What are the pagan roots of Christmas, and why didn't early Christians celebrate it?
156283
Date of the celebration\n\nM’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia says: “The observance of Christmas is not of divine appointment, nor is it of N[ew] T[estament] origin. The day of Christ’s birth cannot be ascertained from the N[ew] T[estament], or, indeed, from any other source.”\n\nLuke 2:8-11 shows that shepherds were in the fields at night at the time of Jesus’ birth. The book Daily Life in the Time of Jesus states: “The flocks . . . passed the winter under cover; and from this alone it may be seen that the traditional date for Christmas, in the winter, is unlikely to be right, since the Gospel says that the shepherds were in the fields.”\n\nThe Encyclopedia Americana informs us: “The reason for establishing December 25 as Christmas is somewhat obscure, but it is usually held that the day was chosen to correspond to pagan festivals that took place around the time of the winter solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, to celebrate the ‘rebirth of the sun.’ . . . The Roman Saturnalia (a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture, and to the renewed power of the sun), also took place at this time, and some Christmas customs are thought to be rooted in this ancient pagan celebration.”\n\nThe New Catholic Encyclopedia acknowledges: “The date of Christ’s birth is not known. The Gospels indicate neither the day nor the month . . . According to the hypothesis suggested by H. Usener . . . and accepted by most scholars today, the birth of Christ was assigned the date of the winter solstice (December 25 in the Julian calendar, January 6 in the Egyptian), because on this day, as the sun began its return to northern skies, the pagan devotees of Mithra celebrated the dies natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of the invincible sun). On Dec. 25, 274, Aurelian had proclaimed the sun-god principal patron of the empire and dedicated a temple to him in the Campus Martius. Christmas originated at a time when the cult of the sun was particularly strong at Rome.”\n\nWise men, or Magi, led by a star\n\nThose Magi were actually astrologers from the east. (Matt. 2:1, 2, NW; NE) Although astrology is popular among many people today, the practice is strongly disapproved in the Bible.  Would God have led to the newborn Jesus persons whose practices He condemned?\n\n. Regarding the date for Christmas celebrations, the Enciclopedia de la Religión Católica frankly states: “The reason that the Roman Church decided to assign this date to the festival seems to be its tendency to replace pagan festivals with Christian ones. . . . We know that in Rome at that time, the pagans consecrated December 25 as the celebration of natalis invicti, the birth of the ‘invincible sun.’”\n\n“Christmas has been celebrated on December 25 in all Christian churches since the fourth century. At that time, this was the date of the pagan winter-solstice festival called the ‘Birth (Latin, natale) of the Sun,’ since the sun appeared to be reborn as the days once again became longer. In Rome, the Church adopted this extremely popular custom . . . by giving it a new meaning.”—Encyclopædia Universalis,\n\nZenobia’s Legacy\n\n  Upon returning to Rome after defeating Zenobia, the queen of Palmyra, Emperor Aurelian built a temple to the sun. In it he placed the statues of the sun-god that he had brought back from her city. Commenting on further developments, the magazine History Today says: “The most reverberant of all Aurelian’s actions is perhaps the establishment, in AD 274, of an annual festival of the sun falling on the winter solstice, December 25th. When the empire became Christian the birthday of Christ was transferred to this date to make the new religion more acceptable to those who enjoyed the festivities of the old. It is a curious thought, that it should be ultimately due to the Empress Zenobia that . . . [people] celebrate our Christmas.”
407604
It doesn't.  Dec. 25 became Christmas to over ride the Pagan/Wiccan holiday of Yule and do away with that tradition.  That is where the Yule log and Christmas tree came from.  If you look at most Christian holidays they were taken from the Pagan ones to do away with those traditions.  The way the Wiccans/Pagans see it it just justifies our religion because they had to go so far out of the way to do away with them.  We must be right if Christianity fought so hard to get rid of them.
244078
Christmas is actually more of a pagan holiday (even though the Christians don't seem to realize it).  The proper term is Solstice or Winter Solstice. . During the year, the position of the Sun seen from Earth moves North and South. When it changes direction it stands still momentarily. So solstices are those moments of the year when the Sun reaches its southernmost or northernmost position, at the Tropic of Capricorn or Tropic of Cancer.  It was traditional to give gifts on Winter Solstice and the passing of the year.  \n\nThats part of the reason gifts are given as it was designated a holiday, however when Christianity came along they designated it as Christ birthday even though no one knows the exact day and the tradition of giving gifts was taken.\n\nChristians would also say its in honor of the three wisemen who brought gifts to the baby Jesus.
