If we look closely we can see that every tradition of Christmas has it's beginnings in the ancient winter solstice festivals of old. From the christmas tree to santa claus, from the gift giving to the "spirit of christmas". Even the downright silly clothing has it's origins in the solstice.
Let's start with the date - December 25th. Was Christ born on this day? If you ask your pastor he'll say "No." and he's right. Christ was not born on December 25th nor even in that month. Unfortunately most pastors will then proceed to tell you that it's okay to celebrate Jesus' birth on that day, though, because we have liberty in His grace to do such things. Really? Hmmm....I wonder, then, why does God say not to worship Him with such things in Deuteronomy 12:4? "Such things" being pagan, idolatrous images, places, and names. So what is December 25th and what do others say about this date?
December 25th was the date chosen and designated by the Roman Catholic church as the day to celebrate the birth of Christ. This was done in 350 A.D. by pope Julius I in an attempt to establish a time in which Christians could celebrate the birth all on the same day. However, the 25th of December had always been the winter solstice*, when the dark days of winter began to be longer, leading many to believe the sun was being “reborn”. Consequently this made the date of December 25th the “birth day” of nearly every single sun god in most pagan cultures throughout the world.
In Mesopotamia, the festival was called Sacaea, or Zagmuk, during which slaves and servants would trade places with their masters. It lasted 12 days overlapping the winter solstice, or vernal equinox, in its center peak. It was a festival held in observation of the sun god, Marduk and his battle over darkness. The Babylonians held both land and river parades as well. Sacaea, as Berossus* referred to it, had festivals characterized by the aforementioned subversion of order leading up to the new year. Masters and slaves interchanged, a mock king was crowned and masquerades filled the streets. This has been a suggested precursor to the Festival of Kronos, Saturnalia and possibly the modern version of Purim.
In Egypt, they celebrated the feast of Osiris for 12 days by decorating their homes with palms and other outdoor greenery. They kept it for 12 days because that number was in accordance with their calendar system and the palm was used because it was believed there was a correlation between it and the twelve months in a year.
In Rome, the festival of Saturnalia was celebrated during this time, which honored the god Saturn. The festival was kept to usher in the Golden Age of Saturn. Following this celebration, the Romans commemorated the god Mithra, the sun god, who was known as the Grand Deliverer. In Egypt he was known as Horus and in Babylon - Tammuz.
During Saturnalia, the people gave themselves up to wild joy: they feasted, they gave gifts, and they decorated their homes with greenery. The usual order of the year was suspended: grudges and quarrels forgotten; wars interrupted or postponed. Businesses, courts, schools closed. Rich and poor were equal, slaves were served by masters, and children headed the family (this is a forerunner to the transition in America where the focus became more on the children during the holiday season, and this grew evermore popular in the 1830‘s and 40‘s). This all leads us in seeing the general “Spirit of Christmas” or the “Spirit of the Season” with which people become much friendlier and more giving.
Cross-dressing and masquerades, merriment of all kinds also prevailed. A mock king -- the Lord of Misrule -- was crowned. Candles and lamps chased away the spirits of darkness.
Seneca the younger writes about Rome during Saturnalia around 50 A.D: “It is now the month of December, when the greatest part of the city is in a bustle. Loose reins are given to public dissipation; everywhere you may hear the sound of great preparations, as if there were some real difference between the days devoted to Saturn and those for transacting business....Were you here, I would willingly confer with you as to the plan of our conduct; whether we should eve in our usual way, or, to avoid singularity, both take a better supper and throw off the toga.” --From the Epistolae
In northern Europe the festival of Yule was kept, in which the people would celebrate by decorating fir or pine trees, burning the Yule log, giving gifts, drinking, and decorating their homes with the evergreen boughs and holly. Our modern Christmas holiday is the most closely related to the celebration of Yule.
In choosing the 25th of December, the Roman Catholic church was trying to make the statement that Jesus is the only true God who was born, not the false sun gods of pagan cultures. But mixing truth with paganism and idolatry is an abomination to the Lord and as a result the church began celebrating a holiday that was pagan from the beginning, only now Jesus was thrown into the middle. What we see is that a door was opened to celebrating the birth of Jesus with pagan traditions and a holiday that has actually very little to do with Christ and more to do with greed and heathen customs.
The early “church father”, Tertullian, wrote in 230 A.D., “By us who are strangers to Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to God, the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia, are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new year’s day presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians.”
Are you willing to look further? Or would you rather pretend that it wasn't true? Do you say to yourself, "Well that's not how I look at Christmas." But doesn't it matter how GOD SEES IT? It does. If you're willing to follow Him then at least ask Him to reveal the truth to you no matter what that might be and He will. And those who trust in Him will never be put to shame.
*Berossus - a Babylonian writer and astronomer from the early 3rd century B.C.
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