By the name of the celebration, I assumed that it was to celebrate Jesus Christ and his birthday. Why then, am I hearing people say it came from the pagans? I don't mean to offend or anything. I'm just really confused. If it did derive from the pagans, then does that make it a non-Christian celebration? Is that why mostly everyone celebrates it and not just the Christians?
2006-11-23 04:56:30 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
December 25 Was the birthday of Mithra. The emperor Constantine ordered that Christians official day of worship be Sun-day and that Christs birthday be celebrated on December 25 Mithra's birthday.
There are a couple of great links that explain this much better than I did. Email if you want and I will send you a link to them.
Love and blessings Don
2006-11-23 05:06:33 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
It is a non-Christian holiday. What most people don't realize is that, in the Fourth Century AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine lifted the ban on Christianity and exalted it. It was a great tragedy for the church overall, because now, instead of persuading men's hearts, they were forcing men's mouths. It filled the church with unrepentants and hypocrites, who were loathe to part with their pagan traditions. Thus, the sex goddess Venus became the Virgin Mary, and the impish Cupid became Christ at birth. Easter, the pagan holiday of fertility, became the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ (while retaining the pagan Easter bunny and egg symbols) and the winter festival became Christmas. There is no such thing, actually, as a truly Christian Holiday, besides, perhaps, Thanksgiving.
But it all goes back to the question of what it means to be a Christian. This was compromised in the days of Constantine and caused much confusion in the church, which has not been corrected even to this day.
2006-11-23 05:09:57 · answer #2 · answered by JSB2 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Winter festivals have been practiced by cultures around the world for millenia. Within societies that have had basic astronomical knowledge, these festivals have often been centered on or around December 21st, the date of the winter solstice. This is the day of the year with the least hours of daylight. After Dec. 21, the days become longer. Thus, this date marks the turning point of winter and the march towards spring.
Pagan festivals that significantly influenced Christmas celebrations were the birthday of Sol Invictus (Roman, celebrated on Dec. 25) and the festival of Yule (pre-Germanic, still a common term for Christmas festivals).
The idea that Jesus was born on Dec. 25 was first advanced around 220 AD, but didn't gain popularity until the middle ages. The early Catholic church often incorporated elements of indigenous religions, in an effort to convert indigenous populations.
Many of the symbols and traditions associated with Christmas (mistletoe, evergreen trees, the Yule log, Christmas ham, etc.) have been kept alive directly from these ancient festivals.
2006-11-23 05:02:14 · answer #3 · answered by marbledog 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Early Christians (perhaps 3rd Century) wanted to celebrate the Incarnation of the Eternal Godhead; His becoming "clothed in flesh".
As for the date, Dec. 25th, either that might have been the probable date OR as more and more pagans were converting to Christianity and wanting a "Christian" holy day in place of their pagan festivals, therefore the Christians chose a date close to the pagan festival date.
But they were proclaiming the Good News .... Emmanuel, God with Us. For the Eternal God was Incarnate. Jesus was "God, with us".
Unfortunately, many now "celebrate" Christmas in a pagan manner. That was not always so. Even in not so many decades ago, Christians still attended Church on Christmas Day -- remember the story of Bob Cratchitt & Tiny Tim?
RCs would attend Christmas MASS; Protestants would attend a Worship Service where they sing with praise, Christ Is Born This Day .... Good Christian Men Rejoice, with Heart and Soul and Voice ... I saw three ships come sailing in ... Away in a manger, etc.
2006-11-23 05:08:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christmas was a pagan celebration to celebrate the retiring of the sun. the Christians adopted this Holiday to celebrate Christ's birthday as it was easier to convert pagans to Christianity if they took over some of the pagan holidays and gave them Christian meanings rather than commemorate the real Christian dates.
2006-11-23 05:12:12 · answer #5 · answered by Marvin R 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Christmas is from the pagan midwinter solstice celebration (where we get the idea of Yule logs from!) It now celebrates Jesus' birth for Christians, although Jesus was not likely to have been born at that time (the festival ended up then to squash the Yule celebrations, because England was becoming a Christian country)
2006-11-23 05:09:01 · answer #6 · answered by lady_s_hazy 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yule was celebrated long before Christmas was. But the early Christians 'adpoted' Pagan holidays (easter too) in order to convert Pagans by letting them celebrate their old holidays still, just with a new name and meaning!
2006-11-23 05:03:24 · answer #7 · answered by Claire O 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Christmas is a pagan holiday and nowhere in the Bible does it state when Jesus was born. It only gives clues and it was most likely in October. Also, nowhere in the Bible does it state that Jesus himself or any of his followers celebrated his birthday.
2006-11-23 07:13:14 · answer #8 · answered by markmisslindsay 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm not a Chirstian but I celebrate it only because my family does, I don't care if it was Jesus's birthday or not, basically because I don't believe he exists, I just like the decorations and how we don't have to go to school......and don't forget about the presents and your family get-together.
Good question and Happy Thanksgiving
2006-11-23 05:08:50 · answer #9 · answered by Alterna 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To the best of my knowledge pagans and athiest need some reason to celebrate with the rest of the country.
So maybe they made it up.
2006-11-23 05:01:51 · answer #10 · answered by chucky 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