Christmas, renowned for the birth of Christ, began as a pagan festival and developed into

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1 Lisa Johnson English IV Mrs. Murray 12/14/10 Christmas Contagiousness Comment [M1]: Good title Christmas, renowned for the birth of Christ, began as a pagan festival and developed into the gift giving, tree decorating, religious holiday of today. The negative connotations associated with Paganism in Christianity forms a dubious thought. Christmas is celebrated by virtually all Comment [M2]: Passive voice Christians and the contagiousness of the celebration directly correlates to the rise of Christianity, but the celebration initiated from the pagan religion. Author Malcolm Gladwell s tipping point theory helps to explain how the festival which seemed only to be celebrated by heathens, transformed to a celebration of anyone who follows the Christian faith. Gladwall says, The three rules of the tipping point the Law of the Few, the Stickiness factor, the Power of Context offer a way of making sense of epidemics. They provide us with direction for how to go about reaching a tipping point (Gladwell 29). These rules apply to the celebration of Christmas as an epidemic and the tipping point needed to encourage the celebration of the holiday into the modern age. Comment [M3]: Good intro Christmas originated in Rome as a pagan festival known as Saturnalia, a week long celebration of lawlessness and brutality (Kelemen). The festival was celebrated from December 17-25, un-til the fourth century BC when it was absorbed into Christmas celebrations. During Comment [M4]: Leave out this time, courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people. Human sacrifices were common practice due to the belief that they were destroying the forces of darkness by brutally murdering their captives (Kelemen).

2 Simultaneously, Christianity was on the rise, but was celebrating very little in terms of holidays. Celebrations such as birthdays were considered heathen rituals practiced by Satan worshipping Comment [M5]: Try to rely less on to be verbs throughout the paper. pagans; therefore, births were rarely acknowledged nor recorded. Thus there is no direct proof or statement of the exact day Christ was born. Christmas, instead, began as a compromise to people of the pagan religion. Pagans in Rome, influenced to convert to Christianity by their emperor Constantine, demanded their celebrations in return, specifically the festival of Saturnalia (Guisepi). Christmas of today, is Christianity s refinements to a historically barbaric festival, refinements that were necessary for the continuation of the celebration in a civilized age. According to Gladwell s Law of the Few, epidemics tip because of the extraordinary efforts of a few select carriers (Gladwell 22). This includes the involvement of three specific persons, known as the connecter, the maven, and the salesman. Christmas, directly tied to the Comment [M6]: I d like to hear more about how modern Christmas practices were rooted in this barbaric holiday. Comment [M7]: I d like to see you work on this transition. Comment [M8]: How else could you say this? development of the Christian religion, began with the connecter, the Emperor of Rome, Constantine the Great. Under the rule of Emperor Diocletian, Christianity was persecuted and was not legalized until Emperor Constantine began his rule, around 313 AD (Guisepi). In the early years of Constantine s life, he was not considered to belong to any religion, it appears that he regarded other religions as likewise true and useful to mankind; and he therefore wished all Comment [M9]: Work on how you introduce this excerpt religions to be freely practiced throughout the Roman Empire (Guisepi). This tolerance was a rare quality in the days of the Roman Empire, and his unique personality made his people all the more devote in their loyalty. When the time came in Constantine s life that he converted to Christianity, when he believed it to be the only true and saving religion, he declared war on all of Rome s ancient superstitions. People who practiced other religions, such as pagans, were then forced to convert to Christianity from both fear of punishment and the desire to please the emperor (Guisepi). Christmas became a compromise and a form of encouragement for pagan Comment [M10]: So he wasn t really as tolerant as he seemed.

3 conversion. According to Gladwell, a connector is someone who is familiar with many people and can assist in influencing the public at large. Emperor Constantine not only influenced his subjects, he influenced his sons to continue the Christian faith as the only saving religion when they took over the empire after his death. After Constantine converted to Christianity, he looked for the abolishment of the other Comment [M11]: This almost sounds like he s really more of a salesman than a connector. religions of Rome. In an effort to recruit more people of other religions, and knowing full well that it would be impossible to ban Saturnalia due to the immense number of people celebrating the festival, Bishop St. Julius 1 st developed Christmas by absorbing Saturnalia and proposing it as the celebration of the nativity (Smith). In terms of the Law of the Few, St. Julius the 1 st acted as the maven. According to Gladwell, maven s are very knowledgeable about their community and they assist the connector by spreading word to fuel the epidemic. There are few people that could have more knowledge about the community nor spread the word to fuel an epidemic as profoundly as a bishop, the person whom civilians looked to the most to Comment [M12]: It s not simply that they spread the word so much as that they are genuine and knowledgeable. As a result, when a maven decides to share information, people have a tendency to listen. distinguish the difference between right or wrong. St. Julius 1 st believed that they could not force Christianity on the masses all at once. He intended to gradually erase pagan rituals by adapting [them] to the praise of God (Smith). His responsibility in the absorption of pagan rituals into the Christian celebration can be attributed to the conversion of millions of pagans to Christianity. The salesmen of Christmas came many centuries later and much closer to the tipping point of the epidemic. In the words of Gladwell, When we are trying to make an idea or attitude or product tip, we re trying to change our audience in some small yet critical respect: we re trying to infect them, sweep them up in our epidemic, convert them from hostility to acceptance (Gladwell 166). In the following millennia, Christianity experienced waves of popularity. The salesmen of Christmas came in the Puritan America of the 19 th century. Though Comment [M13]: Leave out Comment [M14]: during Comment [M15]: Why Puritan America? The writers you mention are from the Romantic era in America and the Victorian era in Britain respectively. Neither were Puritan. Also, the Puritan movement ended early in the 18 th century.

