The History of Christmas and how the Traditions came to be
Christmas is filled with all sorts of fun festivities, as well as…controversy!
What is Christmas, why do we celebrate it on December 25th, why do the celebrations look like they do, and how did Saint Nicholas go from punching Arius and busting serial killers to becoming Santa Claus in a soda ad?
Why do we celebrate on December 25th?
Many people claim that Christmas was instituted on December 25th to combat a pagan holiday. The two pagan holidays cited are the winter solstice and the celebration of the pagan sun god, Sol Invictus. There are two issues with this. First, celebrations of the solstice had no influence on the Christian decision to celebrate Christmas on the 25th, as will be shown shortly. Second, the earliest writings indicating Christmas was celebrated on December 25th are dated at 204AD in letters written from Hippolytus of Rome, which is before the pagan celebration of Sol Invictus had been established by emperor Aurelian sometime between 270-275AD.1.So, we know Christmas was established before that pagan holiday.
If we look to John the Baptist, we can learn why the early Christians believed December 25th was a suitable day to celebrate Christmas, the birth of Our Lord.
The conception of Saint John the Baptist was told to his father Zechariah in a vision. The date of that vision can be determined through Scripture. On that day, “according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.” (Luke 1:9). This day was believed to be Yam Kippur, the day of atonement, the one day each year that the priest would enter the temple to burn incense, which was determined by casting lots. The early Christians believed the date of Yam Kippur was in late September. This helps us determine the birth of Jesus because during annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Angel Gabriel noted “And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren” (Luke 1:36). So, we know that John the Baptist was conceived on Yam Kippur, in late September, placing his birthdate in late June, and Jesus was conceived six months after John the Baptist, placing the birth of Jesus in late December.
But then why of all days in late December, the 25th? We have to look at the Jewish calendar. Historically, the Jews believed March 25th was the day of Creation, the day God said “Let there be light.” Early Christians believed Christ died on this day, March 25th, and His death brought about the New Creation. They also believed that Jesus, God made Man Who would create the new creation, was conceived on March 25th.2 Combining the cultural and religious belief of the Jews regarding March 25th with the fact that the Scriptures greatly attest to Jesus’ conception being in late March, it is natural to assert March 25th as the day of conception and December 25th for Christ’s birth.
Going back to the winter solstice, we see God’s providence. Ancients believed June 24th to be the longest day of the year and December 24th to be the shortest day of the year. Saint Meade in the 700s reflected on the meaning of these events, thought about John 3:29c-30 – “this joy of mine is now full – He must increase but I must decrease”, so now the daylight does the very same by decreasing on the birthday of John and then increasing on the birthday of Jesus. Divine providence is how it ended up on the winter solstice.3
Some people may still object that we do not have absolute certainty that Jesus was born on December 25th, an assertion that is correct. However, the history shows we did not baptize a pagan holiday and the Scriptures and Tradition indicate this is at the very least, relatively close. Regardless, it is a very good day to celebrate the birth of Our Lord.
Many people like to use these misconceptions of the date of Christmas to write it all off as baptizing a pagan holiday, and thus writing off Christianity as a whole, however these things couldn’t be farther from the truth. The date of Christmas had nothing to do with pagan holidays. If anything, those pagan holidays were an attempt to pull people away from Christmas celebrations.
When is the season of Christmas?
Unpopular opinion, the season of Christmas doesn’t start after Halloween or Thanksgiving, it starts on December 25th and it ends on the Sunday after Epiphany which is on January 6th! But we can glorify the Lord early by getting our decorations up early.
The liturgical season of Christmas begins on December 25th and starts with the eight-day celebration of the Octave, which starts on Christmas and concludes on January 1st as we celebrate Mary, The Holy Mother of God, a title given to her in 431AD in the Council of Ephesus. For your information, the title was given to Mary to quell a heresy by signifying that Jesus was fully God and fully man while in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
We see the total 12 days of Christmas, which are more than just 12 days of shopping, that end the 12th day after Christmas, when we celebrate Epiphany, which is when God revealed Himself to man when the three Magi, wise men, kings arrived.4 The Season of Christmas officially ends when we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, which is the Sunday following Epiphany.
