Origins of our Christmas Tradition

Where did Christmas come from?
For everything there is a reason and there are lots of leads for this tradition.
According to the History Channel website, Europeans celebrated during the Winter solstice since it hailed the coming of better weather. At the time, supplies were abundant for feasts since farmers saved on resources by killing cattle, or beer matured.
In ancient cultures before the time of Christ, there were several beliefs connected with the Winter solstice. It was both a time to rejoice the coming of longer daylight and a time of fear of dead spirits. Apparently it was thought the dead were closest to the living, and rumors especially in Germany ran rampant about frightening encounters (Óðindís 2000).
During the Roman era, celebration continued with Saturnalia, since Saturn was the god of agriculture. This was a month long celebration. Another festivity with Mithra, god of the sun, landed on December 25th.
Admist this darkness came the light. In the 4th century, the church wanted to celebrate Christ's birth, and the date of December 25th was chosen by Pope Julius I. It was called the Feast of the Nativity. It mixed with the old ways of Roman traditions were the peasants took control during the season as in the 4th century the poor folks recieved goods from the rich.
What about America?
Because the English Puritains outlawed Christmas given the pagan origins it tried to replace, the Pilgrims did not celebrate it, rather they opposed it's observance. Only those in Jamestown did partake of the festivities. After our independence British customs weren't popular and only in 1870 did the holiday become official.
This declaration only came out of various changes in society. Apparently riots occured amongst lower classes during this time causing a desire to implement different customs. Washington Irving a writer, depicted Christmas in a different light with the more classic family traditions we know today. Charles Dickens with his A Christmas Carol reconnected the old ways of charity from the well to do toward the lower classes, a concept our people and the Brits warmly embraced. Consequently families adopted this holiday and welcomed the "excuse" to give gifts to their children. As the practice increased today's traditions incremented and became today's Christmas.
Reflections: Although the origins are quite pagan, nevertheless, we can rejoice on the change in perspective and direction of the holiday. I am amazed at the threads connecting our ways to those of our ancestors in the past.


http://www.history.com/content/christmas/the-real-story-of-christmas/home
An Ancient Holiday, Saturnalia, Irving Reinvents Christmas,A Christmas Carol
Óðindís. http://home.earthlink.net/~wodensharrow/yule.html