Mid winter is a traditional day of celebration around the world, and hundreds of years before the first Christmas was ever celebrated, winter solstice festivals took place. The Norse winter solstice in Scandinavia, for example, took place on December 21st through January. In Germany, festivals to honor the pagan god Oden were observed, largely because many people were afraid that Oden, during one of his flights at night to observe people in order to decide who would die and who would have a prosperous year, would spot them. Most people stayed inside during this time, and the festivals were a way of easing their fears.
The ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia, to honor the god of agriculture, Saturn. During this time, businesses closed down and large parties were held which included drinking, feasting, and celebrating. Another important holiday for the Romans during this time was Juvenelia, which honored the children of Rome, and coincided with the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, which took place on December 25th.
Christians did not celebrate the birth of Jesus until the fourth century, but ran into protests since the Bible does not mention the exact date of his birth, and many scholars, including some to his day, believe that it actually occurred in the Spring. Nevertheless, Pope Julian chose the date of December 25th as the holiday, which many believe was an attempt to absorb and overshadow the Saturnalia festival. The first celebrations were known as the Feast of The Nativity, and over time. The tradition spread to other countries as well.
By the Middle Ages, Christmas had eclipsed other celebrations, and was celebrated in two parts, first in church, and then in a carnival like atmosphere in the streets, similar to modern day Mardi Gras. The poor people would beg at the houses of the rich for food and drink, and if refused, would play tricks on them, similar to the practice of trick or treating, which also evolved from this custom.
By the seventeenth century, religious reform changed the way that the holiday was celebrated, due to the influence of Oliver Crowell and the Puritans who took religious control of England in 1645 and vowed to rid England of immorality. Christmas was briefly canceled, but retured when Charles II was restored to the throne. This cultural and moral division between the Puritans and the rest of society was the cause for the Pilgrim migration to the Americas in 1620, which, as we all know, led to another important holiday: the first Thanksgiving.
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