4000 Years of Christmas
The Curious Beginnings of Our Modern Celebration

Following myth and folklore from the Near East, Greece, Rome and northern Europe, "4,000 Years of Christmas" tells a story that begins not with a manger in Bethlehem, but with wealthy Babylonians exchanging gifts in an empire that flourished before the Bronze Age. Illustrations.

What if our entire civilization could write its own memoirs and tell the complete story of Christmas past? Surprisingly, the tale would begin not in Bethlehem, but two thousand years earlier in the cradle of civilization. It would be a nostalgic story involving Christians and non-Christians alike. Babylonians Greeks, and Romans - whose ancient customs became part of the Christmas celebration - would people its pages. We would see early Europeans hanging fir sprigs and winter greenery to renew life and protect against the cold blasts of Arctic wind. People who had not yet learned of the Christ child would be burning Yule logs. Of course, the most important chapter in these memoirs would take place in a manger surrounded by Wise Men and marked with a brilliant star. But the tale would continue on for another two thousand years as generation after generation added to the customs of Christmas.