The Biggest Christmas Myths and Legends, Debunked
It's time to find the real stories behind Christmas legends and holiday myths. With over 2,000 years of history, the Christmas holiday comes with a host of myths, legends, lies, misconceptions, and commonly believed things that are just completely wrong. From the origin of the holiday itself, to the historical date and year of Christ's birth, to the modern marketing of iconic Christmas figures like Santa Claus, much of what is commonly believed about Christmas simply isn't true. How accurate is the Bible Christmas story? What's the real history of Christmas trees? And are we really losing Christ in Christmas?
It's easy to put aside historical falsehoods and simply enjoy the festivities of the holiday season. But what Christmas stories are not real? Is the date of Christmas really Jesus' birthday? Are there any true Christmas myths? If you really want to know where Santa comes from, when Jesus might have been born, and what U.S. state banned Christmas for a while, check out these widely believed Christmas myths below and get the real story of Christmas.
These Christmas myths and legends are probably stories you've never even questioned, but will completely change how you see this Christian holiday. Before you hang the lights, trim the tree, and put out Santa's milk and cookies, be sure to read up on the Christmas facts you didn't know weren't even true.
THE MYTH:
Jesus was born on December 25.
THE REALITY:
There is no scriptural justification for this particular date being Jesus’s birthday. The date actually comes from scholar Hippolytus of Rome, who determined it early in the third century, assuming that the conception of Jesus took place at the Spring equinox, which he placed on March 25. He then added nine months, taking advantage of winter festivals that were already celebrated around that time.
THE MYTH:
Christmas trees have meaning relative to Jesus.
Evergreen trees were already popular in Pagan rites before Jesus’s birth, but they didn’t become a widely-held symbol of Christmas until the Renaissance. German Protestants began bringing home and decorating the large trees that grew in their local forests, and the custom spread throughout the various German dukedoms, then jumping to England with the ascension of a German king to the British monarchy. German-settled cities in America began using the custom, and it spread from there.
THE MYTH:
Christmas is the central event of the Christian calendar.
Easter has far more significance on the Christian calendar than Christmas does. Historically, Jesus’s birth wasn’t celebrated until centuries after it occurred, while his death and resurrection were celebrated by the earliest converts to Christianity. Also, Easter is celebrated over a far longer period of time than Christmas on the traditional Christian calendar – lasting almost two months from February to April.
THE MYTH:
The War on Christmas is real, and slowing taking any hint of religiosity out of the holiday.
THE REALITY:
Fox News propaganda aside, there is no War on Christmas. Christmas sales start earlier every year, holiday decorations seem to go up before Halloween pumpkins have rotted, and the only difference between Christmas now and Christmas in “the good old days” is that there’s more acknowledgement of the fact that some people celebrate the holiday season, but not Christmas itself. There’s no evidence that retailers are avoiding the word “Christmas,” and despite more cities using neutral terms like “happy holidays,” Christmas tree lighting ceremonies, public caroling, and appearances by Santa Claus are still integral parts of municipal holiday celebrations.