11 holiday traditions and their surprising origins (2023)

FAQs

What is the origin of all holidays? ›

The concept of holidays often originated in connection with religious observances or associated with traditions. The intention of a holiday was typically to allow individuals to tend to religious duties associated with important dates on the calendar.

Norway. Perhaps one of the most unorthodox Christmas Eve traditions can be found in Norway, where people hide their brooms. It's a tradition that dates back centuries to when people believed that witches and evil spirits came out on Christmas Eve looking for brooms to ride on.

The origins of Christmas stem from both the pagan and Roman cultures. The Romans actually celebrated two holidays in the month of December. The first was Saturnalia, which was a two-week festival honoring their god of agriculture Saturn. On December 25th, they celebrated the birth of Mithra, their sun god.

What is the oldest holiday in the world? New Years is said to be the oldest holiday in the world, and it is the most universally celebrated. It has been observed for nearly 4,000 years. The first documented celebrations of New Years occurred on March 23rd by the Babylonians over 4,000 years ago.

The first four congressionally designated federal holidays were created in 1870, when Congress granted paid time off to federal workers in the District of Columbia for New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

Most popular national and religious holidays in the United States 2021. Thanksgiving and Christmas are the most popular holidays in the United States. According to a survey conducted in the third quarter of 2021, Thanksgiving had a popularity rating of 81 percent, followed by Christmas with 77 percent.

For the Christian celebration of Christmas, the viewing of the Nativity play is one of the oldest Christmastime traditions, with the first reenactment of the Nativity of Jesus taking place in A.D. 1223.

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bhutan, North Korea, Libya, Mauritania, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yemen do not recognize Christmas as a public holiday.

Philippines: The longest Christmas celebrations in the world. The Philippines is said to celebrate Christmas for the longest duration in the world, a result of the country's history, religion and proclivity to party.

Saturnalia, held in mid-December, is an ancient Roman pagan festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn. Because of when the holiday occurred—near the winter solstice—Saturnalia celebrations are the source of many of the traditions we now associate with Christmas, such as wreaths, candles, feasting and gift-giving.

What is the dark origin of Christmas? ›

From ancient times, the season that we now know as Christmas was a midwinter celebration called The Winter Solstice, or Yule. A pagan festival, The Winter Solstice was a time to celebrate the fact that the worst of winter was over, and the people could look forward to longer days with more sunlight in the near future.

We make a big thing out of Valentine's Day every year, but apparently most Americans wish we didn't. A new poll found Valentine's Day might actually be the LEAST popular major holiday in America.

The first holiday we know Jesus celebrated was very easy to recognize, because it is… named. We read in the Gospels that Jesus celebrated Passover already as a child, since His earthly parents were observant Jews (Luke 2:40-43). As an adult, not only did He observe the holiday.

The first recorded Christmas celebration was in Rome on December 25, AD 336. In the 3rd century, the date of the nativity was the subject of great interest.

The Federal Government recognizes 10 holidays. However, several things can affect when you observe your holidays such as your alternative work schedule (if you work one) and if you work full time or part-time.

Our tech would bewilder them, as would the diversity of countries and ways of life. But, they may take comfort in knowing that the holiday – an idea they first pioneered – is still going strong. The Romans were the first civilization to indulge in what we'd now consider travelling for pleasure.

At the point of time, Narayan Meghaji Lokhande was the leader of the mill workers, he presented a proposal of a weekly holiday in front of the Britishers. He said, “After working hard for six days, the workers should get a day to serve their country and society.

Typical paid holidays include New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Veterans Day, and Christmas Day.

What are the top 10 weirdest holidays? ›

Virtually all large companies observe and close on the major holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas).

One of the most common Chinese Christmas traditions among young people is to send cellophane-wrapped apples as gifts to their friends. The apples are also often sold with printed messages like 'love', 'peace' and 'Merry Christmas'.

In Africa, Christmas is all about festive concerts, sunny outdoor feasts and Christmas street parades. For almost everyone in Africa, Christmas is a time to gather with friends and family, go to church and enjoy a big feast – but every country also has its own unique festive traditions.

Some have suggested there was a link with the iconography of the original St Nicholas, who is often depicted in red robes, but more likely is that it just felt aesthetically right, chiming with the rosy-cheeked, red-nosed Santa of the poem, and with the red outfit playing off the whiteness of the fur, beard and snow – ...

