–      Before Christmas came to be, there were other festivals celebrated during the month of December. Roman pagans celebrated Saturnalia. It was meant to honor the agriculture god Saturn. It is celebrated by drinking, feasting, and gambling, exchanging gifts was a popular tradition for the celebration. It was celebrated in the Temple of Saturn in Rome. This celebration began on December 17th. It lasted 7 days, and ended December 23rd. It originally started as a single day celebration. Although it originated in the late Republic (133-31 B.C.) it is still celebrated by reconstructionist pagans around the world.

–         Many Europeans celebrated winter solstice. The meaning of the festival is to celebrate the sun’s rebirth. People celebrate this occasion by brewing mulled cider and eating solstice foods. Modern paganism is the religion that celebrates winter solstice. This tradition started way back in the Neolithic Period (4300-2000 B.C.). They were known to be celebrated in places such as  Newgrange, Ireland and Maeshowe, Scotland.

 –         Many people also celebrate the end of the harvest season. To celebrate the end of the season by singing hymns, praying, and decorating churches with baskets of fruit and food. The meaning behind it is to give thanks for the crops and the food it provided. It is believed that this started in 1621 when the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Tribe celebrated what the United States calls Thanksgiving. Although, the United Kingdom’s harvest season traditions began in 1843.

*http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1996/christmas/history.html#:~:text=Early%20celebrations%20of%20Christmas%20are,songs%2C%20and%20eating%20special%20foods.

*https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/saturnalia

*https://www.britannica.com/list/7-winter-solstice-celebrations-from-around-the-world#:~:text=Saturnalia&text=The%20ancient%20Roman%20festival%20of,end%20of%20the%20planting%20season.

*https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/what-does-the-pagan-holiday-yule-have-to-do-with-the-winter-solstice/#:~:text=Today%2C%20many%20pagans%20still%20celebrate,thinking%20deeply%20about%20their%20faith.

*https://www.olsj.towerhamlets.sch.uk/blogs/year2/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2017/10/reading-comp.pdf

*https://www.mothermag.com/how-to-celebrate-the-winter-solstice/#:~:text=Astronomically%2C%20the%20winter%20solstice%20marks,eating%20winter%20solstice%20foods%2C%20to

*https://www.getty.edu/news/the-wild-holiday-that-turned-ancient-rome-upside-down/