Why Do Christians Celebrate Christmas Even With Its Pagan Origin?

Question

The History of Christmas


In ancient pagan times, the last day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere was celebrated as the night that the Great Mother Goddess gives birth to the baby Sun God. It is also called Yule, the day a huge log is added to a bonfire, around which everyone would dance and sing to awaken the sun from its long winter sleep.


In Roman times, it became the celebrations honouring Saturnus (the harvest god) and Mithras (the ancient god of light), a form of sun worship that had come to Rome from Syria a century before with the cult of Sol Invictus. It announced that winter is not forever, that life continues, and an invitation to stay in good spirit.


The last day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere occurs between the 20th and 22 December. The Roman celebrated Saturnalia between 17 and 24 December.

The Early Christians
To avoid persecution during the Roman pagan festival, early Christians decked their homes with Saturnalia holly. As Christian numbers increased and their customs prevailed, the celebrations took on a Christian observance. But the early church actually did not celebrate the birth of Christ in December until Telesphorus, who was the second Bishop of Rome from 125 to 136AD, declared that Church services should be held during this time to celebrate "The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour." However, since no-one was quite sure in which month Christ was born, Nativity was often held in September, which was during the Jewish Feast of Trumpets (modern-day Rosh Hashanah). In fact, for more than 300 years, people observed the birth of Jesus on various dates.

In the year 274AD, solstice fell on 25th December. Roman Emperor Aurelian proclaimed the date as "Natalis Solis Invicti," the festival of the birth of the invincible sun. In 320 AD, Pope Julius I specified the 25th of December as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ.


Christmas official, but not generally observed
In 325AD, Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman emperor, introduced Christmas as an immovable feast on 25 December. He also introduced Sunday as a holy day in a new 7-day week, and introduced movable feasts (Easter). In 354AD, Bishop Liberius of Rome officially ordered his members to celebrate the birth of Jesus on 25 December.

However, even though Constantine officiated 25 December as the birthday of Christ, Christians, recognising the date as a pagan festival, did not share in the emperor's good meaning. Christmas failed to gain universal recognition among Christians until quite recently. In England, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas festivities between 1649 and 1660 through the so-called Blue Laws, believing that Christmas should be a solemn day.


When many Protestants escaped persecution by fleeing to the colonies all over the world, interest in joyous Christmas celebrations was rekindled there. Still, Christmas was not even a legal holiday until the 1800s. And, keep in mind, there was no Father Christmas (Santa Claus) figure at that time.

Christmas becomes popular
The popularity of Christmas was spurred on in 1820 by Washington Irving's book The Keeping of Christmas at Bracebridge Hall. In 1834, Britain's Queen Victoria brought her German husband, Prince Albert, into Windsor Castle, introducing the tradition of the Christmas tree and carols that were held in Europe to the British Empire. A week before Christmas in 1834, Charles ****ens published A Christmas Carol (in which he wrote that Scrooge required Cratchit to work, and that the US Congress met on Christmas Day). It was so popular that neither the churches nor the governments could not ignore the importance of Christmas celebrations. In 1836, Alabama became the first state in the US to declare Christmas a legal holiday. In 1837, T.H. Hervey's The Book of Christmas also became a best seller. In 1860, American illustrator Thomas Nast borrowed from the European stories about Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children, to create Father Christmas (Santa Claus) .

In 1907, Oklahoma became the last US state to declare Christmas a legal holiday. Year by year, countries all over the world started to recognise Christmas as the day for celebrating the birth of Jesus.
Today, many of the pagan uses are reflected in Christmas. Jesus was born in March, yet his birth is celebrated on 25 December, the time of solstice. The Christmas celebrations end the 12th day of Christmas (6 January), the same amount of days that the return of the sun was celebrated by ancient and Roman pagans. It thus is no surprise that Christian puritans - or even conservative Christians - often are upset that Christmas "is not as religious as it was meant to be," forgetting that Christmas was not celebrated at all until fairly recently.

So basically, Christmas has a pagan origin.
Here are some other articles if you'd like to read:
http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/origin-of-christmas.htm
http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Christmas_TheRealStory.htm

Answer 1

I am happy to see that there are people out there who do not celebrate Christmas and are not afraid to say it. I consider myself a devote Christian, a believer in Jesus Christ. I have not celebrated Christmas for over 15 years. What people need to realize is that they are free to go against the grain. Jesus did. Just because your neighbor or the rest of the world celebrates Christmas does not mean that you have to celebrate it.

