• During the last month of every year, European religions unite and celebrate their respective holidays. Years ago, this wasn't the case. In what is now September, Christians celebrated the birth of their lord. In the end of what we know to be as December, two other holidays were celebrated. Hanukkah (Chanukah) and Yule were the most common names for these other celebrations, and of these three holidays, only one kept its integrity.
    Christmas celebrated the birth of the Christian lord, which happened on a hot and sweltering summer day. People would flock together in the spirit of love and giving that he had in his life inspired, and share gifts with each other on the twelve days leading up to the day Christmas was held on. Many joined in cheer and goodwill to share simple gifts, usually crudely made by hand. Not exactly the thoughts that come to mind when the word "Christmas" is spoken now-a-days, certainly!
    Hanukkah was a celebration in the last month of the Hebrew calendar, commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt. Lights is the primary theme of this holiday, though every day of the eight celebrated, is used as an excuse to share gifts and good wishes. It is a rememberence of many things, of Hannah and her sons, of the day's worth of oil which lasted eight instead, and of the strength of love and belief. Fortunately, many Jewish peoples still follow the traditions of this holiday, and the knowledge of its meaning is well-known.
    Yule is a celebration to herald the coming of the new year, and held on Winter Solstice. Generally forgotten in modern times, Yule was celebrated by Romans and Greeks of old, as well as varying European tribes, such as the Celts. Today, few religions honor this day where a large log is burned on the top of every hill in attempt to coax the Sun to return to the fields and lengthen days once more to aid in harvest and life. Many would share fermented stag's blood, and feast upon the winter's rations. On this day, new meat would be stored by killing the livestock that wouldn't be able to make it through the cold months yet to come, and to replace the food that, if not eaten during the feast, would spoil.
    In time, metropolitan areas eventually found that, in order to unite the farmers, Christians, and Hebrew peoples in their realms, the holidays must be likewise united. The Vatican changed the celebration of Christmas into winter to avoid multicultural families from being able to avoid work on more than one account while others labored, and the modern Holiday Season was born. Constantine himself was one of the forefathers of this adjustment, and other countries followed his lead. So the next time you stop to honor the holiday you celebrate, take a moment to think back to the rougher days when people and their holidays were not united in the joy of sharing, and be thankful that we all get to enjoy a festive season together.