4,000 Years of Christmas: A Gift from the Ages

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Summary: An explaination of solstice and christmas celebration
Review: I bought 4000 Years of Christmas because I'm very interested in the history of Christmas and winter solstice celebration and wanted some background on where it all began. Carl and Alice Count's book, 4000 Years of Christmas, answered much for me. It linked the pre-Christian Mesopotamian 12 days of merry-making and their need to have a rebirth of their king each year to fight the old gods who were reclaiming the earth in order to renew the land. The Counts then explained how these celebrations were adopted by the Greeks and Romans, and how separately these early Mesopotamian celebrations moved north via trade routes up the Danube River to an emerging Northern culture. The Counts further reveal that Christ's birth day was not celebrated for nearly 400 years, and that the Roman Saturnalia celebration -- a celebration developed out the Mesopotamian one, was held at the winter solstice to honor the renewing of light and the end of the long nights -- and that 4th Century Christians chose the finale day of Saturnalia (December 25) as the day of Christ's birth in hope of garnering peasant support. The interesting tie they make is that of the change in the perception of Gods -- from ones that are abitrary and sometimes vindictive to one like Jesus Christ who offers love, grace, kindness to all -- including children. After exploring the Christian development, the Counts explore the development of the Germanic god Woden and the Scandinavian god Odin, explaining how they evolved into Santa Claus and mixed with the Christian celebations, and how the history of St. Nickalus was developed. In short, this is good reading and it offers a nice, short synopsis of the development of our familar winter Christmas celebrations and how Christian and early pagan celebrations evolved.

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Summary: A flowery discussion of pagan forerunners to Christmas.
Review: In this small, brief book, the late Earl W. Count and his widow Alice tell the story of how the celebration of Christmas evolved from pagan winter festivals in ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, and northern Europe. In their narrative, the Counts write in passing about the origins of Christmas customs and symbols (just a few are covered, actually), including Santa Claus, who may have evolved from a Norse god as well as from the real-life St. Nicholas. I got the impression that the authors did not make the point of exalting Christmas more strongly against its pagan ancestors; based on the book's title, the Nativity of Jesus Christ appears to be treated as just another winter feast in a series spanning 4000 years of recorded history (considering that Earl Count was an Episcopalian priest, the authors should have known better). Now, there is nothing problematic about time-honored Christmas customs and symbols that, while pagan in origin, are wholesome and do not contradict Christian teaching; that certain pre-Christian elements were adopted as part of the celebration of the Nativity is a historical fact. However, implying that what was celebrated in the pagan world before the birth of Christ somehow equates with Christmas itself simply misses the point; to a Christian, celebrating the coming of the Savior far outweighs and supplants any pale imitations of ages past. The book does not enjoy the benefit of a bibliography, yet a listing of other titles by the publisher includes selections on apocryphal Gospels and controversial theories about Christ.

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Summary: An Excellent Christmas Gift
Review: This is a delightful, well-rounded explanation of the development of the holiday we know as Christmas. Readers interested in learning about the origins of our celebration will likely be well pleased with what these authors have to offer. Those who seek reinforcement of their own viewpoints or advocacy of particular religious interpretations of the season might look elsewhere.