by David and Ron

Christmas started over 4000 years ago, it's traditions have changed in the last three thousand years or so, but the original traditions are similar. Basically they were; trading of gifts, parades, carolers, holiday feasts, and holiday church, and large bond fires. Believed to be started in Mesopotamia, but has been found that it is just a celebration of New Years. The Mesopotamian god Murdock, was celebrated like Santa is now. What the Mesopotamians did was dress a mockery king up, normally a prisoner, and treated him like a real king. When Murdock came he was supposed to take the king, he was to be sacrificed. So the mockery king was slain in front of every one during they're carnival. Thousands of years later, Romans had a holiday in which their god was born, and slaves and normal people would switch places for a day. That is where many of the rituals of modern day Christmas come from. Romans had pine trees that were lit by candles and they decorated their halls with garlands. Christians wanted to keep the birth of Christ a simple holiday, so they didn't really start for a while. "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."