elaborate masquerades, exchanging gifts, holding special feasts, decking up halls with laurel wreaths and putting up candles on evergreens. This Saturnalia festival has a close similarity with today’s Christmas celebrations and hence the history of Christmas is heavily linked to this ancient Saturnalia.

The Romans decked their halls with garlands of laurel and green trees lit with candles. Again the masters and slaves would exchange places “Jo Saturnalia!” was a fun and festive time for the Romans, but the Christians though it an abomination to honor the pagan god. The early Christians wanted to keep the birthday of their Christ child a solemn and religious holiday not one of cheer and merriment as was the pagan Saturnalia.

But as Christianity spread they were alarmed by the continuing celebration of pagan customs and Saturnalia among their converts. At first the Church forbid this kind of celebration. But it was to no avail. Eventually it was decided that the celebration would be tamed and made into a celebration fit for the Christian Son of God.

Now ever wondered why Christmas is celebrated on December 25 ? Is it the day when Jesus Christ was born ? Well, nobody knows for sure exactly when Christ was born. There had been a lot of dispute over fixing December 25st as Christmas. In the 2nd century A.D, Hippolytus claimed this day as Christ’s birthday. Then January 6 was declared by the Eastern Church as the day of His birth. Finally, in 350 A.D, the Bishop of Rome, Pope Julius I, fixed December 25 as the official day for Christmas. This date, the day of the winter solstice, was wisely chosen with the intention to outweigh the popular pagan Roman holiday of Saturnalia.

Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, church celebrations, and the display of various decorations—including the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes and holly. Santa Claus, also referred to as Father Christmas, is a popular mythological figure often associated with bringing gifts at Christmas. Santa is generally believed to be the result of a syncretization between St. Nicholas of Myra and elements from pagan Nordic and Christian mythology, and his modern appearance is believed to have originated in 19th century media.

Christmas is celebrated throughout the Christian population, but is also celebrated by many non-Christians as a secular, cultural festival. The holiday is widely celebrated around the world.