Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
A present from Grandfather Frost
PETER FROST says an early ‘Happy Christmas’ and has a seasonal gift for all Morning Star readers

OK, so I know it’s still a few days until Christmas and I also know that the bloke they call Jesus was actually born in September or perhaps March.

However the winter solstice has always been immensely important, so it is no wonder early Christians adopted December 25 as their messiah’s birthday.

If by the solstice — the shortest day of the year — ancient people knew they still had stores of food, they had a good chance of surviving until the next spring. That was certainly worth celebrating.   

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Savoy Italian cabbage. Photo: Goldlocki/CC
Gardening / 2 January 2026
2 January 2026

MAT COWARD takes a look at some of the options for keen gardeners as we enter 2026

Beer Street and Gin Lane, 1759 versions of Hogarth contrasting visions / Pic: Public domain
History / 12 September 2025
12 September 2025

Gin Lane by William Hogarth is a critique of 18th-century London’s growing funeral trade, posits DAN O’BRIEN

YUMMY: (L to R) Winter squash; Roasted delicata squash. Pic: (L to R) Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man)/Chanticleer Garden/CC and Sarah Stierch/CC
Features / 17 May 2025
17 May 2025

MAT COWARD rises over such semantics to offer step by step, fool-proof cultivating tips

Men’s football / 4 April 2025
4 April 2025
CHRIS SEARLE interviews saxophonist Chris Williams about the extraordinary electro-acoustic album LEDLEY - a bold fusion of Jazz, football, and community spirit