Love it or hate it, the holiday’s origins date way back, long before Christ even.

Christmas, as in Mass of Christ, is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus.

However, long before the birth of Christianity, the Roman holiday Saturnalia, that honored the god Saturn, and indulged in lawlessness, occurred around the same time.

Come the fall of the Roman Empire, a myriad of both Pagan and Abrahamic religions spread across the European subcontinent.

As the Christian church grew in power, they began incorporating Pagan symbolism, such as the tree, mistletoe, holly, wreaths, gifts, burning the yule log, and even Santa himself,  in order to draw more followers to the religion.

The Christian church was very solemn and serious during this time period. In contrast, most Pagan religions indulged in merriment and drunkenness.

Even birthdays are inherently Pagan, to which Christmas’ origin proves once again to be.

In fact, there are still many Pagan holidays celebrated in Europe alongside Christmas, such as Krampusnacht, Gavle Goat, and Yule Lads.

Christmas didn’t become a commercialized holiday until 1851, when the first manufactured advent calendars were produced in Germany.

Since then, Christmas, or equivalents, has become a staple in so many households around the world.