Merrie Chriftmaf

Via Democrappy, an interesting (and short) history of Christmas from the History Channel.

In the early years of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated. In the fourth century, church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday...

The end of December was a perfect time for celebration in most areas of Europe. At that time of year, most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter. For many, it was the only time of year when they had a supply of fresh meat. In addition, most wine and beer made during the year was finally fermented and ready for drinking...

By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced, but gave up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated. By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the most part, replaced pagan religion. On Christmas, believers attended church, then celebrated raucously in a drunken, carnival-like atmosphere similar to today's Mardi Gras...

Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings... After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas... Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870...

In 1828, the New York city council instituted the city's first police force in response to [Christmas-time gang rioting by the disenchanted classes]. This catalyzed certain members of the upper classes to begin to change the way Christmas was celebrated in America... Americans re-invented Christmas, and changed it from a raucous carnival holiday into a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia...

In the next 100 years, Americans built a Christmas tradition all their own that included pieces of many other customs, including decorating trees, sending holiday cards, and gift-giving.