What does the name of Christmas mean?
It means Christ’s Mass because we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas day. There are other ways to refer to Christmas. Some people like to shorten the phrase to Xmas, which is actually an abbreviation using the Greek form of Christ which starts with an X. And the next popular trend is to substitute Happy Holidays, and the word holiday means “holy days” and has its roots in the Catholic Calendar.5 I love that there are so many ways to say Merry Christmas while keeping Christ in Christmas.
Who is Saint Nicholas?
St. Nicholas was born towards the end of the 3rd century in Turkey. Nicholas was orphaned at a young age and decided to use his inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the poor. He was ordained priest by his uncle before being elected Bishop.6. At one point, Nicholas was exiled and imprisoned under the reign of emperor Diocletian. He was freed and then attended the Council of Nicea in 325.7 Tradition holds that Saint Nicholas was very passionate when speaking with the heretic Arius, causing Nichols to punch Arius in the face. The humble Bishop bitterly regretted having let his emotions take charge of him, though many of us sinners understand why he was so inspired in the first place.
There are many stories about Saint Nicholas that serve as example of his love for the needy.
There was a father with three daughters. They were poor, resulting in the daughters to not have a dowry placing them at risk of remaining unwed. Due to this, the father planned to sell them into prostitution. Upon hearing this, Saint Nicholas went out in the night with a bag of gold, which he threw through the open window and ran off. After learning the gold was used for a dowry, the Saint did the same for the second daughter. He was in the middle of his effort for the third daughter when the father, who was secretly watching, overtook the Saint and kissed his feet thanking him for saving his family from such great sin.8
There is also a story about how Saint Nicholas found and confronted a murderer. Three children were working in a field late at night. They saw a house that was a butcher shop. They asked if they could stay there the night and the butcher welcomed them in. He then killed them and hid them in salt tubs, something he had to preserve meats. Seven years later, Saint Nicholas visited the butcher. The butcher recognized him as the Bishop and asked how he could help him. Saint Nicholas pointed to the salt tubs and said he wanted what is in the tubs. The butcher immediately ran out the door. Saint Nicholas walked over to the tubs to find the bodies of the children and raised them back to life.9
Saint Nicholas died in Myra on December 6, 343. His tomb soon became a place of pilgrimage with his relics being consider miraculous. His relics had a mysterious liquid flowing from them referred to as “the manna of Saint Nicholas.” This liquid has been known to bring all sorts of miracles to the faithful.10
Before getting to how Saint Nicholas became Santa Claus, we will go over the origins of some Christmas Traditions
Traditions
There are many traditions that have developed to celebrate the Christmas holiday. They typically have very interesting origin stories
Christmas Trees
Christmas trees have a variety of origin stories. Due to the various cultures that converted to Christianity before immigrated to the United States, it is easy to see how they all came together to form the Christmas tree we have today.
In the 8th century, Saint Boniface traveled from England to Germany. Germany had been converted but Boniface saw many of them reverted to their pagan ways. He saw several people worshipping a big oak tree considered sacred by the local people who called it the tree of Thor. This worship was bad enough but it brought the Saint even greater horror when he saw they were planning to sacrifice a boy to the tree. In order to prove to the people this tree was not sacred nor was their god Thor, he chopped down the tree. The people were shocked and even called upon Thor to destroy him. Nothing happened causing them to realize God was with him, and God is mightier than Thor.
When the oak tree fell, an evergreen tree was found miraculously under it. It was a miracle because the shade of the oak tree causes for plants to not grow beneath as well as the fact the oak tree didn’t take out the evergreen when it fell. Boniface saw this as an opportunity to teach the people about Jesus Christ. He taught them that the tree represents the True God. Its shape points to heaven and its state of being evergreen represented immortality. He also used this to represent the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. The Saint also taught them that Jesus died on a tree, and that tree gave us life in the Eucharist. He asked them all to take a little fir tree home to spread the faith, and they did, resulting in a fast paced conversion throughout Germany.
