Christmas may very well be the oldest holiday that is shared across the many cultures of the world; it is traditionally celebrated during the winter season (or even the warm summer season if you count Australia, where Christmas is celebrated as an official holiday).
Before Christmas was celebrated, people were finding time to celebrate in Europe during the winter holiday before the birth of Jesus Christ ever even occurred!
The Winter Solstice has always been a time to celebrate and rejoice; it is celebrated on December 21 in the northern hemisphere and it was after the Winter Solstice that the worst part of the year was behind them. It was at that point during the year that the days began to get longer, giving the people more time to spend outside on their crops and tending to their animals.
In Scandinavia during the Winter Solstice, men and their sons used to go in to the woods to cut a tree down. After the tree had been felled, a nicely sized log was cut out of it, and the men would carry the log back to the home. This log was dubbed a Yule Log, and the Yule log was burned in the fireplace. The entire time the Yule log burned, the family would feast....