December 04, 2012

Earl W. Count and Alice Lawson Count: 4,000 Years of Christmas

The habit of the Saturnalia was too strong to be left behind. At first the Church forbade it, but in vain. When a river meets a boulder that will not be moved, the river flows around it. The Church Fathers now sought to point the festival toward the Christian Sun of Righteousness. If that could be done, the festival in its turn must of necessity grow worthy of him it celebrated.

According to the About the Authors section, Earl W. Count was an "author, anthropologist and Episcopalian priest," "reknowned," even. this is quite clear from 4000 Years of Christmas, which is well written, hints at a wealth of tales and history behind the material presented, and approaches the compromises the Christian Church has made with pre-existing pagan customs as evidence of the Church's civilizing influence. It gives an overview of the cultures and winter solstice customs that were absorbed by Christianity into Christmas.

It's a short, compact book. Count starts before the birth of Christ with the winter celebrations of Mesopotamia around 2,000 BCE. Immediately, I wanted to know more about the Zagmuk and Sacaea festivals mentioned. Likewise when he mentions the early Church's decision to pick December 25th for celebrating the birth of Christ, Count writes "we cannot plunge into the arguments by which the Church finally arrived a the conclusions that made Christmas possible." Rather than the two-paragraph summary follows, I would like to know the arguments the Church fathers made for and against Christ's human birth, and for choosing the Roman Saturnalia as the day to celebrate that birth. Was Christ really born of woman? The discussion should be fascinating theologically and politically.

From the Mediterranean South, he moves north of the Alps and into the Middle Ages. The customs of the Germans, Dutch, Slavs and Scandanavians are conflated into one "Northern Europe." This is a rather gross oversimplification, as even in Germany, there is a division between North and South over whether the Christkind or Weinachtsman brings the presents. (A division that has blurred with the advent of national television and increased mobility across regions of Germany.) Again, Christianity absorbs the pagans and their traditions. There is a sense of the inevitability and rightness of Christianity subsuming the earlier religions; Count, after all was an Episcopalian priest.

If you want an overview of the pre-Christian traditions that inspired and were incorporated into Christmas, 4000 Years of Christmas is an excellent place to start, especially if you are writing your confirmation class term paper on Christmas's origins.