These newly converted faithful people decorated the tree with wafers to represent the Eucharist. Through time, these wafers were replaced with cookies and ultimately the ornaments we see today. They also decorated the trees with candles to represent the light of Christ, something since replaced with Christmas lights.11
Another Christmas tree theory is that in the Late Middle Ages Catholics performed plays called Creation plays, to show the genealogy of Christ from Adam and Eve. They needed a tree for the tree of knowledge of good and evil, so used evergreen trees because it was winter. They would decorate the trees with fruit. After protestants started taking public offices and condemned Catholics, the plays were banned, so people continued the tradition in their houses, bringing these trees into the home.12
Although Christmas trees have been secularized and even accused of being pagan, they are a very holy tradition we can engage in to glorify God.
TINSEL
A Christmas tradition is that when the Holy Family fled to Egypt due to Herod’s decree to kill all the young boys, they slept in a cave one night. While they slept in the cave, a spider covered the entrance of the cave with a web to keep the Holy Family warm from the cold winds. Herod’s soldiers were out searching the area for any young boys. They found the cave and planned to go in until one of the soldiers told them not to bother because all the webs indicated no one had been in there for quite some time. When the Holy Family awoke, they removed the web to exit the cave. The webs were covered with hoarfrost and came apart as strands in their hands. This is the basis for the tradition of tinsel decorations.13
Stockings
Stockings derive from a tradition surrounding stories of Saint Nicholas. The story goes back to the one about the three daughters. One form of the story holds that the family had done their laundry and hung the stockings out the window to dry. Saint Nicholas then put coins in the stockings.14
Saint Nicholas’ Day
Saint Nicholas’ feast day on December 6th has been historically celebrated by kids who leave their shoes out the night before to find a gift or candy placed in them. This originated similar to the story of the stockings. One form of the story held that Saint Nicholas threw a bag of coins in through the window and it landed in the family’s shoes drying near the fire place.
Candy canes
Candy canes come from Saint Nicholas because he was a bishop and he carried a crozier, which looks like a cane. People made the candy cane treat to represent the crozier.15
Christmas lights
Christmas lights were first introduced in 1882 when a gentleman named Edward Johnson created the first strand of electric Christmas lights. He hung them in his parlor window so people walking by could enjoy them. Seeing as these were introduced just a few years after the light bulb in 1879, they were entirely unaffordable for the average person to purchase. However, by 1932, Christmas lights were mass produced and became established as Christmas tradition.16
How did Saint Nicholas become Santa Claus?
Saint Nicholas was widely celebrated among Christians, especially on his feast day. The tradition of gifts on December 6th was enjoyed by many of the children.
The folklore about Saint Nicholas saw developments from the Dutch in the 17th century with Sinterklaas, a shortened version of Sint Nikolaas. Sinterklaas is very similar to Saint Nicholas, the Bishop. He is pictured with a red mitre and bishop’s alb as well as a crozier. Traditionally, Sinterklaas kept track of naughty children, just as Santa Claus keeps track of who is naughty or nice. The children would leave out their shoes on December 5th to wake up to a treat or gift on December 6th. Sinterklaas also has a white horse that he rode, paving the way for reindeer.17
Puritans were the first Christians to colonize the states, and they did not celebrate the Saints due to their reformed beliefs. The Dutch colonized at some point after the Puritans. In December 1773 and 1774, a New York newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families were celebrating Saint Nicholas, Sinterklaas.18 Sinterklaas began to be popularized starting in 1804 when a gentleman distributed woodcuts of Saint Nicholas, which had a background of stockings filled with toys and fruit over a fireplace. In 1809, Washington Irving began to popularize Sinterklaas stories with descriptions of everything from ““rascal” with a blue three-cornered hat, red waistcoat, and yellow stockings to a man wearing a broad-brimmed hat and a “huge pair of Flemish trunk hose.”19
This rise in Sinterklaas in popular culture found its way into the Christmas celebration when stores began advertising Christmas shopping in 1820 with the 1840s producing newspapers featuring Santa Claus in the Christmas ads. In 1840, thousands of children visited a Philadelphia shop to see a life-size Santa model, paving the way for stores to utilize Santa Claus to attract children, and with their parents with them. In the 1890s, the Salvation army introduced Santa Claus to ask for donations.20
Coca-Cola drew inspiration from previous artists and traditions to give us the Santa Claus we have today. In 1931 to 1964, they ran an advertising campaign in winter, when their sales slowed down significantly, utilizing this image of Santa Claus.21 Coca Cola didn’t invent Santa Claus, but they definitely brought all sorts of inspirations together to result in our image of Santa today.
