2007-02-14 02:35:52 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I have someone who has an ID with Darwin's head wearing a santa cap and an ape's a.s.s. asking me why I do anything?
2007-02-14 02:40:35 · answer #1 · answered by Sparkles 7 · 0⤊ 5⤋
It did borrow from pagan beliefs, but today it's a a sales holiday. It is only associated with Christianity because the Church used pagan holidays to covert people!
Back when the Christians were converting the world, they used pagan traditions to make it easier to get pagans to switch religions. The winter solstice was already a holiday in many places, so they stuck Jesus's birth there. The ressurection fit in nicely with the spring fertility holidays (hence the bunnies and colored eggs, both pagan symbols of fertility). Thus we have Easter. (Originally a pagan festival for the goddess Eostra.)
Santa came along later, based loosely on Saint Nicolas. The Santa USA citizens know today was created for enhanced merchandizing. Macy's made him what he is today.
The "home and hearth" kind of Christmas attitude we pretend to strive for today (though we are overwhelmed by advertising and buy-buy-buy rather than love-love-love) came about only in the 19th century. Prior to that it had been a wild carnival in other parts of the world. In the US there were great class conflicts in the early 1800s and one Christmas there was a great riot. Victorian Americans wanted something more proper and began to work toward a peaceful Christmas.
2007-02-14 02:53:44 · answer #2 · answered by Behaviorist 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Christmas has many pagan elements. And pagan celebrations were observed on Dec. 25 before Christ birth.
We realize this. However in the modern world and in our contemporary culture Christmas is a Christian Holiday. Its the time of year that we celebrate and reflect on the birth narratives of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.
Note that not all Christians choose to celebrate Christians. I know dozens of Christians who choose not to celebrate the holiday for the very reasons you are stating.
2007-02-14 02:40:08 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Christians celebrate Christmas on the 25th because it's the same day as the ancient Roman holiday, Saturnalia. When Christianity came to the Roman Empire they didn't want people to celebrate Saturnalia anymore so they replaced it with Christmas. No one actually knows for sure when Jesus was born. December was just chosen to keep people from celebrating the paegan holiday.
2007-02-14 02:40:35 · answer #4 · answered by russki_koshechka 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
When the early Christian church was choosing dates for major celebrations (no, Christmas day is not actually Christ's birthday!) they chose pagan dates to a). make them more memorable as people already new the dates b). overwrite the previous pagan festivals in peoples consciousness.
Slim
2007-02-14 02:42:09 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Converting pagans in Europe wasn't that easy, and they needed to retain some of the favored ancient holidays of the region to help ease these people into their new religion. Once established they remained, and became custom.
2007-02-14 02:40:59 · answer #6 · answered by Clueless 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
It's not celebrated as a pagan holiday anymore. Why don't you make a poll to the whole USA, and ask what christimas represnets. The brith of Jesus Christ. So your wrong, it is not celebrated as a pagan holiday anymore, it represents the brith of Jesus Christ, and most people in america will agree with me.
2007-02-14 02:38:51 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
because hundreds of years ago christianity was falling out of favor with the masses. so in order to draw people back into their gimmick, the christian hierarchy adopted and changed the christmas holiday proclaiming it jesus' birthday. in fact, the baby known as jesus was probably born in the spring- given the circumstances allegedly surrounding his birth.
the discovery channel did a wonderful program on this at christmas time.
2007-02-14 02:42:26 · answer #8 · answered by shar71vette 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Hostile takeover. They wanted to get rid of other religions to gain power. If you can't get rid of competing religions by violence, you absorb it. People were already celebrating on that day, so they just said it was for a different reason. Like scene from the revolting blob.
2007-02-14 02:38:42 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Regardless of its origin, we Christians like the idea of celebrating a day for the birth of our savior, and seeing as though Dec. 25th is just so universal, we accept it as a good day to reflect upon how Jesus was born of man and died for our sins
2007-02-14 02:40:35 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Because most "followers" of organized religion have been seriously mislead and really have no true understanding of the origins of most holidays re: Easter - Ester & Halloween - Samhain etc. this list goes on. They believe because they are told to! I could rant and rave, but I won't!
2007-02-14 02:43:08 · answer #11 · answered by kissedbywolves 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