How old is Christmas?

Texas has celebrated the nativity and Christmas since the early Spanish settlers crossed the Rio Grande River in the 1500s. With a feast of wild game and music and dance, they created a simple pageant including native Indians to celebrate the birth of Jesus, along the riverbank.

We might ask, “Just how far back does Christmas go?” In A.D. 336 the words were written, “Dec. 25: Christ was born in Bethlehem, Judea.” This was thought to be the first recorded celebration of Christmas, or “Christ’s Mass.”

The date of Dec. 25 was thought to be related to the time of Winter Solstice celebrations in Europe, which were non-religious, even pagan. At first, Christmas was outlawed as pagan. Later gift exchanges were connected with St. Nicholas, with evergreen trees as a symbol of the everlasting life of Christ, with candles to represent the stars at his birth. The star on top of the tree symbolized the star which guided the Wise Men. Stockings were left for St. Nicholas, later Santa Claus to fill. Some cultures left their wooden shoes to be filled, and others left carrots and greens for the camels of the Three Kings.

Electric tree lights were introduced in 1880 thanks to Thomas Edison, to begin to replace the real candles, which are still burned in some traditional homes. Popular stories in the 1800s, such as a “Christmas Carol” and the poem “Twas the Night before Christmas,” added to the spread of Christmas celebrations. Carol singing began in as early as 1220, the first believed to be introduced by St. Francis.

For a close look at Christmas in earlier times, drive to Columbus and visit the Mary Elizabeth Hopkins Santa Claus Museum, corner of Washington and Bowie Streets, which exhibits more than 2000 Santas from different times and places, a collection she started in 1913.

Christmas was not a national holiday in the U.S. until 1870, when President U.S. Grant signed it into law. Whatever our celebration is today, we remember those days of earlier times when life was simpler, yet still magical.