Much earlier, the American cartoonist Thomas Nast fashioned Santa Claus's image on the pages of the American magazine Harper's Weekly. The character of Santa Claus is believed to descend from Bishop Nicholas of Myra, who lived in the 4^th century.

Brunei. The public celebration of Christmas has been banned in the tiny oil-rich Islamic state of Brunei since 2015, with anyone found violating the law facing up to five years in jail or a fine of US $20,000, or both.

The Soviet Union, and certain other Communist regimes, banned Christmas observances in accordance with the Marxist–Leninist doctrine of state atheism.

What religion does not recognize Christmas? ›

Among them are Quakers, Jehovah's Witnesses, and members of the Churches of Christ. Some of the half-dozen Christian faiths that do no celebrate Dec. 25 contend there is nothing in the Bible that says Christ was born on that day.

On Christmas Eve, unmarried Czech women stand with their back to the door and toss one of their shoes over their shoulder. If it lands with the toe facing the door, it means that they'll be married within the year.

These include Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate most holidays or events that honour people who aren't Jesus. That includes birthdays, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day and Hallowe'en. They also don't celebrate religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter in the belief that these customs have pagan origins.

The modern Santa Claus is a direct descendent of England's Father Christmas, who was not originally a gift-giver. However, Father Christmas and his other European variations are modern incarnations of old pagan ideas about spirits who traveled the sky in midwinter, Hutton said.

University of Warwick historian Professor Bernard Capp said the ban was put in place by the Puritan government in 1647 as they believed Christmas was used as an excuse for drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling and other forms of excess.

Dec. 25 is not the date mentioned in the Bible as the day of Jesus's birth; the Bible is actually silent on the day or the time of year when Mary was said to have given birth to him in Bethlehem.

Now, as Christmas applies to the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, Christmas is decidedly not pagan. However, there are some differences of opinion when it comes to the selection of day of celebration. On the Roman calendar, December 25 was the date of the winter solstice (December 21 on the modern calendar).

For hundreds of years, red and green have been the traditional colors of Christmas.

What's Black Christmas called? ›

Black Christmas (originally titled Silent Night, Evil Night in the United States) is a 1974 Canadian slasher film produced and directed by Bob Clark, and written by A. Roy Moore.

Things like kissing under a mistletoe, carolling, wreaths, and even gift-giving were all aspects of pagan holidays that were adapted into Christmas celebrations in the early years.

Federal holidays are designated by the United States Congress in Title V of the United States Code (5 U.S.C. § 6103). Congress only has authority to create holidays for federal institutions (including federally-owned properties), employees, and the District of Columbia.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate most holidays or events that honour people who aren't Jesus. That includes birthdays, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day and Hallowe'en. They also don't celebrate religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter in the belief that these customs have pagan origins.

In 1789, President George Washington became the first president to proclaim a Thanksgiving holiday, when, at the request of Congress, he proclaimed November 26, a Thursday, as a day of national thanksgiving for the U.S. Constitution.

Saturnalia, held in mid-December, is an ancient Roman pagan festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn. Because of when the holiday occurred—near the winter solstice—Saturnalia celebrations are the source of many of the traditions we now associate with Christmas, such as wreaths, candles, feasting and gift-giving.

Though December 25 is the day Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the date itself and several of the customs we've come to associate with Christmas actually evolved from pagan traditions celebrating the winter solstice.

Christmas owes its roots to the ancient Roman holiday of Saturnalia, which was a pagan festival which was celebrated from December 17-25 each year. This custom was altered and absorbed into Christmas, and this allowed early Christians to gradually erase these old pagan holidays.

The denomination requires adherence to a strict moral code, which forbids premarital sex, homosexuality, gender transitioning, adultery, smoking, drunkenness and drug abuse, and blood transfusions.

Why can't Muslims do Christmas? ›

Since Muslims don't believe that Jesus was God's son, there is nothing for them to celebrate and the festival plays no part in the Muslim calendar. It also means that in Muslim countries there is no official holiday. It's why Muslims don't decorate their homes, schools or offices with Christmas trees and fairy lights.

Jehovah's Witnesses: They don't celebrate any holidays or even birthdays. Some Christians: Some believe the holiday is associated with Satanism or Paganism, so are against celebrating it. Orthodox Jews: They don't celebrate Halloween due to its origins as a Christian holiday.