1022376
They don't celebrate the Christian holidays, because they are all based on Pagan holidays:\nAll Souls (saints) Day, Halloween/Samhain\nChristmas/Yule, WInter Solstice\nEaster/Oestre\nGroundhog Day (I know, not Christian)/Imbolc\n\nRejection of Holidays\n\nOne of the more well-known practices of the Jehovah's Witnesses is their non-celebration of holidays. All holidays, including birthdays, are considered "pagan holidays" and may not be observed by Witnesses. The official website of the Jehovah's Witnesses explains:\n\n    Jesus never commanded Christians to celebrate his birth. Rather, he told his disciples to memorialize, or remember, his death. (Luke 22:19, 20) Christmas and its customs come from ancient false religions. The same is true of Easter customs, such as the use of eggs and rabbits. The early Christians did not celebrate Christmas or Easter, nor do true Christians today.\n\n    The only two birthday celebrations spoken of in the Bible were held by persons who did not worship Jehovah. (Genesis 40:20-22; Mark 6:21, 22, 24-27) The early Christians did not celebrate birthdays. The custom of celebrating birthdays comes from ancient false religions. True Christians give gifts and have good times together at other times during the year. {1}
993398
I know that the pagan festivals that existed before the Christian holidays were used to encourage pagans to convert to Christianity. The early Roman Catholic leaders decided that if they used a pre-existing festival and incorporated new Christian concepts to it, they would have a greater chance of increasing the size of the flock. The dates of those festivals were acceptable (close enough), and as time went on, the pagan traditions went out and the holidays became completely Christian.
996684
Why? Can a Pagan not follow Christ's teachings? Seems to me they can if they want to do so. Lots of people consider themselves 'christian' and probably are not. Who are we to judge?
582148
How it All Got Started\nLong before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness. \n\nIn the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return. \n\nThe ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from the illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death. \n\nEarly Romans marked the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon farms and orchards would be green and fruitful. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs.   \n \n   \n In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder. \n\nGermany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles. \n\nMost 19th-century Americans found Christmas trees an oddity. The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, although trees had been a tradition in many German homes much earlier. The Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747. But, as late as the 1840s Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans. \n\nIt is not surprising that, like many other festive Christmas customs, the tree was adopted so late in America. To the New England Puritans, Christmas was sacred. The pilgrims's second governor, William Bradford, wrote that he tried hard to stamp out "pagan mockery" of the observance, penalizing any frivolity. The influential Oliver Cromwell preached against "the heathen traditions" of Christmas carols, decorated trees, and any joyful expression that desecrated "that sacred event." In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 (other than a church service) a penal offense; people were fined for hanging decorations. That stern solemnity continued until the 19th century, when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy. \n\nIn 1846, the popular royals, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree. Unlike the previous royal family, Victoria was very popular with her subjects, and what was d
217856
The only person I celebrate is Jesus at Christmas time, and show honor and respect at Easter. More than once I've had people mad at me for not celebrating pagan holidays. Sorry, don't do idols or false gods.
869629
ITS NOT PAGAN.\n\nSET ASIDE A DAY TO HONOR THE BIRTH OF JESUS.\nGIFT GIVING REPRESENTS THE THREE GIFTS JESUS RECEIVED.\n\nNOTHING MORE NOTHING LESS.\n\nCHARITY---GIFT OF LOVE..........\nCHARITY COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SIN..\nTRY IT.............DOES A BODY GOOD.
749011
Because they're uninformed people who don't understand that Christmas was never even started for the birth of Jesus. His b-day was in a completely different season, and the Christians took the holiday from Pagans and gave it their own meaning and name. You probably know that, that's just for people who think Christmas actually has anything to do with Christ.
403778
There are some religions that do not celebrate Christmas, including a Christin group or two. And Christmas has been so commercialized that the true meaning escapes many who are not religious. Their thoughts are drawn away from Christ, who is the true meaning of Christmas.\n\nI have always felt sorry at Christmas time for the children of families that didn't believe in Christmas...all of the lights, the decoratins, and of course the gifts. But as Christmas is now maybe they aren't missing out on a lot after all. All that stuff is just glitter masking the true meaning.  Of course we try to keep our children's hearts turned to Christ at that time of the year, but it is hard with all of the other stuff going on.
921507
Many of the customs were borrowed from Pagan traditions.  It does not mean Xmas and Easter are pagan holidays.  Where did you get this stuff??\n\nYou can celebrate anything you want.  It's a free country.
