How did Christmas start and I would like the true?

Question

I would also like the person that provide me with an answer, tell me where they got their information from.

Answer 1

Christmas began under Emporer Constantine of the Roman Empire early in the 4th century. He wanted a counter-festival to the wild, pagan rites of the winter solstice. He created the festival of Christmas as an alternative and then went on to outlaw all religions except Christianity.
You can Google any number of sites.

Answer 2

Christmas, just like Easter and St Valentines day, are holidays hijacked from the pagans by the christians. Centuries ago, Xmas was originally a feast day when people in villages beset by winter storms and such, would get together and celebrate the fact that they were still alive! Thy would slaughter animals for meat and make breads etc from the stored grains and just party!
It wasn't until the christians arrived that the day was made into Christmas and a high holy day.
You see, when the chrisians would have thier churches built (by the pagans at the point of a sword), the building would still be empty during mass on the new and improved holidays. Soooo, the christians then decided to build more churches - again at sword point - in the forests and quiet places that the pagans had been using for generations for their celebrations.
Once inside the church - by habit and by sword poiint - the pagans were treated to "enlightenment" by the priests and bishops eager to build up their parishes and armies.

Answer 3

It started with the Pagan Sabbat YULE(Winter Solstice, DEC. 20-23). when Christianity started in order to try and get the Pagans to convert to Christianity. they moved the birth date of Jesus to
Dec.25 and dropped the Yule celebrations.It was first called Christ Mass then degenerated into Christmas.
in Paganism a fire is lain but not lit until a ritual is completed and then the fire is lit by the priest. to encourage the sun to start its journey back up and bring with it more light and warmth.
In Christianity it still borrowed from other religions and traditions from other countries.The giving of presents from the magi and a Turkish monk that gave presents to children(don't quoit me on that one. as I may be slightly wrong about the country.)

Answer 4

Well Christians Honor this day as the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ,but there was once a man named st Nicholas he was a real st. now the Christmas we all no and children love started with him, he would in the middle of the night sneak gifts usually coins into the homes of the less fortunate and from this Christmas was born,

Answer 5

There was a saint in some foreign country who was called Saint Nicholas or something. He apparently gave gifts to all the children of the villages in his area.
I read this when I was four, so I cannot remmeber the book, logically.
But I have heard that it's all based on that guy.
The rest I haven't found out.

Answer 6

I can't remember the name of the book, but I had a book about church history written by a Catholic Priest. The Catholic Church took a pagan celebration of Yule and remade it into Christmas to appease the pagans they were forcing into Christianity.

Where in the bible is it that we should celebrate Christ's birth. Only one birthday celebration is recorded in the New Testement and that one cost a Christian named John the Baptist his head.

Answer 7

An Ancient Holiday
The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. Many peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.


In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.

The end of December was a perfect time for celebration in most areas of Europe. At that time of year, most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter. For many, it was the only time of year when they had a supply of fresh meat. In addition, most wine and beer made during the year was finally fermented and ready for drinking.


In Germany, people honored the pagan god Oden during the mid-winter holiday. Germans were terrified of Oden, as they believed he made nocturnal flights through the sky to observe his people, and then decide who would prosper or perish. Because of his presence, many people chose to stay inside

and the legend of st nick.
The Legend of St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas
Corbis-Bettman

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the best known of the St. Nicholas stories is that he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married. Over the course of many years, Nicholas's popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in Holland.

Answer 8

to say we were once all from an English ancestry and that we were of a tradition that Biblically stands corrected to mother nature, seems like the long winter were so distressing to the whole of(winter) life that either it was drinking your way through it or fabricating a illusions that created a small gaiety in embracing themselves with renewal and believing that they will endure to the spring and meet their destinies later. but to fabricate so much and the winter is so long what can we do.....read the Bible..drink..be marry and
(...the unknown inspiration moment...) ..and may all your Christmases be bright

Answer 9

The roman catholic church started christmas to convert more jews to the christian faith. Check out www.pcog.org. You can get any information on just about any biblical topic or What we call Holidays. It doesnt cost you anything. Check it out.

