Athiots! can you show me in the Bible where it says that CHRISTmas is a pagan holiday?

Question

Honest to Pete! You people keep saying this but I have yet to see any of you back it up with actual PROOF!

Answer 1

I can't believe how many people thought you were being serious with this question!!!

Answer 2

WHY are you looking for information about a Pagan holiday in a Christian text? The fact that the Bible doesn't mention Christmas, nor command or suggest that anyone celebrate the birth of Jesus, and that he COULDN'T have been born in December, ought to tell you something.

Incidentally, the Bible FORBIDS decorating evergreens (i.e. so-called "Christmas trees"), as it was a heathen (i.e. Pagan) tradition. It appears in the Book of Jeremiah, in the Old Testament, long before Jesus was even invented. That's because Pagans were celebrating their holidays in December for centuries BEFORE Christianity was created.

Jeremiah 10:2-4 "Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not."

Answer 3

Christmas is in fact a pagan festival, originally called Yuletide. It is/was celebrated by all the pagan countries in Europe at or about the 21st of December, the Winter Solistice having to do with the rebirth of the sun(ring any bells?) rebirth of the son? (sun).
There won't be anything about it written in the bible apart from their mentioning the birth of jesus. But they don't tell you the date.
If you go to your local librbary and look up Yuletide (christmas) you will begin to find historical proof that christmas as you know it does have pagan origins and comes from the same.

Answer 4

Christmas isnt in the Bible. Christmas is actually the birthday of Mithra, who the Roman legions worshipped. Christian holidays are mainly pagan holidays

Answer 5

I'm not an Atheist but I do know that the origins of Christmas and its traditions come from pagan holidays and traditions. This cannot be found in the bible because the bible doesn't cover Pagan traditions, only Judaic and Christian traditions. You must use a history book for your proof.

In ancient Babylon, the feast of the Son of Isis (Goddess of Nature) was celebrated on December 25. Raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast.

In Rome, the Winter Solstice was celebrated many years before the birth of Christ. The Romans called their winter holiday Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the God of Agriculture. In January, they observed the Kalends of January, which represented the triumph of life over death. This whole season was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. The festival season was marked by much merrymaking. It is in ancient Rome that the tradition of the Mummers was born. The Mummers were groups of costumed singers and dancers who traveled from house to house entertaining their neighbors. From this, the Christmas tradition of caroling was born.

In northern Europe, many other traditions that we now consider part of Christian worship were begun long before the participants had ever heard of Christ. The pagans of northern Europe celebrated their own winter solstice, known as Yule. Yule was symbolic of the pagan Sun God, Mithras, being born, and was observed on the shortest day of the year. As the Sun God grew and matured, the days became longer and warmer. It was customary to light a candle to encourage Mithras, and the sun, to reappear next year.

Huge Yule logs were burned in honor of the sun. The word Yule itself means “wheel,” the wheel being a pagan symbol for the sun. Mistletoe was considered a sacred plant, and the custom of kissing under the mistletoe began as a fertility ritual. Holly berries were thought to be a food of the gods.

The tree is the one symbol that unites almost all the northern European winter solstices. Live evergreen trees were often brought into homes during the harsh winters as a reminder to inhabitants that soon their crops would grow again. Evergreen boughs were sometimes carried as totems of good luck and were often present at weddings, representing fertility. The Druids used the tree as a religious symbol, holding their sacred ceremonies while surrounding and worshipping huge trees.

In 350, Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25. There is little doubt that he was trying to make it as painless as possible for pagan Romans (who remained a majority at that time) to convert to Christianity. The new religion went down a bit easier, knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them.

Ect….

I think it’s important to realize that you can enjoy your holiday (Christmas in this case) regardless of its origins. Some people like to walk through life with blinders on where their religion is concerned. They think that having ties to other religions is a bad thing. It might make your traditions less original than you once believed, but once you accept that life (and beliefs) didn’t begin 2000 years ago, you can remove the blinders and start understanding WHY you light that candle, decorate that tree, and have that huge delicious dinner.

Answer 6

atheists see the connection between the proximity of the celebration of the winter solstice(pagan) and christmas celebration as a christian concotion to win over pagan converts to chritianity.

some christians have a problem with it aswell, as do other religions, not only atheists. there is no proof that can be offered only theories.

i am roman catholic and celtic descent so i am aware of the differing views.

you can e mail this question at this web site for more information if you are interested
http://www.askmeaboutgod.org/

Answer 7

Atheists, Fire at will!

EDIT:
For the record...

The star that the magi supposedly followed was a rare alignment of planets, and by calibrating it through historical astronomy we have determined that Christ was probably born around the first week of September 4 BC (I think that is correct).

Christians started celebrating on December 25 because it was the day that the Romans held their Yule festival, to celebrate the first day of winter (which we now know is actually Dec 21, not Dec 25). They did this to avoid persecution--and in turn execution--at the hands of the Roman authorities. The date just stuck after that.

My middle name isn't in the Bible either, but I know what it is... and if I ever question my faith in my middle name I just pull out my wallet and open it up and POOF there it is right on my drivers license.

Answer 8

Your bible has no veracity concerning anything that happened in the time of the Emperor Constantine. It was he and his cronies at the Assembly of Nicea who decided that the celebration of the birth of Christ be artificially-attached to the existing pagan celebrations of the Winter Solstice at Yuletide Another con-trick, you see.
Instead of the bible, try reading real history books?

Answer 9

It's a Roman holiday to celebrate the WInter Solstice that was adopted in order to convert pagans to this faith by allowing them to keep it as a day of celebration.

Answer 10

Christ is real! Jesus being born on December 25 is not. Refer to the Council of Nicea by Emperor Constantine. His empire was divided by Pagans and Christians. Therefore, both groups adopted certain beliefs from each other, to per say, meet in the middle.

Answer 11

The bible doesn't mention Christmas.

And I think you meant atheist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#Pre-Christian_origins

"The winter festival has been a traditional festival in many cultures due to the winter solstice. In part, the Christmas celebration was created by the early Church in order to entice pagan Romans to convert to Christianity without losing their own winter celebrations. Most of the most important gods in the religions of Ishtar and Mithra had their birthdays on December 25. Various traditions are considered to have been syncretised from various winter festivals."