Behind the Headlines

By Paula Wethington / paula@monroenews.com

Last night I watched one of the one-hour specials on The History Channel about the history of Christmas: Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas.

I knew that many of the customs and traditions we take for granted today were not introduced to America, or in some cases observed anywhere, until the mid-1800s. But I didn’t know why Christmas was overlooked or even outlawed as a holiday festival in earlier years of this country. (Answer: Christmas festivities in that era were more like what we see today at Halloween or Mardi Gras).

One of the comments in the video production that I found interesting is that while many people struggle with religious vs. secular observances of the Christmas holiday, the two aspects contribute to and support each other. Without secular observances such as Santa Claus making department store appearances, the Christmas holiday would not be as popular or as pervasive in our culture. But until Christmas morphed into a family-friendly holiday, many religious people wanted nothing to do with the raucous festivities formerly associated with Dec. 25.

If you’re interested in this topic, the History Channel has additional features on its web site. Enjoy!