4 Christmas evolved into a Christian holiday, the celebration retained many raucous traditions looked down upon in the orthodox society (Christmas). It was essential for Christmas to continue to evolve in order for diverse groups of citizens to continue celebrating the holiday. Writers, specifically Washington Irvine and Charles Dickens, contributed to the change in the audience, essential to the infection for epidemic. Irvine s, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Comment [M16]: Irving Comment [M17]: Irving s Crayon and more notably Dickens, A Christmas Carol, reinvented Christmas as a family centered day of peace, nostalgia, and charity (Christmas). Books such as these invented the traditions of the holiday and made the celebration sellable to the masses. The connector, salesmen, and maven of Christmas were people in leading positions that shaped and molded Comment [M18]: Interesting. So how was the holiday perceived prior to this? the holiday to influence followers and make the celebration sticky. The Stickiness factor proposed by Gladwell relates to the changes that morphed Christmas from a pagan festival to a Christian celebration and then from carnival-like debauchery to the family-based traditions of today. Gladwell explains the Stickiness factor as relatively simple changes in the presentation and structuring of information that can make a big difference in how much of an impact it makes (Gladwell 25). Without the changes from hedonistic to civilized, Christmas would not have survived as a celebration. The evolution of Comment [M19]: true the celebration was necessary because the people celebrating the holiday were evolving. In order for Christmas to avoid fading, Christmas adapted to the civilization of the cultures celebrating it. This is evident in today s society. The vast diversity of civilians celebrating the holiday is due to the refinement of the celebration. Today, the only people not participating are members of religions that demand that they refrain, such as Judaism and Muslims; however, our society shows us that Christmas does not have to be celebrated as the birth of Christ to be celebrated. People of many different religions or lack thereof, celebrate Christmas because it is a time of

5 remembrance, of family, and of charity. These qualities appeal to many people, regardless of religion, and the history of Christmas as a pagan celebration does little to hinder the celebration. Tolerance and acceptance have taken over in today s society allowing for Christmas to grow with time. These qualities and growths change the Christmas celebration and afford stickiness to the epidemic. The Stickiness of Christmas encompasses the evolution of the holiday that were necessary for its continuation; therefore, the Power of Context, the theory that epidemics are sensitive to the conditions and circumstances of the times and places in which they occur", encompass the evolution of society (Gladwell 139). Christianity came into popularity when economic, political, and military problems plagued the Roman Empire. Christianity was a religion of lively hope and a source of great strength (Dodd). The Roman Empire encompassed Comment [M20]: interesting such profoundly different religions that Christianity offered a remedy to the plaguing mysteries of the fourth century. Christianity, open to all, gave followers a sense of belonging. Human warmth sprang from Christian communities and offered men, women, and slaves the opportunity to belong. Christianity afforded women opportunities to bridge class and gender differences in both public and private life (McNamara). The appealing influence of Christianity on communities in the 4 th century also effected America in the 19 th century. The 19 th century was a time of great class conflict and economic turmoil. Unemployment was high and gang rioting was common (Christmas). It was during this time that the salesmen from the Law of the Few reinvented Christmas as a peaceful, warm-hearted holiday that brought groups together across lines of wealth or social class (Christmas). Society in this time, needed to bring people together to calm the calamity caused by differences in class and wealth. The remedy to the condition of

6 society became Christmas and the peaceful celebration of Christmas made the holiday all the more enjoyable to celebrate. Comment [M21]: good point The celebration of Christmas fluctuated with the popularity of Christianity. When Christianity prospered, Christmas became widely celebrated. When Christianity declined, disapproval colored the holiday as it did in the early years of both the Roman Empire and America. Banned and admonished, sanctioned and cherished, Christmas could only persevere if fluctuation ceased and the contagiousness of Christmas could infect the world. The epidemic of Christmas hit a tipping point quite a while after the holiday s celebration. Congress declared Christmas a federal holiday on June 26, 1870 (Christmas). National acceptance became possible after influential members of society, such as Washington Irvine and Charles Dickens, promoted Comment [M22]: Irving the celebration as representation of the values of the society and families. After Congress accepted the holiday, American s were free to develop their own traditions and make Christmas their own, despite belief in Jesus or practice of religion. Gladwell s theory of the tipping point is entirely applicable to the celebration of Christmas. Constantine, St. Julius 1 st, and influential writers such as Washington Irvine and Comment [M23]: Irving Charles Dickens, significant contributors to the Law of the Few, can also take responsibility for the prevalence of the holiday. These people morphed Christmas to the family oriented, charitable celebration that it is today, changing basic characteristics of the holiday to continue renowned adoration, and assist with the contagiousness of the epidemic by making it sticky. The individuals from the Law of the Few took advantage of the immediate context from which they were living to influence the populace and develop the contagiousness of the epidemic by advertising Christianity and Christmas as the solution to the difficulties of society. The tipping point of the epidemic, influenced by the Law of the Few, the Stickiness factor, and the

7 Power of Context, occurred after necessary changes were made so that the holiday could be celebrated by as diverse groups people as possible. Comment [M24]: What could potentially end this epidemic?

8 Works Cited Christmas. History.com. A&E Television Networks Web. Dec 12, < history.com>. Dodds, E.R. Pagan and Christian: The Appeal of Christianity. The Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity. Western Civilization Interpreting the Past Web. Dec < Guisepi, Robert A. A History of Christianity. History World International. Jan, Web. Dec 12, < Kelemen, Lawrence. The Real Story of Christmas. Judaism online. SimpleToRemember.com. Web. Dec 12, < McNamara, Jo Ann. Women of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity. Western Civilization Interpreting the Past Web. Dec 12, < Smith, Larry. The Celebration of Christmas. Mother Bedford Web. Dec. 12, <

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