379342
What do these all have to do with Christianity?  The answer is, NOTHING! People find it hard to believe that the traditions for their favorite holidays didn't originate with that holiday. Easter is the Christian celebration of the rebirth of Jesus. The holiday was set at this time of the year because it coencides with Passover, a Jewish tradition remembering the night when the angel of death came and killed the sons of Egypt.  It also conincided with the pagan celebration of the Spring Equidox, and the coming of Spring. \n\n The traditions of modern Easter, though, are very Pagan. The name of easter is linked to the goddess Ester, of firtility. Some of her symbols were: rabbits, young animals (such as chicks), eggs, and chocolate. (Do these seem familiar?) When christians would convert pagans, they would bring some of their traditions with them. There are many other influences in this holiday as well.\n\nDitto with the oriigns of Christmas.  If you study the Bible, and the climate of the Middle East, topography etc.  you will find that Jesus was most likely born in the Spring,and not December 25.  So what's with celerbrating Chirstmas 24 ~ the Winter Solstice ~ you've got it ~ another orginal Pagan holiday!
320355
You better believe they did.  They took over our holidays, built their churches on our sacred space and generally tried to re-write historic facts to claim that it isn't true.   Most of the stories in the Bible are derived from older, Pagan tales.  I'm not making this up, do some research and you'll see what I mean.  Before Mary, a Pagan goddess named Cybele gave birth to a son, she too was a virgin.   That's just one example. There are many others.  So yeah, Christianity has Pagan DNA no matter how much people try to deny it.
896946
first of what is of importance is the fact that no where in the bible did Jesus command anyone to celebrate his birthday. he said to celebrate his death but not his birth.  in the third century of our common era as the roman empire was in decline . Constantine in order to solidify his power over the empire merged the Christian faith and the pagan faith, into one, a lot of the false doctrine that we now claim as christian came into being.  Jesus was born when the sheep where in the fields history has shown that DEC is still to cold to keep the flocks out at night.  the Christmas tree came into being in The 19th century, and Santa Claus as we know him today was started in the 17th century, the English oxford dictionary published in 1904 under Santa Claus says see Old nick. under old nick it says Satan the Devil.  the pagans in  Constantine time celebrated the winter solace, and a lot of its pagan roots are in Christmas today the giving of gifts , the mistletoe, etc
807907
Neither Christmas nor Easter have any connection with Christianity. So-called "Christmas" celebrates the pagan Saturnalia and the appropriately-named "Easter" celebrates the pagan goddess Eostre.\n\nJesus was not even born in December. Nearly all so-called Christmas customs dishonor Christ.\n\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/19981215/article_02.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/20001215/\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/20041215/article_01.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/19981215/\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/rq/article_11.htm\n\nChristendom adopts "Easter" from pagan worship of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre (or Oestre). Most Easter traditions merely repackage pagan fertility festivals and concentrate on eating, decorating, and frivolity. Christ certainly never wanted that.\n\nBy contrast, it's tragic that the one holiday Christ actually *DID* ask Christians to commemorate is entirely ignored by almost all of Christendom. It is, of course, the Memorial of Christ's death, sometimes called "the Last Supper" or "the Lord's Evening Meal".\n\n(1 Corinthians 11:23-25, NWT) The Lord Jesus in the night in which he was going to be handed over took a loaf... Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” 25 He did likewise respecting the cup.. Keep doing this... in remembrance of me.” \n\n(1 Cor 11:24, 25, NEB) "Do this as a memorial of me.” \n\n\nChrist Jesus himself personally celebrated and explained the significance of that Last Supper to his followers (see Matthew 26:26-29). Christians who commemorate the Last Supper have done so on the same Jewish calendar date as Jesus did, Nisan 14, which generally falls between late March and mid-April. Interestingly, Christians in the centuries immediately after Christ's impalement were sometimes called "Quartodecimans" which literally mean "Fourteen-ers", because the early Christians were well-known for this true holy day.\n\nHow would Jesus feel to learn that the holiday he commanded was widely ignored, while his so-called followers chose to celebrate a pagan false god and their own traditions of men? We don't need to wonder.\n\n(Matthew 15:6-9) You have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you when he said, 8 ‘This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me. 9 It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.’”\n\nLearn more:\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/lmn/article_08.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/rq/article_11.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/20041215/article_02.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/20011115/article_02.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/20050101a/\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/jt/
6811
I love Christmas. I love the idea of passing on the celebrating of the birth of Christ to the children. I hate the commercialization and the "Keeping up with the Jones'" aspect of it, that's so prevalent nowadays. I remember a day when parents didn't have to over-extend their credit and take out a second mortgage on their house to buy presents for the children.\n\nI wish there was a way to celebrate His birth closer to the "real" date that it "actually" took place. I guess it would be difficult to celebrate the birth of Christ before Easter when we commemorate His death on the cross.