The History of Christmas Through the Ages

Video

Kelly Macquire
by
published on 15 December 2023

Did you know that holiday festivities on and around December 25th date back over 2,000 years ago? This video is all about the history of Christmas, and how it has grown and developed as a holiday from its earliest history in the Roman Empire, to the modern day, primarily Anglo-Saxon celebrations.

The Christmas holiday has gathered around it customs and traditions for over two millennia, some of which even pre-date the Christian festival itself. From gift-giving to the sumptuous spread of a Christmas dinner table, this article traces the history of the celebrations from Roman times to the Victorian era when our modern take on the holiday was firmly established in both deed and literature. Although many of the traditions described herein are universal to all Christian countries, particularly up to the end of the Middle Ages, we here present the Christmas traditions largely in terms of the Anglo-Saxon experience.

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— CHAPTERS —
0:00​ Introduction
00:37 Saturnalia – The Roman Origins of Christmas
2:54 A Very Medieval Christmas
7:07 An Elizabethan Christmas
9:58 Christmas in the Victorian Era
14:19 Outro

— WANT TO KNOW MORE? —
Christmas Through the Ages https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1893/christmas-through-the-ages/
A Medieval Christmas https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1288/a-medieval-christmas/
Saturnalia https://www.worldhistory.org/Saturnalia/
Wheel of the Year https://www.worldhistory.org/Wheel_of_the_Year/
Victorian Christmas Cards
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2125/victorian-christmas-cards/

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— ATTRIBUTIONS —
You can find all attribution and credits for images, animations, graphics and music here - https://athena.worldhistory.org/article/The-History-of-Christmas-Through-the-Ages

Music used:
Christmas-Go-Round-SLC025501
Sounds Like Christmas 2 - https://download.audiohero.com/#!expl...
S.I Publishing
https://download.audiohero.com/#!deta...


World History Encyclopedia
www.worldhistory.org

#norsechristmas #historyofchristmas #christmastraditions #christmas

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About the Author

Kelly Macquire
Kelly is a graduate from Monash University who has completed her BA (Honours) in Ancient History and Archaeology, focussing on iconography and status in Pylos burials. She has a passion for mythology and the Aegean Bronze Age.

The video and its description text are provided by Youtube. This website claims no authorship of this content; we are republishing it for educational purposes.

Cite This Work

APA Style

Macquire, K. (2023, December 15). The History of Christmas Through the Ages. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/video/3088/the-history-of-christmas-through-the-ages/

Chicago Style

Macquire, Kelly. "The History of Christmas Through the Ages." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified December 15, 2023. https://www.worldhistory.org/video/3088/the-history-of-christmas-through-the-ages/.

MLA Style

Macquire, Kelly. "The History of Christmas Through the Ages." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 15 Dec 2023. Web. 27 Apr 2024.

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