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The Roman Catholic church first celebrated  Christmas (at that time called Feast of the Nativity) in 336 AD. Previous to that time the crucifixion and resurrection rituals were widely practiced. It was not called Christmas until around 1050 A.D., from the Old English phrase Christes maesse (festival of Christ). Sometime in the 13th Century  the early Christians developed the Xmas designation. The X stands for the Greek letter chi, which means Khristos (Christ). The X eventually came to be used as an analogy for the cross.

As time passed and Christianity spread throughout Europe adaptations were made to incorporate the many pagan rituals and traditions. Some of these adaptations were:

The Christmas Tree: Derived from the ancient Northern belief that evergreens and fruit trees contained powerful spirits. Early German mystery plays used the tree to represent the tree of knowledge from Genesis. Eventually they put them in their homes and decorated them with fruit, cookies and wafers. Candles came later.

Mistletoe: It was borrowed from the ancient European belief that the plant held magic powers to bestow life and fertility. They associated the plant with the Norse god of love Freya and would kiss under its' branches.

Red and Green Colors: The Holly was used to decorate the windows of the ancient Romans and Britons as an offering of hospitality to the spirits of the leafless forests. It was also admired because it could survive the cold of the Northern European winters.

Yule Log: Comes from the ancient Scandinavian tradition of burning a large log to welcome the returning sun.

Candles in the window: This was a blending of the Jewish Feast of Lights at Hanukkah and the Roman use of candles at Saturnalia. It became a medieval symbol to led the Christ Child to shelter. The Irish brought the tradition to the United States.  During the  British occupation of Ireland they used them, , to guide fugitive clerics to Catholic homes to celebrate mass.

The Nativity Scene: The first known scene dates from a Roman Catacomb dated 380 A.D. St. Frances created the first live manger scene in 1223 in the town of Greccio Italy.

Caroling: Caroling originally meant to dance with a flute by the Greeks and Romans. By the 13th century it had become just singing. Legend states that St. Frances was the first to sing carols at his crèche. Many of the songs were banned and lost in the 17th century Puritan period. The songs we love today come from post 18th century  Methodist revival.

During the Reformation the Puritans banned Christmas as a pagan celebration. Celebrations were prevented by night watchmen.

Christmas in the United States and Canada developed in the 19th Century. It was just another day in the New England states but was celebrated in other areas with large feasts and heavy drinking. Families rarely exchanged gifts, but celebrants would travel, in costumes, from door to door receiving gifts of food and drink.

With the writings of The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, "A visit from Saint Nicholas" by Clement Clark Moore, the gifts Prince Albert gave to Victoria and the advent of the Industrial Revolution, Christmas was changed dramatically. Immigrants brought with them traditions, rituals and customs. Thomas Nash drew the prototype for Santa. Department stores and Madison Avenue created new and expanding markets. Finally Hollywood developed images with movies such as "Miracle of 34 Street" and "Its a Wonderful Life". Soon it became a time of family reunions, and  the exchanging of gifts, especially for children.

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