Answer 10

M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia says: “The observance of Christmas is not of divine appointment, nor is it of N[ew] T[estament] origin. The day of Christ’s birth cannot be ascertained from the N[ew] T[estament], or, indeed, from any other source.”—(New York, 1871), Vol. II, p. 276.

Luke 2:8-11 shows that shepherds were in the fields at night at the time of Jesus’ birth. The book Daily Life in the Time of Jesus states: “The flocks . . . passed the winter under cover; and from this alone it may be seen that the traditional date for Christmas, in the winter, is unlikely to be right, since the Gospel says that the shepherds were in the fields.”—(New York, 1962), Henri Daniel-Rops, p. 228.

The Encyclopedia Americana informs us: “The reason for establishing December 25 as Christmas is somewhat obscure, but it is usually held that the day was chosen to correspond to pagan festivals that took place around the time of the winter solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, to celebrate the ‘rebirth of the sun.’ . . . The Roman Saturnalia (a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture, and to the renewed power of the sun), also took place at this time, and some Christmas customs are thought to be rooted in this ancient pagan celebration.”—(1977), Vol. 6, p. 666.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia acknowledges: “The date of Christ’s birth is not known. The Gospels indicate neither the day nor the month . . . According to the hypothesis suggested by H. Usener . . . and accepted by most scholars today, the birth of Christ was assigned the date of the winter solstice (December 25 in the Julian calendar, January 6 in the Egyptian), because on this day, as the sun began its return to northern skies, the pagan devotees of Mithra celebrated the dies natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of the invincible sun). On Dec. 25, 274, Aurelian had proclaimed the sun-god principal patron of the empire and dedicated a temple to him in the Campus Martius. Christmas originated at a time when the cult of the sun was particularly strong at Rome.”—(1967), Vol. III, p. 656.

Wise men, or Magi, led by a star

Those Magi were actually astrologers from the east. (Matt. 2:1, 2, NW; NE) Although astrology is popular among many people today, the practice is strongly disapproved in the Bible. (See pages 144, 145, under the main heading “Fate.”) Would God have led to the newborn Jesus persons whose practices He condemned?

Matthew 2:1-16 shows that the star led the astrologers first to King Herod and then to Jesus and that Herod then sought to have Jesus killed. No mention is made that anyone other than the astrologers saw the “star.” After they left, Jehovah’s angel warned Joseph to flee to Egypt to safeguard the child. Was that “star” a sign from God or was it from someone who was seeking to have God’s Son destroyed?

Note that the Bible account does not say that they found the babe Jesus in a manger, as customarily depicted in Christmas art. When the astrologers arrived, Jesus and his parents were living in a house. As to Jesus’ age at that time, remember that, based on what Herod had learned from the astrologers, he decreed that all the boys in the district of Bethlehem two years of age and under were to be destroyed.—Matt. 2:1, 11, 16.

Gift giving as part of the celebration; stories about Santa Claus, Father Christmas, etc.

The practice of Christmas gift giving is not based on what was done by the Magi. As shown above, they did not arrive at the time of Jesus’ birth. Furthermore, they gave gifts, not to one another, but to the child Jesus, in accord with what was then customary when visiting notable persons.

The Encyclopedia Americana states: “During the Saturnalia . . . feasting prevailed, and gifts were exchanged.” (1977, Vol. 24, p. 299) In many instances that represents the spirit of Christmas giving—an exchanging of gifts. The spirit reflected in such gift giving does not bring real happiness, because it violates Christian principles such as those found at Matthew 6:3, 4 and 2 Corinthians 9:7. Surely a Christian can give gifts to others as an expression of love at other times during the year, doing so as often as he wants to.

Depending on where they live, children are told that gifts are brought by Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, Father Christmas, Père Noël, Knecht Ruprecht, the Magi, the elf Jultomten (or Julenissen), or a witch known as La Befana. (The World Book Encyclopedia, 1984, Vol. 3, p. 414) Of course, none of these stories are actually true. Does the telling of such stories build in children a respect for truth, and does such a practice honor Jesus Christ, who taught that God must be worshiped with truth?—John 4:23, 24.