I'm really excited to begin this advent calendar! I had the idea towards the end of October to learn about and share the history behind Christmas traditions, symbols, decorations, and more. I came up with a list long enough to do this again next year!
Some of the things I'll be sharing are purely secular. Some things I'll be sharing are Christian. Some are Pagan. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that Christmas and other winter celebrations are very ancient. They've been bound together for centuries. There are some fundamentalist Christians who refuse to celebrate Christmas because of its Pagan origins. And there is some click bait, a shock factor, in claiming that everything Christmas is Pagan. Even Adam Ruins Everything did an episode, which I found to be rather shallow at best. There's also a tendency for Pagans to jump on the bandwagon and claim most of the holiday as "theirs". It's easy to do. But the more I dove into history, the more I learned that the pop-cultural impression that Christmas wholey Pagan, and especially Yule, is just not true. At this point, it's an ancient Christian holiday too. Was there Pagan appropriation? Absolutely, and from more cultures than one. Lots of it.
At this point, I don't care which camp gets to claim certain traditions. I am just delighted to learn. The truth is more important to me than keeping score, haha. I'm sure I'll probably get some things wrong, and I welcome feedback. For me, knowing the history is what makes the holiday season most magical of all. I hope this somewhat unique "Christmas History" advent calendar will be as fun for you as it was/is for me to make.
Christmas History Advent Calendar
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