to celebrate the Winter Solstice and the beauty of nature
2006-11-10 06:21:07 · 23 answers · asked by Rhapsody 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Christmas
Christmas was originally a Roman festival, among the Cult of Mithras. Mithra is the name of the main God worshipped, and the feast day was the 25th December. The Mithraic festival of Epiphany, marking the arrival of sun-priests ("Magi") at the Savior's birthplace, has becoma a Christian festival amrking the arrival of the 3 Wise Men to see Jesus. (Christianity has also adopted some of the other Mithraic aspects, such as the birthplace of Mithras was on Vatican Hill, which as we all know is the location of the Catholic Church HQ, and the sacremental bread and wine).
The pagan roots of Xmas, as already stated, are from the Winter Solstice celebrations (Yule). The early Christians converted these hoildays into Christmas, making it easier for the pagan people to accept Christianity. Jesus was born around March in the year 5BC apparently.
Most new religions tended to "steal" the important dates of other religions as their own festivals to make them easier to accept
2006-11-10 06:41:18 · answer #1 · answered by gandyg 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You;re right that it was to do with the winter solstice, but it wasn't, as far as I know, anything to do with the beauty of nature. More it was a good excuse for a feast and a booze up in the season when people are most miserable.
When Europe was Christianised, they couldn't stop the people celebrating the old festivals. Instead, they gave them new meanings. If they'd have created different festivals the old ones still would have been celebrated in the background, and their pagan meanings remembered.
The ancient Germanic festival (Germanic being the pre-Christian religion of England, Holland, Scandinavia (known as Norse) and, somewhat obviously, Germany), Yule became Christmas, the birth of Christ. Similarly, the ancient Germanic festival Easter, dedicated to the goddess Eostre, became a celebration of the crucification and resurrection. The last supper was passover, Passover's in October, go figure that it' not at the right time of year.
Yule was always celebrated on the 25th of December. People gave each other presents. People decorated their homes with holly. People had big feasts and burned yule logs, etc. Apart from the religious meaning it was almost no different to what we celebrate now.
Almost every current Christmas custom is far older than Jesus.
2006-11-10 06:44:03 · answer #2 · answered by AndyB 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You are right, again! Christmas is a pagan celebration. Also, Christmas (Christs Birthday) could not possibly be in December. Mary and Joseph went up to Bethlehem to pay their tax at the end of the harvest. Late September to mid-October on our calendar in that part of the world would be the timing of the end of harvest. Our current Christmas is a huge spending/waste of money (on junk) and has become a great source of family problems, depression, etc. keeping up to the Jone's! It would be better spent if families got together and remembered the ultimate birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. That would mend broken homes instead of breaking them - don't you think?
2006-11-10 08:36:33 · answer #3 · answered by Capt. CB; seguidor de Cristo! 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it was previously a pagan festival or at least other cultures or civilisations celebrated thee 25th of December as the day their God (or one of their Gods) born. Ex: the God Mithra or in India the God Agni, who by the way also was born in a stable with an donkey and a cow, the same as baby Jesus
2006-11-10 08:33:44 · answer #4 · answered by aliberod 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it was. When a new religion converts an old religion, they keep some things the same so it wil be more familiar. Christmas was orginally, I believe, an Egypian holiday. Jesus was born in like, March.
Many things are 'taken' from other religions to contribute to Christianity. Everything from angel's halos( egyptian sundisks) to the imagre of God (Zeus) comes from other Pagan religions.
2006-11-10 06:33:02 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you can trace most of the traditions we have at Christmas to pagan times, same with Easter, the early Christians put their festivals on the same dates so that the early converts could worship Christ while at the same time feel they werent missing out on anything they did before. Very clever...
2006-11-10 06:33:00 · answer #6 · answered by Mark J 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
naturally as the Christians took over this holiday along with other Pagan holidays as it was easier for them to convert the Pagans into Christians by adopting the Pagan holidays rather than starting the real dates of Christian celebrations.
2006-11-10 09:42:15 · answer #7 · answered by Marvin R 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes December the 25th was 'chosen' by the leaders of the christian church as jesus's birthday to convert the pagan festival.
2006-11-10 06:32:50 · answer #8 · answered by fr3aky_lb 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The day we stated as Xmas was originally the celebration of Mitra, the god of light (sun). But Christians decided to erase that pagan ritual by transforming it into the birth of the light (Jesus). Hope that answers your question.
2006-11-10 07:31:18 · answer #9 · answered by M'lady 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Yes, called Yule. Is still celebrated by many.
Nothing in Christianity is original.
2006-11-10 06:30:36 · answer #10 · answered by Cinnamon 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