Spend the time and understand exactly what you are/why you are celebrating a holiday. Christmas as we know it has nothing to do with Jesus Christ. It is based on pagan traditions from Germany and the ancient Roman Empire.

The History Channel just had a special on The History of Christmas. Scholars and historians were consulted and all discussed the origins of Christmas. Not one of them stated Christmas is for Christ. For those of you who want more proof , just do an internet search - Origins of Christmas. Read it for yourself.

If you are a Christian and are looking for a way to celebrate Jesus. Remember the Sabbath. Forget about these man-made holidays. It will not get you salvation. Nor enlightment.

Answer 2

This is something that plagues me also, there is a pamphlet that speaks on this that my parents had, but I honestly can't remember what it is called or where it's from, it's been awhile since I've seen it. It says that gifts of dolls and whatnot came from the practice of sacrificing children in the fire. What I believe the conclusion was, and I agree with this, is that the church compromised their beliefs, because the people they were trying to convert did not want to give up their holiday, and because of this, they intwined them, to get the pegans to start celebrating Jesus while not taking away the "fun" that they had always had. So they intwined the two holidays and winter solstace became the official time to celebrate Jesus' birth. There is historical evidence to the fact that it wasn't even December that Jesus was born, but most likely it was around September. It's an interesting thing, most of the people today though, forget about Jesus, so it's not like winter solctace changed. I don't celebrate christmass, never have, but instead celebrate Christ's birth sometime in the fall. I do enjoy the colors and the lights and the deserts though. :)

Answer 3

What do Christians care?
They think Jesus died for their sins and Jesus was actually two thieves named by the Roman Governors for crucifixion on the Sabbath to rob the Jews of their Labd forever and not even Nuclear Bombs can get it back for them today.
Yes! Jesus saved the day for Christ and Barabbas.

But CHRISTMAS IS LIKE SANTA CLAUS

You know the Fatman is a fake and a fat, white lie, but you go along with it anyway, as you deceive the kids and make them future liars to their own kids.

The Dictionary of the Bible says that: By the 5th. Century, the Church (of Rome) had concerned itself enough to have set December 25 as the date of Jesus’ birth. This had been the date of the Festival of the Sun God Zeus and to the Christians a greater light was come, Jesus Christ, the true light of the World.

Fact is - the Sun God is Zeus, and Jesus is really Jezeus, and the Romans worshipped Zeus, and you can see Barnabas being called Zeus by the Priests of Zeus in the Acts of the Apostles 14:12-13, in the Bible. Mithra was another son of Zeus, but Je-Zeus was Zeus come down as his own son, which made him strictly a Roman God.

Sunday is also the day that was set aside for worship of the Sun God (Zeus) by the Romans.

The Winter Solstice gives us the shortest day in the year, December 22, as the birth of the new Sun, so Rome shifted it to the 25 December in order to celebrate the Feast of the Circumcision eight days later, on 1 January, in accepting Jezeus Christos as the Living God of the Sun risen from the dead.

Zeus and the Fathers of Christianity did not know there was a Southern Hemisphere that did not share the Sun God Zeus or his four seasons, or his twelve disciples or twelve months of the year with the Northern Hemisphere, and it is for this reason that Australia celebrates Christmas twice each year, with the White Christmas falling in June but is called Christmas in July since they know it is a lie.

So Christmas and Christianity were as ignorant of the nature of the Planet as was Santa Claus of the South Pole, and just as the Pope was afraid that Christopher Columbus might fall off the flat Planet in his attempt to reach India traveling westwards, so were Santa Claus and Zeus afraid to go below the Planet and into the Fires of Hell.

When Pope John Paul ii declared the Shroud of Turin a medieval fake after having it scientifically carbon-dated in 1988, he failed to point out that the Bible describes the use of two shrouds, with one for the head and another for the “body” of the 100 lbs of aloes and myrrh, the other perfect hoax.

TRY SOME HONESTY THIS YEAR.
EXPOSE THE FRAUD OF SANTA THE UNHOLY.

