In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from 12/21 to the end of January. Yule was the Germanic Tribes name for the winter solstice when the days grew longer. The Norse fathers and sons would bring home logs that they set on fire and these yule logs would burn for 12 days. During that time there would be a lot of feasting on food and drink. It's the time of year that cattle would be slaughtered so they wouldn't have to be fed during the winter when grazing wasn't possible. This questions the fact that Christians chose 12/25 for their birth of Christ. The bible says shepherds were herding their sheep at the time of Christ's birth. Not something you would do in December.
In Rome, the winter celebration was called Saturnalia after Saturn, god of agriculture. It was party time. The word saturnalian has come to mean a time of merrymaking. The Romans also celebrated the birth of Mithra, god of the sun, on December 25th.
In early Christianity, Christmas was not celebrated at all. The major holiday was Easter. It was in the 4th century that Pope Julius I created Christmas and designated 12/25 as the day of celebration. The Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches celebrate The Epiphany on 1/7, the day the Magi visited Christ as their 'Feast of the Lights'.
In America, when Cromwell and the puritans outlawed Christmas it was banned in Boston from 1659 to 1681. It was in the 19th Century that America reinstituted Christmas as a family holiday. It was Washington Irving's stories: "The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent." that had a lot to do with it. They were fictionalized stories of families celebrating Christmas. In 1843 Charles Dickens added to the tradition with his book: "A Christmas Carol".
A part of Christmas since Germany in the 18th Century has been lights. Lights on trees and lights on the home. Here are some of the lights in New York City's 5th Ave. today:
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