2006-12-24 23:38:42 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
But it is not belief it is historical fact
2006-12-24 23:44:23 · update #1
Mistletoe and yule logs still echo pagan heritage.
2006-12-24 23:54:28 · update #2
Merry saturnalia to you my pagan friend and Merry Christmas to all of us who have borrowed your day to celebrate the birth of our Christ child. Thank you for sharing with us.
2006-12-24 23:47:59 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Depends what you mean by "real"...really...
Saturnalia was a longstanding Roman tradition, Yule is the Pagan winter festival - both were overwritten by the early Christian church when they were seeking to superimpose their holidays on pagan ones to make them easier for converts to observe. So yes, it's older and more logical to celebrate those festivals at this time of year than it is to celebrate Christmas (even Biblical thinking acknowledges that the man believed to be Christ was probably born significantly earlier in the year - probably round October),
Ultimately though, whether they're more "real" is a matter for individuals, I suppose: while it's important to keep in mind that the events of the Nativity - if they happened at all - didn't happen when people celebrate them, the fact that they celebrate them is presumably as valid as any other religious or spiritual observance at this time of the year. It's a reaching out in winter to the idea of a higher power, to give thanks for life and the promise of renewal in Spring.
Have a good Saturnalia ;o)
Blessed be.
2006-12-24 23:55:11 · answer #2 · answered by mdfalco71 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Merry Saturnalia!
Personally, I'm a pagan who celebrates the Winter Solstice.
At this point, I'm a little weary of these arguments, honestly.
We could go on and on about the pagan origins of christmas.. is it saturnalia, mithra's birthday, osiris' birthday, et al and could talk for hours about the ancient pagan theme of virgin birth/death/rebirth of the man-god myth until we're blue in the face, but who honestly cares? Does it really affect us that much that some christians choose to celebrate the birth of their man-god at this time? Wiccans celebrate the rebirth of the god around this time of year. Some pagans also celebrate that tradition in some way.
If the christians don't see that their tradition is born out of the marriage of paganism with some form of messianic judaism at the council of nicea.. if they don't want to believe that their Jesus may never have existed.. if they call us satan worshippers and warn us that we're going to bust hell wide open, does it matter?
Naw, let 'em have their fun today.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you.
Kallan
2006-12-25 00:08:41 · answer #3 · answered by Kallan 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, it isn't. 1700 years ago -- so long ago that it no longer matters -- the Roman emperor took an existing pagan holiday, Saturnalia, and changed it to a Christian holiday. The pagan worship of Saturn quickly died away, and by 450 AD, one would've been hard-pressed to find anyone who even remembered what Saturnalia originally was. The December 25th holiday became -- and has remained -- the celebration of the birth of Christ.
2006-12-24 23:50:40 · answer #4 · answered by kteaff 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
jjif that is how you understand it, nobody care ab out it, do what you want and believe what you bvelieve. do not mind others
2006-12-24 23:41:50 · answer #5 · answered by Jesus M 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If you celebrate/worship that what has/will it do for you?
2006-12-25 00:00:37 · answer #6 · answered by spareo1 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