Have heard quite a number of Pagan stories and rituals on which Christmas was based. Does anyone have any info on the origins of these pagan ideas (as well as proof) that have come to make up the Christmas it is known as today?
Mate, without doing research, with quite a few red wines behind my ass, I’ll just say that the real birthday of Jesus is unknown. The winter solstice seems to have been chosen because it was already celebrated by pagan religions.
If you really require sources and no one else venture anything in the meantime, I’ll dig into it for you when I have more time.
Suffice to say, it should clearly be celebrated as Newton’s day as he has given us so much more than Jesus ever did.
okay, here goes:
when christianity was being (forcefully) spread through europe, the tribes allready had their own (pagan) religions. so, as to keep the entire war from going to shit (as it does when you try and force someone to forego their own, centuries old, religion, for your own, pretty young. one). so they incoporated the pagan and xtian celebrations, they converted the barbarians, but they didnt mind much, since they could still have their festivals.
here is a breakdown:
Let’s start with Easter.
According to Christian scripture, Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. Christians celebrate this resurrection Easter Sunday(also Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday), two days after Good Friday and three days after Maundy Thursday.
( Spring equinox in northern hemisphere, march) The Pagan goddess of spring and renewal is called Oestar,from the Scandinavian "Ostra"and the Teutonic "Ostern"or “Eastre” who were both Goddesses symbolizing spring and fertility. The pagans had the egg and the hare as their symbols of spring renewal and fertility long ago. During the pagan Spring festival, the eggs were coloured with bright colours in attribute to the sunlight of spring. The hare and the rabbit were the most fertile animals known during pagan times so of course they express the idea of fertility and new life.
In 325 AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine determined that Easter should be on the first full moon of spring which begins with the spring equinox on March 21st. Constantine, FYI, was the reason Christianity got spread through Europe as it has. And the only reason for that, is cause on day, he decided to carry a crucifix into battle, as opposed to a myriad of other religious symbols he carried. He won that particular battle, and decided that obviously the Christian God was favouring him. Thus he adopted Christianity for his term of rule. And it spread like wildfire from there. Before that, Christianity was a small rebel group of Jews, amongs hundreds of other religions doing the rounds.
Next, let’s see Halloween, allthough not Xtian, the xtians were quick to call it the day of the devil etc, etc.
The Pagan Festival of Samhain. Today Pagans see Samhain as a time to honor the dead, not as the dead, but as the living spirits of loved ones and as guardians who hold the wisdom of mankind. It is a celebration of the afterlife where we do not die but rest and continue to learn and prepare for our next incarnation.
It’s allso the Wiccan/Pagan New year in the northern hemisphere.
And then, xmas.
We all know what xtians say about xmas. birth of JC and all the rest.
For Pagans, it the Winter Soltice. the Winter Solstice occurs on December 21 or 22 each year in the Northern Hemisphere. In 46 BCE, Julius Caesar in his Julian calendar established December 25 as the date of the winter solstice of Europe. In Rome, the Winter Solstice was celebrated many years before the birth of Christ.
The pagans of northern Europe celebrated the 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. Pagan customs for this time of the years was as follows (see of any og this rings a bell):
Adorn the home with sacred herbs and colors. Decorate your home in Druidic holiday colors red, green, and white. Place holly, ivy, evergreen boughs, and pine cones around your home.
Hang a sprig of mistletoe above a major threshold and leave it there until next Yule as a charm for good luck throughout the year.
Have family/household members join together to make or purchase an evergreen wreath. Include holiday herbs in it and then place it on your front door to symbolize the continuity of life and the wheel of the year.
…the custom of family and friends feasting together and exchanging presents…
Today’s Santa is a folk figure with multicultural roots. He embodies characteristics of Saturn (Roman agricultural god), Cronos (Greek god, also known as Father Time), the Holly King (Celtic god of the dying year), Father Ice/Grandfather Frost (Russian winter god), Thor (Norse sky god who rides the sky in a chariot drawn by goats), Odin/Wotan (Scandinavian/Teutonic All-Father who rides the sky on an eight-legged horse), Frey (Norse fertility god), and the Tomte (a Norse Land Spirit known for giving gifts to children at this time of year). Santa’s reindeer can be viewed as forms of Herne, the Celtic Horned God.
