Many cultures around the world have held large, ritualized celebrations in the middle of winter, partly, one presumes, because when it is cold and dark, a little celebration can pick up your spirits just enough to make it to spring. The winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, has traditionally been a cause for celebration as it meant that the darkest part of the year was over and days start getting longer – and brighter.

Another reason that celebrations were common at this time of year was that there was less “farming” and agricultural work to be done, so people had more time. Additionally, as the primary harvest of plants and slaughter of animals takes place in the autumn, winter meant that people had abundant food stores. Food coupled with time, and a need to seek comfort – that’s a perfect recipe for a celebration!

These celebrations pre-date the birth of Jesus, though as time marched on and cultures blended with each other, many of our largest holidays have become an amalgam of religious and cultural traditions. As such, our current traditions have their roots in a variety of cultures, but have become archetypal symbols of the holiday around the world.

The Yule Log, for instance, has it’s roots in the Scandinavian solstice celebration. Recognizing (and perhaps hoping to speed up) the imminent return of the sun, fathers and sons would gather large logs that would be set on fire at home. A great feast was held for as long as the log burned – often as many as twelve days, which many believe to be the root of the 12 Days Of Christmas story.

The German people paid tribute to the pagan god Oden during the mid-winter holiday. Oden was a slightly ominous figure, as it was believed that he traveled through the skies at night, watching the behavior of the towns people and deciding who should thrive and who should suffer. Although Santa, as we know and love him, is a much friendlier character than Oden, the roots of a paternal figure flying through the sky, making a list and checking it twice to see who was naughty and who was nice, seem firmly based (instead of saying roots are rooted) in this Germanic character.

There are many ancient Greek and Roman celebrations in mid-winter as well. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, in homage to the God Saturn. It was a time when work ceased, formal rules of society were suspended (enabling slaves and nobility to celebrate together) and people gave each other small tokens of appreciation. The celebration of Saturnalia took as long as a week.

In Christian mythology, Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus and includes wonderful stories and traditions around the nativity. This is certainly one root of the tradition of giving gifts at Christmas, as the Three Wise Men came to the manger in which the baby Jesus was sleeping and left him gifts.

All of these traditions – and MANY more – have combined to make Christmas one of the most universal holidays in the world – even if it has slightly different meaning to everyone who celebrates it.