Christmas is an interesting time of year for me. I’m not Christian. I’m not any “religion”. That is not to say that I am atheist, because I am not. I just haven’t decided yet what I should believe. But, with that, I end up questioning everything. One of my biggest questions for winter is: “Why do we celebrate “Christmas” and why do we associate certain things with it?”
This is *not* an anti-Christian article. It’s an article about history and tradition. Many things have evolved over time, and “Christmas” is one of them.
-Jesus was not born on Christmas day, or really even close to it. According to some bible scholars, he was born on September 29th, 4 B.C., others believe he was born in the Spring. It's not believed that he was actually born on Dec. 25th of any year.
-Christmas trees really have nothing to do with Christmas. They have been used as far back as we can tell for Solstice and Equinox celebrations. Many religions used them as a way of praying to the “sun god” as a way of making him feel better. (During the dark times of year, they thought that the god was sick and that evergreens would help the god get better).
-On the Christmas tree note, the trees were not cut down. Branches were removed, or the entire tree was moved. When they started being brought in side, they were planted in planters then brought in. They were used as a celebration of life during the “death” of winter.
-“Yule time” has nothing to do with “Christmas”. It is a Norse tradition that pre-dates Jesus. It was celebrated on the 21st of December.
-The 12 days of Christmas is from the same “Yule” tradition. They would burn a giant log (Yule log) and feast and celebrate while it burned. This log typically took 12 days to burn.
-It is believed that the Christian church adopted the 25th as the official celebration date of Jesus’ birth as a way of absorbing the traditions of the Saturnalia festival, which was a pagan festival which honors the God of agriculture “Saturn”. The 25th is also the day that Romans observed Juvenalia, which is a celebration of the children and the birthday of Mithra, the “god of the unconquerable sun”.
-Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday in America until June 26, 1870
-During the Middle ages, Christmas was celebrated by attending church then celebrating in a drunken fashion, not unlike “Mardi Gras”. (Now, *that* is a tradition we should bring back! 
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There are many other traditions surrounding Christmas that are “odd”. If you think of any that you don’t understand, let me know and I’ll see what I can dig up on them. And, if you have some other info on it, reply with it. I’d love to learn more!