I don’t think I need to get into more details.
By the way Christiany started at about 33 AD.
Paganism is as old as memory, as early man had been praying to Gods and Godesses eversince they knew how.
Something else.
JC was born Dec 25th.
Persian Pagan Religion: Mithra was a Persian savior.Their god was believed to have been born on DEC-25, circa 500 BCE. His birth was witnessed by shepherds and by gift-carrying Magi. Some followers believed that he was born of a virgin. During his life, he performed many miracles, cured many illnesses, and cast out devils. He celebrated a Last Supper with his 12 disciples. He ascended to heaven at the time of the spring equinox, about March 21
Greek Pagan Religion: Dionysus is another savior-god whose birth was observed on DEC-25. his flesh and blood were symbolically eaten in the form of bread and wine. He was viewed as the son of Zeus, the Father God.
Egyptian Pagan Religion: Osiris is a savior-god who had been worshipped as far back as Neolithic times. “He was called Lord of Lords, King of Kings, God of Gods…the Resurrection and the Life, the Good shepherd…the god who ‘made men and women be born again’” Worship of Osiris, and celebration of his DEC-25 birth, were established throughout the Roman Empire by the end of the 1st century BCE.
the same for a whole bunch of other religions across the entire Europe and Asia.
JC is just another religious figure. re-invented in the time it was needed, to suit the people.
He wasn’t real.
.
There is also no convincing evidence that confirms the birth and existence of such a person at that time. The Catholic Encyclopedia makes reference to Constantine’s involvement in creating a new god for the Romans by combining the names of two of his relatives, thereby giving “birth” to Jesus Christ around 325CE.
Gothcatgirl did a brilliant job and her research is very thorough. I would like to add that the pagan festivals all have their roots in religions using symbolic rituals that followed the patterns of the sun - or solar religions. Here is a summary of the more common solar symbolism in pagan religions:
• The path of the sun, as winter progresses, moves in a Southerly direction across the sky (in the Northern hemisphere) causing the days to become shorter and shorter. For three days before the winter solstice (25 December), the sun’s path appears to the naked eye to remain still in the region of the Southern Cross constellation. The death “on the cross” of ancient solar deities, and subsequent “burial for three days” was symbolic of this solar event.
• On the day of the winter solstice, the path of the sun begins to shift back in a Northerly direction. To the ancient solar religions this meant the sun was “resurrected from death” and “born again” on an annual basis. This is why the sun gods were “born” on the 25th of December every year.
• The bright star in the East is Sirius and at the winter solstice, Orion’s Belt (the Three Kings) lines up with this star and points to the sunrise. This was symbolised by Three Kings “following” the “star in the East” to the place of the gods’ birth.
• The Virgo constellation is also prominent during the winter solstice which is why the sun gods were said to be “born of a virgin”.
• The symbol for the Virgo constellation is normally depicted as a virgin holding a sheaf of wheat, and her constellation was said to be in the “house of bread”. The word “Bethlehem” when translated directly from Hebrew means “house of bread”. This is why some of the sun gods were said to be born in Bethlehem.
• Although the “resurrection” and “birth” of the sun gods took place on 25 December, the resurrection from death was only celebrated at the spring equinox with the Easter celebrations. At the spring equinox the daylight hours start to exceed the night-time hours in length thus marking the beginning of spring, and it was believed by the ancients that this was when light finally triumphed over darkness. This was symbolised by their gods’ “triumph over death” during Easter festivities.
• Spring brings new life as plants begin to grow and animals start breeding, and it was said in ancient times to “bring salvation” to Mankind. This is why the Easter festival celebrates new life and fertility, symbolised by the egg and rabbit. It is also why the “resurrection” of the sun gods was said to “bring salvation” to the people of Earth.
• The twelve signs of the zodiac were symbolised by the twelve disciples of some ancient sun gods.
Christianity has its origins in Jews who were known as the Essenians living out in Qumran near the Dead Sea. They combined Judaism and Pagan religions (primarily Mithranism), calling their leader Jeshua ha Messiach (lit: “high priest” who is “anointed one”, Greek Jesu da Christos) which later mutated into Christianity (in Rome - very long story).