Here is Wikipedia's entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas
2006-12-16 17:51:07
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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Emperor Constantine; Holy Roman Emperor of the fledgling Byzantine Empire in Constantinople.
He needed most of his troops to defeat Emperor Maximus of the Western Roman Empire and made a daring move. Constantine offered the Christian community the chance to become 'free' if they just followed a few things he said were important.
In exchange for following these rules, he would not only let them worship openly he'd ALSO give them 100 Bibles. considering that the Bible was one years work for a scribe to complete, and that the Romans had been burning them as fast as they found them..... this was a treasure beyond belief back then.
The Christians accepted immediately all terms, and Constantine pulled the elite city guards and marched off to war.
Those terms included the following things;
Christians were 'Roman citizens' and thus had to protect the city.
Christians must now celebrate their holiest days in accordance with the cities holiest days. Those 'Holy Days' were;
Sunday- Day of worship for Mithras; the Sun God
December 25th- Birthday of Mithras
Constantine also gave the world one more legacy; his robes.
It seems he retired before passing away and left the care of his city and the empire to his trusted aide. That aide was allowed to wear Constantine's robes and to perform the functions of Constantine.
Emperor Constantine's robes are now known as the Pope's vestments and have not changed one bit to this very day.
2006-12-17 01:51:59
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answer #2
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answered by wolf560 5
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"The winter solstice occurs about DEC-21 each year. It is the day of the year when the night is longest and the daytime shortest. Using the crude instruments available, ancient astronomers were able to detect by DEC-25 of each year that the daytime had become noticeably longer. This date was chosen, and remains, the traditional date for followers of many different Pagan religions to celebrate the rebirth of the sun. Following the solstice, each succeeding day has slightly more sunlight than the previous day. It was seen as a promise that warmth would return once more to the earth"
2006-12-17 01:49:01
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answer #3
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answered by tabs8 3
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do you truly want an answer? You will have to study for at leat 5 years in the religious academic institutions and earn a degree in religious studies to get remotely close to finding an answer. YOur question, albeit a good one, is hotly debated and even amongst the supposedly best of the best religious academians, arguments erupt about the birth of christ, dates, times, even place(s)
2006-12-20 15:33:48
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answer #4
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answered by cautiouscautious2005 3
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It's a Christian thing I don't think any body really knows when he was born
2006-12-17 02:35:00
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answer #5
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answered by Pam W 1
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