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　　The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals（parades） with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians.

　　Many of these traditions began with the Mesopotamian celebration of New Years. The Mesopotamians believed in many gods, and as their chief god - Marduk. Each year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monsters of chaos. To assist Marduk in his struggle the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year. This was Zagmuk, the New Year's festival that lasted for 12 days.

　　The Mesopotamian king would return to the temple of Marduk and swear his faithfulness to the god. The traditions called for the king to die at the end of the year and to return with Marduk to battle at his side.

　　To spare their king, the Mesopotamians used the idea of a “mock” king. A criminal was chosen and dressed in royal clothes. He was given all the respect and privileges of a real king. At the end of the celebration the “mock” king was stripped of the royal clothes and slain, sparing the life of the real king.

　　The Persians and the Babylonians celebrated a similar festival called the Sacaea. Part of that celebration included the exchanging of places, the slaves would become the masters and the masters were to obey.

　　Early Europeans believed in evil spirits, witches, ghosts and trolls. As the Winter Solstice approached, with its long cold nights and short days, many people feared the sun would not return. Special rituals and celebrations were held to welcome back the sun.

　　In Scandinavia during the winter months the sun would disappear for many days. After thirty-five days scouts would be sent to the mountain tops to look for the return of the sun. When the first light was seen the scouts would return with the good news. A great festival would be held, called the Yuletide, and a special feast would be served around a fire burning with the Yule log. Great bonfires would also be lit to celebrate the return of the sun. In some areas people would tie apples to branches of trees to remind themselves that spring and summer would return.

　　The ancient Greeks held a festival similar to that of the Zagmuk/Sacaea festivals to assist their god Kronos who would battle the god Zeus and his Titans.

　　The Roman's celebrated their god Saturn. Their festival was called Saturnalia which began the middle of December and ended January 1st. With cries of “Jo Saturnalia!” the celebration would include masquerades in the streets, big festive meals, visiting friends, and the exchange of good-luck gifts called Strenae （lucky fruits）。

　　The Romans decked their halls with garlands of laurel and green trees lit with candles. Again the masters and slaves would exchange places.

　　“Jo Saturnalia!” was a fun and festive time for the Romans, but the Christians though it an abomination to honor the pagan god. The early Christians wanted to keep the birthday of their Christ child a solemn and religious holiday, not one of cheer and merriment as was the pagan Saturnalia.

　　But as Christianity spread they were alarmed by the continuing celebration of pagan customs and Saturnalia among their converts. At first the Church forbid this kind of celebration. But it was to no avail. Eventually it was decided that the celebration would be tamed and made into a celebration fit for the Christian Son of God.

　　Some legends claim that the Christian “Christmas” celebration was invented to compete against the pagan celebrations of December. The 25th was not only sacred to the Romans but also the Persians whose religion Mithraism was one of Christianity's main rivals at that time. The Church eventually was successful in taking the merriment, lights, and gifts from the Saturanilia festival and bringing them to the celebration of Christmas.

　　The exact day of the Christ child's birth has never been pinpointed. Traditions say that it has been celebrated since the year 98 AD. In 137 AD the Bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of the Christ Child celebrated as a solemn feast. In 350 AD another Bishop of Rome, Julius I, choose December 25th as the observance of Christmas. 圣诞

　　圣诞节的历史可以追溯到4000年。我们的许多传统的圣诞节前的基督孩子出生庆祝百年。圣诞节的12天，明亮的火灾，尤尔日志，礼品，嘉年华会（游行）与提供花车，carolers谁唱的同时挨家挨户去，节日假期，

　　游行和教会都可以追溯到早期的米所波大米。

　　这些传统的许多人开始与美索不达米亚的新年庆祝活动。在米所波大米相信许多神灵，是他们的主要神-马尔杜克。每年冬天来到，相信马尔都将与混乱的怪物战斗。为了帮助他的斗争马尔杜克的米所波大米召开了一个新年。这是Zagmuk,

　　新年的节日，对于12天之久。

　　美索不达米亚国王将回到马尔杜克庙，发誓忠实于他的神。所谓的国王死的传统在今年年底与马尔杜克回到他身边战斗。

　　腾出他们的国王，用的米所波大米的“模拟”国王的想法。阿犯罪被选为王室和穿着。他是获得一切的尊重和真正的国王特权。在庆祝活动的结束“模拟”国王被剥去了衣服和皇家被杀，不遗余力的真正的国王的生活。

　　波斯人和巴比伦人一个类似的庆祝节日称为Sacaea.这一庆祝活动的一部分，包括交流的地方，将成为奴隶的主人和主人的服从。

　　早期欧洲人相信恶鬼，巫婆，鬼，巨魔。随着冬至的临近，其漫长寒冷的夜晚，短天，许多人担心太阳将不会返回。特别仪式和庆典活动，欢迎回太阳。

　　在斯堪的纳维亚在冬季，太阳会消失了很多天。经过三五天球探将被送到山顶寻找太阳的回报。当第一道曙光，看到的球探将返回的好消息。伟大的艺术节将举行，称为圣诞季节，和特殊的节日，应该是与圣诞节壁炉燃烧服务。

　　大篝火也将点燃庆祝太阳的回报。在一些地区的群众会配合苹果的树枝，以提醒自己，春天和夏天将返回。

　　古希腊人举行了节日类似Zagmuk人/ Sacaea节，以协助他们的神克罗诺斯谁的激战神宙斯和他的巨人。

　　罗马的庆祝他们的神土星。他们被称为农神节始于12月中旬和1月1日结束。的呼声！的“乔农神节”庆祝活动将包括在街道伪装，大节聚餐，访友，以及吉祥礼品称为Strenae（）幸运水果交流。

　　罗马人打扮与用蜡烛点燃的桂冠，并绿树花环的大厅。同样的主人和奴隶，交流的地方。

　　“乔农神节！”是一个有趣和罗马节日的时间，但基督徒虽然令人深恶痛绝的荣誉异教的神。早期的基督徒要保持自己的基督孩子庄严的宗教节日，而不是一个欢乐的欢呼和生日是异教徒的农神节。

　　但随着基督教的传播，他们震惊的是异教习俗和他们之间的转换农神节庆祝活动持续。起初教会禁止这种类型的庆祝活动。但这是徒劳的。最后，决定庆祝会被制服并转化为基督教的上帝的儿子庆祝合适的。

　　一些报道声称，基督教“圣诞节”的庆祝活动竞争的发明12异教徒的庆祝活动。第25届不仅是神圣的罗马人，波斯人，而且密特拉教的宗教是基督教的主要对手之一，当时。教会终于成功地采取了欢乐，灯光，

　　从Saturanilia节日礼品，并给他们带来的圣诞庆祝活动。

　　基督的孩子出生的确切天从来没有被点名。传统说，这是自公元98年庆祝。公元137年罗马主教下令基督儿童生日宴会庆祝庄严。在公元350另罗马朱利叶一，主教选择12月，圣诞节的庆祝第25位。