Conclusion
Ultimately, there are many traditions surrounding the celebration of Christmas. Many people in the secular try to claim they are pagan, however they are not. The roots of these come from various cultures and traditions which developed into the celebrations we have today. We can engage in all the festivities of the Advent and Christmas season, but it is always good to remember that Advent is a season of preparation leading up to Christmas while Christmas is the season of celebration after welcoming Christ into the world and our hearts. We should not celebrate Christmas so much during the Advent season that we aren’t able to welcome Jesus Christ into our hearts.
I pray that you will have a very Merry Christmas.
References
1 TAN Books. 2025. Advent & Christmas with the Church Fathers. Gastonia: TAN Books., pg2
2 Ibid. pg3-4
3 OPWest. 2020. “Why is Christmas in December?” YouTube. December. Accessed November 7, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ent1tT2uYnI.
4 Mercy, Divine. 2022. “Facts of Christmas: How Traditions Came To Be – Explaining the Faith.” YouTube. December. Accessed November 7, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNXLGBnzqOw.
5 Ibid.
6 Butler, Fr. Alban. 2012. Lives of the Saints. Gastonia: TAN Books.pg 381
7 n.d. “St. Nicholas of Bari, Bishop of Myra.” Vatican News. Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/12/06/saint-nicholas-of-bari–bishop-of-myra.html.
8 Butler, Fr. Alban. 2012. Lives of the Saints. Gastonia: TAN Books.pg 381
9 Show, The Catholic Talk. 2019. “The Catholic Origins of Christmas Traditions | The Catholic Talk Show.” YouTube. Accessed November 7, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFn5y84sABE.
10 n.d. “St. Nicholas of Bari, Bishop of Myra.” Vatican News. Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/12/06/saint-nicholas-of-bari–bishop-of-myra.html.10 vatican news
11 Mercy, Divine. 2022. “Facts of Christmas: How Traditions Came To Be – Explaining the Faith.” YouTube. December. Accessed November 7, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNXLGBnzqOw.11 Alar
12 Show, The Catholic Talk. 2019. “The Catholic Origins of Christmas Traditions | The Catholic Talk Show.” YouTube. Accessed November 7, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFn5y84sABE.
13 Mercy, Divine. 2022. “Facts of Christmas: How Traditions Came To Be – Explaining the Faith.” YouTube. December. Accessed November 7, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNXLGBnzqOw.11 Alar
14 Show, The Catholic Talk. 2019. “The Catholic Origins of Christmas Traditions | The Catholic Talk Show.” YouTube. Accessed November 7, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFn5y84sABE.
15 Ibid.
16 n.d. “The History of Christmas Lights & How They’ve Changed Over Time.” Rainbow Holiday Design. Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.rainbowholidaydesign.com/the-history-of-christmas-lights-how-theyve-changed-over-time/.
17 Zweerus, Casper. n.d. “Traditions in the Netherlands | Sinterklaas explained.” Dutch Rady. Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.dutchready.com/blog/traditions-in-the-netherlands-sinterklaas/?srsltid=AfmBOop9q0sU0wdk9d-G0A62vxmKuciAZnpf9wNbf7wFg3q88qvdkuRX.
18 HISTORY.com Editors. 2010. “Santa Claus.” History. February 16. Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.history.com/articles/santa-claus.
19 Ibid.
20 Ibid.
21 Barnett, Engrid. 2023. “Did Coca-Cola Invent the Modern Image of Santa Claus?” Ripley’s. December 19. Accessed November 8, 2025. https://www.ripleys.com/stories/coca-cola-santa.
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