The celebration of what is now called "CHRISTMAS" predates CHRISTIANITY by at least 4000 years. The festival of giving presents and merry making was common knowledge to the people of this period.
What is now IRAQ - formerly Mesopotamia - celebrated "NEW YEAR" with several symbolic actions. Some would make New Years resolutions, others reflected on the past year. A wide variety of mystical believes were used to justify the 12 days of year end and the beginning of the New Year. People indulged in many customs and it is a fact that Mesopotamia could be called the CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION.
This region of the then known world was looked upon as the gospel and slowly the neighboring states imitated the customs of this land. The idea of this kind of FESTIVAL gained acception and spread through Greece to Rome. It also took the road through the Balkans into the heart of Europe. The FESTIVITIES as Mesopotamian's knew it , originating in Babylon, did have great consequences in the future.
The ROMAN EMPIRE, before the CHRISTIAN era, started the year-end festival and the beginning of the New year approx. December 17. December 25. was the shortest day, the sun was at it's lowest ebb. The time was not measured in "MONTHS" but rather by seasons. Festivals, generated by season changes, were supposed to appease the Gods. On December 25. when the sun was standing at it's lowest point in the heavens, the near future would bring longer days. December 25. was the heathen's festivities in workshop of the sun. Approx. March 20. when the sun crosses the celestial equator, day and night are of the same equal length. This was the time the Pagans would celebrate SPRING.
The Winter celebrations did include Bonfires in high places to strengthen the reviving sun in its course. Candles and green wreath were given as presents, the streets were crowded with noisy processions of men and women carrying lighted candles, and public places were decked with flowers and shrubs. The practice of giving and receiving presents was then almost as common as it is now at CHRISTMAS. What we call Christmas spirit is actually the spirit of this old Roman festival. By now, the Kalends of January, the day of the new moon and the first day of the month in the ancient Roman Calendar, was celebrated throughout the ROMAN EMPIRE.
Emperor Aurelian (212? - 275 A.D.) proclaimed Mithraism the official state religion of the ROMAN EMPIRE. Emperor CONSTANTINE adopted CHRISTIANITY as the new RELIGION.
Why and how was the birth of CHRIST getting importance ?
Why was December 25. chosen for this birthday ?
As I have already pointed out in my writings "CHRISTIANITY" very few people knew about Jesus or would be interested in his birthday. Not before the fourth century did the birth of JESUS get any particular attention by the followers of JESUS. By then, the idea to celebrate the birth date of Jesus, got more widespread consideration. The Pagans had their festivals but the Christians did not have anything to compete. December 25. was chosen because it co-incites with the Pagan festival and therefore could attract those who were not involved in this new religion, CHRISTIANITY. When was JESUS born ? I doubt that anyone has the inside knowledge on that one.I would challenge anyone to give a documented date and year.
The contemporary writers of the time of Jesus' birth do not mention him at all. It may be impossible to establish the proper day and year. However, that much is sure, the calendars have been changed and manipulated several times and it would be impossible now to determine the exact date.
Matthew wrote that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea in the days of Herold the king. According to available records Herold died a short time before the Jewish Passover 750 A.U.C. (Calendar designed by Dionysius Exiguus, a Roman). This would place the birth of Jesus between the years of 748 and 747 A.U.C. , this is 5 or 6 B.C. Some historians even go back as far as 8 B.C.
The season, Jesus was born, could not have been during the winter. There are two reasonable arguments which dispute the birth of Jesus during winter time.
December is cold in Judea, the shepherds would not be out in the open to look after their herds. This is common sense.
You know the old saying : "If you can't fight them , join them". Well, that is exactly what the early Christian community did. Instead of fighting the old established customs of the Pagans, they went ahead and adopted their customs and RENAMED them. That was simple and it surely worked. The Catholic Church managed in taking over the merriment, the greenery, the lights and the gifts from old established patterns and incorporated them for their own purpose.
By choosing December 25. the Catholic Church grasped the opportunity to turn the people away from the pagan observance of the winter solstice to a day of adoration of Christ the lord. She simply made the old heathen Festival of the sun to the birth of Jesus Christ. The church by making the pagan festival also the Fest of the Nativity, "sanctified " it, and thus as Christianity gained ground slowly but surely changed its ancient worship for the material sun into that of the true light of the World.
In order to make the festival appeal to the Pagans the days between December 25. and January 6. were caught up into one "holy" season, with the birth of Christ at the beginning and the coming of the "Three wise men" at the end. The days between Christmas and Epiphany became known as the twelve Nights of Christmas.
The early Christian Church fought intensively the customs of the Pagans, but the old customs could not be uprooted and destroyed. So , the next best thing was for the Christian Church to incorporate some of the festive periods and named them to suit their purpose. The old traditions lived on (and still do today) and in order to make them presentable to their flock they "purified" the "labels" and applied their own. The fact remains that these Heathen contributions to the celebration of the nativity are what make Christmas what it is today. Lighted candles, evergreens, fruits and nuts, feast and merriment, giving presents - these are the basic pagan principles which the Catholic church could not destroy.
The Germans, the Gauls and Britons celebrated December 25. and the Norsemen held Yule feasts between December 25. and january 6., long before anyone heard of Christianity. Exchanging of Gifts and season greetings at or near Christmas began long before the Catholic Church started to incorporate the old customs of the pagans. Gift-giving was an important part of the pagan celebrations. During the first few centuries Christians did not practice the exchange of presents during the Christmas season.
Knowing that Christ was not born on December 25. - what is the excuse of the Christian Religion for celebrating "CHRISTMAS"?
Since CHRISTMAS does not have the factual foundation as defended by the Catholic Church , it is of no value to talk about Easter. EASTER celebrations are even less believable than the CHRISTMAS story.
Everyone has the right and privilege to believe whatever they feel is reasonable to him or her. There will always be those who cannot and will not believe in Christmas and Easter as offered by the Christian Religion. Of course there are millions who will celebrate these festivities, if only for the wrong reason.
Go to opening page: 2000 years of CHRISTIANITY