Christmas is not what it used to be. But then again, when has it been? Many cultures throughout Europe and the Middle East had a winter seasonal holiday with the basic same theme, a praise to whichever local gods to whom they worshipped for the fact that they a) Survived the year, b) Hope to survive the winter, c) Thanks for the bounty and blessings of the year, and d) An excuse to have some fun in an otherwise difficult time to live.
There is no exact date or specific occasion to point to a particular event which started the whole custom. All that is known is pre-historic and ancient cultures attributted their fates to many gods. There were gods that officiated seasons, the weather, the crops, fertility, etc. If something went wrong, then these gods were assumed to be angry with them and needed to be appeased. If all was well, then these gods were praised. Each tribe or region had their own particular branding of gods imposed upon its citizens. People from outside that region were a threat to their core of beliefs so it was one region's gods against another's. If one area conquered another area, those gods had to make room for the gods of the conquerers and either kill them off or assimilate them as lesser gods.
The season was observed in many ways, but a common theme among the cultures was the sharing of foods, drink, and gifts as well as the gathering of family and community. The gathering of a group of people for such occassions was a vital element in what made us human. We acknowledged the need of one another that we could not arrive where we were without others. That is why, a common theme of any holiday observance has always involved people gathering and sharing what they had with others.
Each culture had different ways of celebrating their gatherings with specific foods, or specific decorations that were available within the region. In areas where evergreen trees were plentiful, it was incorporated within the celebration. Some areas had holly, or mistletoe and incorporated it into their winter holiday. There were also specific ways some customs had to celebrate like wassling - the toast to wish others well by sharing of a drink, mostly within one place or carried door to door.
Since ancient cultures attributed every action or celebration to a god, the association of any practice was looked upon as a pagan religious observance. Without looking at the bigger picture, it had been condemned in later times due to the fact that it was part of a pagan holiday. These customs, if brought up during modern times without the stigma of belonging to a certain god, would otherwise be considered harmless.
Traditions were hard to kill. It had a sentimental value for each area and as society spread and assimilated into each other, some of these ancient symbols came from different cultures to blend into what we have today.
Just remember, if you really want to contemplate the beginning origins of Christmas, you have to look from way before the birth of Jesus to find its roots.
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