Today is the 22nd of December which means that there remains between us and Christmas just 3 more days.
The Christmas period for me has lost a great deal of mystique over the years. As a child I still remember heartily singing Christmas carols in choir at school. Even to this day I still remember the words of carols such as "we three kings of Orient are, hark the herald Angel sing, silent night, away in a manger and the twelve days of Christmas". I also recall my parents putting up a Christmas tree in our lounge, having turkey for Christmas lunch and being given presents to open on the auspicious occasion.
As I have grown older and researched some of the religious themes that I was taught and picked up as a child I realised that not all things were as they seemed. Due to the fact that we are in the Christmas period I thought that in this post we would have a closer look at this festival that has become so synonymously associated with Christianity but whose origins are a lot older.
It is an established historical fact that no one and I mean no one knows for certain when Jesus Christ was born so why was December 25th chosen as his birthday by Christians? The answer appears to be that the 25th of December was a celebrated date amongst pagans throughout Europe and the near east well before Christ:
"No one knows what day Jesus Christ was born on. From the biblical description, most historians believe that his birth probably occurred in September, approximately six months after Passover. One thing they agree on is that it is very unlikely that Jesus was born in December, since the bible records shepherds tending their sheep in the fields on that night. This is quite unlikely to have happened during a cold Judean winter....
...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 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. 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. Hollyberries 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.
Christmas (Christ-Mass) as we know it today, most historians agree, began in Germany, though Catholics and Lutherans still disagree about which church celebrated it first. The earliest record of an evergreen being decorated in a Christian celebration was in 1521 in the Alsace region of Germany. A prominent Lutheran minister of the day cried blasphemy: "Better that they should look to the true tree of life, Christ." (Source:
Essortment)
By the 1600's Christmas having started life off as a pagan festival had become so base as a opportunity for debauchery and gluttony that puritanical Christians banned Christmas for 18 years in England:
"..Britain was in the throes of its bloody civil war - the six-year struggle for power between King Charles I and Parliament that pitted Royalist against Roundhead in bitter internecine battles.
In 1644, two years into the fighting, the Puritan faction in Parliament made its fundamentalist religious presence felt by drawing up the first of several laws banning Christmas.
They objected to the binge-drinking and the debauchery that accompanied the traditional revelries of Christmas week. One of them noted that "more mischief is committed at that time than in all the year besides" - a sentiment with which many might agree today.
He went on: "What eating and drinking, what feasting, and all to the great dishonour of God and the impoverishment of the realm."
But the Puritans did not just object to over-indulgence. They didn't like the name either. "Christ's Mass" had a ring of Roman Catholicism about it, which was anathema for Protestants. So the season was changed to "Christ tide" and any celebration confined to one day - of fasting!
Wassailing (lively and noisy festivities involving the drinking of plentiful amounts of alcohol) and wenching were out. So too was decking the halls with boughs of holly, a heathen practice.
And the ban was no idle gesture. For the "sin" of celebrating Christ's birth on December 25 in the traditional manner, a man or woman could be fined or put in the stocks. No one was allowed to take a holiday. Government officers, sheriffs and justices of the peace forced markets and shops to open and business to carry on as usual.
Anyone holding or attending a special Christmas church service faced penalties. In London, soldiers patrolled the streets and seized any food they suspected of being stored for illicit festive purposes.
And when the war was over, with King Charles beheaded and Oliver Cromwell triumphant, the injunction continued. For 18 barren years Britain was officially a country without Christmas." (Source:
Daily Mail)
I wonder what the Puritans would have to say if they say what has become of Christmas in the 21st century western world ?
The pagan nature of Christmas is undeniable so this Christmas while you are tucking into your stuffed turkey and imbibing your 43rd bottle of wine just try to remember are you doing it for Christ or for Mithras.
Islam and the west videos has a presentation from a Canadian Muslim Abduallah Hakim Quick looking at the pagan origins of Christmas:
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Islam Moslems Muslims War Terrorism Islamofascism Christianity Holidays Christmas Ordin Santa Claus Paganism Abdullah Hakim Quick
The term" goat-fucker" is used in western societies as a slur to denote Muslims. It grew with prominence after its use by now murdered Dutch film director Theo Van Gogh:
