How did we go from celebrating the birth of a savior to celebrating money and some guy named Santa?

Question

Where did God go in all this marketing bullshit?

Answer 1

Now I must own that at first sight it is difficult to explain how the Christ-child of the past-the Holy One whose birth is remembered and honored in that feast which we call Christmas, should gradually have been changed into the white-haired, white-bearded, merry-hearted and kindly old pagan whom we sometimes call Christ-Kinkle but more frequently Santa Klaus.

Yet at the very moment when we come face to face with this difficult problem we have reached the explanation which seemed impossible when we strove to understand the much less startling transformation of Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, into Santa Klaus, patron of the Christmas season.

We remember that the Christmas festival of today is a gradual evolution from times that long antedated the Christian period. We remember that though it celebrates the mightiest event in the history of Christendom, it was overlaid upon heathen festivals, and many of its observances are only adaptations of pagan to Christian ceremonial.

This was no mere accident. It was a necessary measure at a time when the new religion was forcing itself upon a deeply superstitious people. In order to reconcile fresh converts to the new faith, and to make the breaking of old ties as painless as possible, these relics of paganism were retained under modified forms, in the same way that antique columns, transferred from pagan temples, became parts of the new churches built by Christians in honor of their God and his saints.

Thus we find that when Pope Gregory sent Saint Augustine as a missionary to convert Anglo-Saxon England he directed that so far as possible the saint should accommodate the new and strange Christian rites to the heathen ones with which the natives had been familiar from their birth. For example, he advised Saint Augustine to allow his converts on certain festivals to eat and kill a great number of oxen to the glory of God the Father, as formerly they had done this in honor of the devil. All pagan gods, it should be explained, were looked upon as devils by the early Christians.

On the very Christmas after his arrival in England Saint Augustine baptized many thousands of converts and permitted their usual December celebration under the new name and with the new meaning. He forbade only the mingling together of Christians and pagans in the dances.

From these early pagan-Christian ceremonies are derived many of the English holiday customs that have survived to our day.

Now get clearly into your head one very important fact. Although at the time when Augustine visited England the date of Christmas had. been fixed upon as December 25 there is no biblical reason why this should be so. The gospels say nothing about the season of the year when Christ was born. On the other hand they do tell us that shepherds were then guarding their flocks in the open air. Hence many of the early fathers of the Church considered it most likely that the Nativity took place either in the late summer or the early fall. The point was of no great moment to them, as the early Church made more fuss over the death day of a great or holy person than over his birthday. The birthday is only the day when man is born into mortality, the deathday chronicles his birth into immortality.

The important fact then which I have asked you to get clearly into your head is that the fixing of the date as December 25th was a compromise with paganism.

For countless centuries before the Christian era pagan Europe, through all its various tribes and peoples, had been accustomed to celebrate its chief festival at the time of the winter solstice, the turning point when winter, having reached its apogee, has also reached the point when it must begin to decline again towards spring.

The last sentence requires further explanation. I shall try to put it into words as simple as possible. You must be aware of the fact that the shortest day in the year is December 21st. Therefore that is the day when winter reaches its height.

It was on or about December 21st that the ancient Greeks celebrated what are known to us as the Bacchanalia or festivities in honor of Bacchus, the god of wine. In these festivities the people gave themselves up to songs, dances and other revels which frquently passed the limits of decency and order.

In ancient Rome the Saturnalia, or festivals in honor of Saturn, the god of time, began on December 17th and continued for seven days. These also often ended in riot and disorder. Hence the words Bacchanalia and Saturnalia acquired an evil reputation in later times.

We are most interested in the festivals of the ancient Teutonic (or German) tribes because they are most closely linked with Christmas as we ourselves celebrate it.

The pagan feast of the Twelve Nights was religiously kept by them from December 25th to January 6th, the latter day being known, as it is still known to their descendants, as Twelfth Night. The Teutonic mind personified the active forces of nature,that is to say it pictured them as living beings.

The conflicts between these forces were represented as battles between gods and giants.

Winter, for example, was the Ice-giant,-cruel, boisterous, unruly, the destroyer of life, the enemy alike of gods and men. Riding on his steed, the allstiffening North Wind, he built up for himself great castles of ice. Darkness and death followed in his wake.

But the Sun-god and the South Wind, symbols of light and life, gave battle to the Ice-giant. At last Thor, the god of the Thunderstorm, riding on the wings of the air, hurled his thunderbolt at the winter castle, and demolished it. Then Frei j a, the goddess of fruits and flowers, resumed her former sway. All of which is only a poetical way of saying that after the Ice-giant had conquered in winter he was in his turn overthrown by the Sun-god in spring.

Now the twenty-first day of December, the depth of winter, marked the period when the Ice-giant was in the full flush of his triumph and also marked the beginning of his overthrow. It was the turning point in the conflict of natural forces. The Sun-god having reached the goal of the winter solstice, now wheeled around his fiery steeds and became the sure herald of the coming victory of light and life over darkness and death of spring over winter.

A thousand indications point to the fact that Christmas has incorporated into itself all these festivals, Greek, Roman and German, and given them a new meaning. The wild revels of the Bacchanalia, the Saturnalia and the Twelve Nights survive in a milder form in the merriment and jollity which mark the season of Christmas today.

Christmas gifts themselves remind us of the presents that were exchanged in Rome during the Saturnalia. In Rome, it might be added, the presents usually took the form of wax tapers and dolls,-the latter being in their turn a survival of the human sacrifices once offered to Saturn. It is a queer thought that in our Christmas presents we are preserving under- another form one of the most savage customs of our barbarian ancestors!

The shouts of "Bona Saturnalia!" which the Roman people exchanged among themselves are the precursors of our "Merry Christmas!" The decorations and illuminations of our Christian churches recall the temples of Saturn, radiant with burning tapers and resplendent with garlands. The masks and mummeries which still survive here and there, even in the America of today, and which were especially prominent in the Middle Ages, were prominent also in the Saturnalian revels.

And a large number of the legends, superstitions and ceremonials which have crystallized around the Christian festival in Europe and America are more or less distorted reminiscences of the legends, superstitions and ceremonials of the Twelve Nights of ancient Germany.

Answer 2

Don't feel bad it was all Bull to begin with.

Inexplicable though it seems, the date of Christ's birth is not known. The gospels indicate neither the day, the month, nor the year. (The Catholic Encyclopedia, p.656, vol. 3, 1967.)

What history tells us:
Despite the beliefs about Christ that the birth stories expressed, the church did not observe a festival for the celebration of the event until the 4th century. The date was chosen to counter the pagan festivities connected with the winter solstice; since 274, under the emperor Aurelian, Rome had celebrated the feast of the "Invincible Sun" [or Saturnalia] on December 25. (Christmas, The 1995 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia)

so I say celebrate your saviors birth In july, or anyother month for that matter.

Answer 3

No, but Christmas has Pagan roots. It borrowed from Yule, Saturnalia and Mithras's (also Horus's) birthday <12/25 for both>. Yule and Saturnalia fell at times near the winter solstice, which Christmas is only 4 days away from. Early Christianity used Christmas in an attempt to convert the Pagans. In fact Jesus's birthday is most likely in April, not December. Modern Christmas is a "mostly" Christian holiday. Nonreligious people celebrate it as well, but leave out most or all of the religious aspects of it, and use it to spend time with friends and family.

Answer 4

It is all about the Kids.

If you listen a lot of the Christmas holiday songs and cheer barely even mention God let alone Jesus.
For that I am thankful. I love the Holiday and Love Santa, the Elves, Rudolf and the gang. The whole thing. I love the Baby Jesus story too but that is a parallel celebration. It is like I have two choreographed celebrations going on with a sprinkling of Hanukkah on top. It is all cool. Kwanzaa is a little pathetic don't you agree!?

Merry Christmas!

Answer 5

Christmas is now celebrated for the WRONG reason and I don't mean the marketing and bullshit songs about turtle doves and Frosty the Snowman...

"The date of December 25th comes from Rome and was a celebration of the Italic god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god.

This was done long before the birth of Jesus.

It was noted by the pre-Christian Romans and other pagans, that daylight began to increase after December 22nd, when they assumed that the sun god died. "

(The Buffalo News, Nov. 22, 1984): “The earliest reference to Christmas being marked on Dec. 25 comes from the second century after Jesus’ birth. It is considered likely the first Christmas celebrations were in reaction to the Roman Saturnalia, a harvest festival that marked the winter solstice—the return of the sun—and honored Saturn, the god of sowing. Saturnalia was a rowdy time, much opposed by the more austere leaders among the still-minority Christian sect. Christmas developed, one scholar says, as a means of replacing worship of the sun with worship of the Son. By 529 A.D., after Christianity had become the official state religion of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinian made Christmas a civic holiday. The celebration of Christmas reached its peak—some would say its worst moments—in the medieval period when it became a time for conspicuous consumption and unequaled revelry.”


Not to mention Santa Claus was a real man:

"Originally known as Saint Nicholas, the patron of children and sailors, the bishop was immortalized because of his generous and loving nature towards children. He was said to have brought joy to the poor by throwing gifts through their windows. The Dutch called him Sint Nikolass, which eventually evolved into Sinter Klaas. It wasn’t until the Dutch began entering America that the colonials of New York began calling him Santa Claus."

Answer 6

Yeah... what Dustin, MG and with love said. The better question is why the hell did the pagans join the Catholic church just because they allowed them to keep their holidays? Almost every celebratory Christian holiday is based on a pagan celebration... isn't that why the Jehova's Witnesses don't celebrate holidays? Either way, we all ought to just be Pagans again. Presents kick ***!

Answer 7

is the savior your talking about the one from the middle east?
the Santa guy is from colder counties with lighter skinned people, guess it depends on where your ancestors were from, and your customs and traditions, celebrating money??? I would if I had any

Answer 8

you know what i dont know, i dotn think anyone really does but you knwo wat the tradition is not lost everywhere

trust me there are still countries that celebrate jesus' birth.. i think thats the whole meaning of christmas sure the gifts are nice but thats all marketing stuff..

i mean once christmas is over all the decorations will be valentines...

you can make a difference at least in your life with your children teach them otherwise...

Answer 9

Cynical much?

Just because some people interpret something negatively, doesn't mean it's true, or that you have to believe it.
If you want to believe Christmas is about Christ or Santa or people being happy, then go ahead... but if all you want to see is the negative stuff, then that's what you'll get.

Answer 10

I feel that we as a society we have forgotten the true meaning of christmas. It is not about receiving, it is about giving. It's about God the Father of heaven and earth giving His son ,Jesus Christ to us to take away the sins of us all. It's about celebrating His life, death and resurrection and giving us a chance to live for Him. It's about us sharing Christ to people of this world and loving others as Jesus shows His love for us. But society dosen't want us to think that way. society tells us it's all about us . But in fact it's not about us , it's about Him and his love for us. I feel that christians as a whole are afraid to share their faith anymore for fear of rejection. But Jesus was rejected by many, but the ones that believed in Him, their lives were changed forever and did great things and brought hope and peace to hurting people who were in need. Let's get back to that and maybe people will be more willing to open up to the christian faith; then maybe they too will understand the meaning of christmas.

Answer 11

The 25th of December celebrates the birth of Tammuz, the first false Messiah.

Trying to apply it to the true Messiah is gross distortion.