What Christmas is about and what should be taught to your learners is summed up in this song by Andy Williams:
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year, with kids jingle belling and everyone telling you to be of good cheer. It’s the most wonderful time of the year”.
Christmas is the most celebrated holiday in the calendar year. All around the world, people look forward to when family and friends gather together to celebrate the holiday. It is a religious and cultural celebration around the world. Both Christians and non-Christians alike celebrate this festive holiday.
For Christians, it is a special time to remember the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
After a long school year, children look forward to the holidays because it is a time that is represented by stockings, gifts, Christmas trees, decorations, feasts, and most of all, Santa Claus.
But as a learner, one must understand that it is a holiday dipped in cultural and religious importance. So what could be the origin of this festive holiday?
Let’s find out…
Some Interesting Factors That Brought About Christmas
- Winter Solstice
- Roman festival-Saturnalia
- Christian Adoption
- Symbolism
1. Winter Solstice
According to ancient cultures, the winter solstice is celebrated around December 21-22, which marks the shortest day and longest night in the year. The selection of December may have coincided with these traditions. The term ‘Christmas’ is a recent word and the earlier term ‘Yule’ may have been derived from the German ‘jol’ or Anglo-Saxon ‘geol’ which is referred to as the feast of the winter solstice.
2. Roman Festival
The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a festival honouring Saturn, the god of agriculture, around this time. The celebration, which also was leading up to the winter solstice, continued for a month. Saturnalia was a hedonistic time where food and drinks were plentiful and the normal Roman order was turned upside down. Businesses and schools were closed so that everyone could enjoy the holiday festivities.
3. Christian Adoption
The usual answer kids give to answer the question of the origin of Christmas is that Jesus Christ was born on Christmas day. While this is not true as we are not given the exact date of the birth of Jesus Christ, we still celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day. But the origin of Christmas is not clear. Some historians believe that the Catholic Church in Rome, Italy, began the celebration of Christmas.
4. Symbolism
Few people are thought to have observed Christmas throughout the first three centuries of church history, and those who did may not have known anything about the holiday. The earliest known Christmas celebration took place in the middle of the fourth century, when Julius I, the Roman bishop who presided over Rome from 337 to 352, established December 25th as the festival. However, before this, there was revelry surrounding the celebration. It was claimed that the earlier celebrations promoted raucous eating and drinking displays, aggressive begging (sometimes accompanied by threats of damage), ridiculing of established authorities, and even invasions of wealthy households. It was a time of ‘misrule’ when common sense behavioural norms might be condoned with impunity. For this reason, the English lawmakers in 1644, before the famous ban, lamented how a day dedicated to the memory of Christ displayed ‘extreme forgetfulness of him’.
Then 200 years later, things began to change slowly and gradually. Christmas grew less wild and more tamed, less lewd and more children-friendly. Adopting December 25 helped align Christianity with established cultural practices. It is important to note that although the dates are borrowed, Christmas is an opportunity for Christians to remember the Lord Jesus Christ and his incarnation.
Amid the festivities, it is also a time for learners to learn important values.
Some of these values are:
- Giving to the less fortunate
- Celebrating love
- Bonding with family
- Being helpful
- Valuing simplicity
- Building community
Conclusion
Beyond the festivities, Christmas is a time to share and express love and spend time with friends and family. Using the Christmas season to introduce or remind pupils of these principles is crucial. These values are important and they should be taught.
Do you need some concert ideas for your pupils, check this out.
