With Christmas they return to the squares of all towns and cities and to the halls of every house. trees decorated with Christmas balls of different colors and tinsel ribbons, traditional christmas decoration its origins are in the ancient world, where nature was the day-to-day central axis of mankind.
what they are today plastic balls of a thousand colors, they were made of cotton in ancient times. What is tinsel today was decorative objects meant to keep the seasons cycled at that time.
this christmas balls after “dark” and “shorter” days of the year, such as winter days, “brightest” futurewith reference to spring and summer, where light gives life to nature.
this Saturn In the Roman Empire, it was originally held on December 17, but the festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture and harvest, became so rooted in the town that it began to be celebrated for a week. 17 – 23 December.
According to Pilar Caldera, researcher and curator of the National Museum of Roman Art (MNAR) in Mérida, “It was a celebration of what the Romans called the narrow days, the brightest and shortest days of the year.”
But it also “has an impact on the agricultural cycle, because that’s when the seed is already in the fields, protected by the soil and the soil. waiting for the return of spring“.
During the long and prosperous days, the Romans “symbolically” give back to the earth what the earth gave them to provide for the gifts the earth gave them during harvest and remembrance.
How? Well, to put cotton or wool balls and star figurines on the plant elements that citizens have in their homes.
However, it cannot be guaranteed that it came from Rome, as it is known that the tradition of planting a Christmas tree began in the 16th and 17th centuries. in Central and Northern Europe.
“The seasonal festivals in Rome were the most important. The ancient world lived in harmony with nature. These are festivals in which the seasons are articulated like links of a chain,” Caldera said.
Therefore, when you do something in winter, spring comes to mind; therefore, in the Saturnalia it was very difficult to “give and beg” the best of the secret days “for the purpose of the coming of bright days”.
With the end of agricultural work, it is the days of staying at home. Family meals involving music and dancing were common on the Saturnalia, and were also shared with friends and slaves.
“Slaves had the opportunity to be an active part of the family.. In fact, they were cared for and entertained by their owners,” said Caldera. “In those days, disorder guaranteed the next order.”
Another tradition that still lives on today appears at these home celebrations: christmas basket. However, always made of wicker, family and friends have fun and with must-have items: olive trees, bay leaves, figs and walnuts. It’s a way to “guarantee” resources for “long days”.
As researcher Isaac Sastre explained to EFE, all these traditions were strangely “swallowed” by Christianity, which “doesn’t remember Jesus” at its beginning and coinciding with these dates. His myth and resurrection begin to be mentioned especially in Egypt in the second century.
But as Sastre points out, “some studies date the birth of Jesus between late September and early October”. Apparently, the census and birth records were closed in December, and it doesn’t make much sense for shepherds to sleep at ground level in mid-December.
In clear harmony with Saturnian philosophy about “long days” and light, it is in the middle of the fourth century that the birth of Christ is fixed on December 25, “like the new sun, like the coming light.” will come after winter
In fact, the Romans celebrated the festival on December 25 in honor of the god Mithras, whose religion is also deeply rooted in Roman sentiments, which is also meant to celebrate the winter solstice.