BRING THE TRUTH OF THE MESSIAH FROM THE QURAN TO LIGHT SO THAT MEN WHO ARE BORN BLIND MIGHT SEE THAT THE ONE TRUE GOD CAN HAVE NO SON OR NO PARTNER
.
HE IS ONE, HE ALWAYS WAS, HE IS, AND HE ALWAYS WILL BE!

PEACE ON EARTH AND GOODWILL TO ALL OF HUMANITY!

Answer 4

Well as the bible points out,"The world loves what is it's own." That is why many so called Christians and atheist alike have no problem celebrating this pagan holiday.

Some say why should it matter what day you celebrate it as long as you celebrate it? If you are keeping yourself busy in the Lord's work then you are already celebrating a most gracious association with him. You are doing as he commanded, namely in Matthew 28:19,20 that all his followers go out and make discilples. That is cause for celebration when you've done what is pleasing to God and his son and there are no pagan rituals tied up in doing God's work.

Another thing, what does righteousness have to do with unrighteousness? With that said what does God have to do with the heathen?

Though the holiday is probably a good thought it's dirty. If your child dropped his candy in the dirt would you pick it up and give it to him? Hopefully not, though the candy would still be sweet it's dirty. The same applies when giving appreciation to God, though the gesture is sweet in thought it's still dirty.

If you want to learn more about how to give God clean and pure appreciation (worship) visit www.watchtower.org

Answer 5

I just love finding true Christians that aren't afraid to stand up for what they believe! I hate when people say that Jesus is the reason for the season! I mean, if it is supposed to be his birthday, (which clearly it isn't) and all about him, the why do people give gifts to each other. Why is it about what you want for HIS birthday? I read in the Bible that the wise men (we don't know how many) brought HIM gifts. It doesn't say that they exchanged gifts.

Many people just want to fit in, so they just go on celebrating paganism like the heathens they are. And if you tell them why YOU don't celebrate it, they are sure to get offended because now they look like a fool.

You see, if Jesus is truly the reason for the season, then we wouldn't have wait for one day out of the whole year just to find out just how giving and or loving someone really is. What if HE only picked one day out of the year to bless you?!

For all the true Christians out there; Keep on believing in the Word of GOD, and not in the deceiving words of man!

God Bless!

Answer 6

My answer is hard to put in words but ill try :) No, Christmas is in no way associated with pagan festivals. Christmas (I'm sure you already know) is the celebration of Jesus Christ's birth. According to your information, those Pagan celebrations were honoring the harvest god, Saturnus, and celebrating the night the Great Mother Goddess gave birth to the Baby Sun God (another Pagan holiday would be the Winter Solstice). Yes, Christmas falls on these Pagan celebrations, and may even have the origins of the date of celebration stemming from these celebrations, but is in no way commemorating them.

My opinion stands at it doesn't matter what time of the year you celebrate the birth of Our Lord Jesus. The time of celebration doesn't have to be the exact date of his birth (which I don't even think is possible). Although, I don't exactly agree with the people who go around saying "Today is the day of Jesus' birth!", partly because you have no sure fire way of knowing.

Bottom line is, Christmas falls on these Pagan celebration but is not connected with them, although origins of date of celebration may have originated from them.

Hope my answer helps you, and as always Merry Christmas. May you feel the joy of the season and never forget why it is celebrated. God Bless you.

~Monk xD

Answer 7

Some Christians do not celebrate Christmas.

Some Christians celebrate Christmas as a means of remembering and honoring the birth of Christ.

I am fine with either (celebrating or not celebrating Christmas). Each Christian is to follow his/her own conscience in this matter.

Cordially,
John
http://www.GodSci.org

Answer 8

Who cares when we Christians celebrate Christ as long as we celebrate him? Besides, what's wrong with a good time like Christmas with lights, family, and good food to brighten winter? American Christmas seems to follow the St. Nicholas tradition of giving gifts anyway.

Answer 9

Because what is the harm, Christians it is to celebrate the birth of Jesus, to stores, it is to grab all the money from spenders, to factory's to create stupid little toys for next year... Everyone celebrates in one way or another, might as well kick back and have fun. Besides it is when i get spoiled

Answer 10

Because they have been brainwashed into believing they are celebrating the birth of Jesus. It is sad really, that so many follow this religion with its history of lying, death and destruction.