The History of Christmas Celebrations
- December 25th – Christ is Born in Bethlehem.
- 280 (AD) Nicholas is born in Asia Minor
- 343 Nicholas dies on December 6th. Other than his reign as Bishop of Myra, nothing is verifiable about his life.
- 4th Century Catholic Church designates December 25th as the celebration of Jesus’ birth: The Mass for Christ, or Christ’s Mass. This was to supplant Roman feast of Saturnalia, a riotous holiday of wine and food.
- 800 Nicholas is declared a Saint.
- 12th Century St. Nicholas cult develops in Europe. Children celebrate on December 6th by dressing up as a bishop and parading. Custom becomes rowdy. Schoolmasters take over impersonating St. Nicholas, in robes and white beards.
- 15th Century Martin Luther denounces St. Nicholas Day. Reformation ‘cleans-out’ the Catholic calendar. Gift-giving shifts from December 6th to Christmas Day and New Years. ‘Santa Claus’ and ‘Father Christmas’ replace St. Nicholas in different parts of Europe.
- 1659 Puritans ban celebration of Christmas in New England because of its revelry, its association with Catholics, and its encouragement of idleness.
- 1681 Under pressure from London, Puritans repeal ban but continue to agitate against Christmas. Cotton Mather denounces it as a feast marked by long eating, hard drinking, lewd gaming and rude reveling.
- 1809 Washington Irving (Who also wrote Rip Van Winkle) writes Knickerbocker’s History of New York, which contains details about ‘old-fashioned’ Dutch Christmas celebrations and St. Nicholas.
- 1822 Clement Clark Moore, after reading Irving’s work, writes A Visit From St. Nicholas, a.k.a. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’. Christmas becomes a more domestic, merchandised holiday.
- 1828 Christmas as a drunken riot persists
- 1843 Charles Dickens writes A Christmas Carol.
- 1850 Harriet Beecher Stowe, in The Christmas Fairy, lodges the now-familiar complaint, ‘There are worlds of money wasted, as this time of year, in getting things that nobody wants.’
- 1881 Cartoonist Thomas Nast pens the now popular depiction of Santa Claus as a heavy bearded fat man with a pipe.
- 1891 President Benjamin Harrison plays Santa Claus in The White House for his children, in hopes that other parents will do likewise.
- 1897 The New York Sun editor Francis P. Church writes his ‘Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus’ reply to a reader. It is published every year until the New York Sun shuts down in 1959.
- 1928 Santa Claus is often depicted wearing brown, until the famous Coca-Cola ads appear, featuring him in the company’s colors of red and white.
- 1939 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is created as a promotional booklet for Montgomery Ward.
- 1947 Valentine Davies writes Miracle on 34th Street. The film version wins an Oscar.
- 1949 Gene Autry’s song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer becomes a Number 1 single. Song sold more than 50 million copies, in various versions.
- 1969 Catholic Church questions whether St. Nicholas ever existed…
–Anonymous
