Daily Globe

Christmas--Its History.
This day was celebrated at an early period, and was at first very changeable. Dr. Adam Clark says the birthday of Christ has been held by Christian sects in every month in the year.
Luke says: "And there were shepherds in the same country keeping watch over their flocks by night." Now, unless it was much warmer in Palestine formerly than it is now, or in this country in the same latitude, the shepherds must have had a cold time to watch.
The question rises, why do we celebrate this day instead of a day in the summer time, which is more likely to have been the true day? There was no uniformity in time from the year 88 till about the year 350. About this time St. Cyrill, Archbishop of Jerusalem, petitioned the Pope of Rome, Julius I., to order an investigation concerning the day, and the council of the theologians decided on December 25th as the day of Christ's nativity, and ever since it has been uniformly kept by Christians, a period of some 1,520 years. The reason the council determined on this day was that it was the day on which the ancient Pagans and Romans celebrated the nativity of their god Sol, or Sun. They supposed the sun to be born December 24, as that is the time the sun always begins to return from its winter solstice. We see December 25th to have been originally a heathen festival day.
The habit or fashion of decorating at Christmas is said to have come from the Druids, who used evergreens to attract their gods to their houses and churches to keep them from freezing in the winter time, through superstitious kindness to the gods of the woods. We use it to beautify our churches and houses, and to keep in memory the time-honored customs handed down from the ancient Celtic races or Northern nations.
There is another custom, which is making presents to children and friends at Christmas time. This custom originated in Germany about the year 320 or 325, A. D.-previous to its being established on December 25th.
At this time lived the good man Saint Nicholas, who devoted his whole life to doing good to others--was a friend to the sailor, prisoner and traveler, and in a special manner did he devote his time and means in relieving and pleasing the youth. So great was his reputation in life that he was considered a patron saint, and canonized at his death. It soon became a fiction that he visited children at Christmas time with his presents. At first Saint Nicholas, now, for short or for English, Santa Claus.
A legend is told of Saint Nicholas in his life-time, that he was invited to an entertainment by a man who was in the habit of stealing children and salting them, to be eaten by his guests. When the dish was placed before the saint, he detected the horrible crime, went to the barrel where the remains of the children were, made over it the sign of the cross, and they all arose to life. This, with other similar stories, were told of him, and believed by many.
Great reverence was paid to Saint Nicholas for many centuries, but he is now not only an ideal being with Protestants, but a real distributor of gifts to the children on Christmas eve.
Many superstitions have been attached to Christmas. One was that witches were harmless no ghosts were out. In Hamlet, Shakspeare says:
No spirit dares to stir abroad-
The nights are wholesome then—no fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallowed and so gracious is the time.
It used to be believed that animals present at the birth of Christ, which occurred December 25th, about midnight, knelt down and continued to do so at that hour ever since, but looking into the matter proved to be fallacious.
There are many other stories told of the wonderful developments of Almighty power to the human family at Christmas time. One more must suffice for this article. Near Raleigh is a valley said to have been caused by an earthquake centuries ago, which swallowed the village and church. The people used to gather on Christmas morning to hear the church bells ring beneath them.
The old Puritans set themselves against Christmas observances of all kinds. In the blue laws of Connecticut all celebrations of Christmas are prohibited. There are still those in England who think it a sin to celebrate Christmas, have Christmas trees or make Christmas presents, but this prejudice is fast wearing away with them.