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The month of December holds one of the most celebrated holidays in the world, Christmas. Never the less, many people celebrate this holiday without noting its pagan roots such as, dates, customs, and traditions.
Jesus Birth
The Bible gives no straight answer to the date of Jesus birth, but it does give clues. Luke 2:8-14 speaks of shepherds living outdoor and tending to a flock of sheep. The text reads, "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." Scholars of the Bible have concluded that this would be highly unlikely in the month of December, for the weather conditions would be too cold to live outside or tend to a flock of sheep. In addition, it is also unlikely that Caesar would force Jews to trek to their home cities under the cold and rainy seasons.
Why do people celebrate Jesus' birth on December 25?
The answer to this question lays in the pagan (the ancient polytheistic religion) origins of Christmas. Before the Romans converted to Christianity, they celebrated the popular holiday Saturnalia, a festival of feasting and revelry held in December in celebration of Saturn, the god of agriculture, and the winter solstice.
Kelly Wittmann wrote, "In 350, Pope Julius I declared that Christ's birth would be celebrated on December 25. There is wide acceptance of the belief that Pope Julius I 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." Moreover, in ancient Babylon, December 25 was the feast of the Son of Isis, Goddess of Nature, was celebrated with, "Raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast", as stated by Kelly Wittmann.
A popular theory as to why the Church would pick December 25th is that the Feast of the Annunciation had previously been set to March 25. This is the celebration of the conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary at the time she was visited by the angel Gabriel. The fixing of December 25 for Christmas would support the conclusion that the Church set the date of the Nativity as nine months from that point.
Traditions
Kissing under Mistletoe
Another aspect of Christmas that receives much criticism is its traditions. Traditions such as kissing under mistletoe are very popular, but have no Biblical reference at all. Once more, this tradition has its roots entwined in pagan beliefs. Bill McLain wrote in his book, There are many legends about mistletoe. One Scandinavian legend states that Loki, the god of destruction, killed Baldur, the god of peace, by shooting him with an arrow made from mistletoe. Other gods and goddesses were saddened by Baldurs death and asked that his life be restored, which it was. In appreciation, his mother Frigga hung up the mistletoe and promised to kiss all who passed under it. Because of this, mistletoe became the symbol of both forgiveness and love. There is also few other beliefs of mistletoe from around the world. During the Middle Ages, people would hang mistletoe over doors and on their ceilings to scare off evil spirits and prevent witches from entering. In addition, there is an old superstition that if you place a twig of mistletoe under your pillow you will not have any nightmares.
The Christmas Tree
It is safe to say that the Christmas tree is one of the most recognized symbols of Christmas, yet the origins of the Christmas tree are not clear. There is a legend that Saint Boniface started the custom of the Christmas tree in Germany around the eighth century. It is said that Saint Boniface found a group of pagan worshipping an oak tree and became angry; consequently, he proceeded to cut down the Oak tree. Immediately a small fir tree is said to sprout from the middle of the oak stump and reached to the sky. Thus Saint Boniface told the onlookers that this would be their holy tree because it was evergreen, a symbol of everlasting life. Although many versions of this story exist, many authorities believe that the true origins come from ancient Egypt. Bill McLain writes, On December 21, the shortest day of the year, ancient Egyptians decorated their homes with green palm branches to symbolize lifes triumph over death. Before Christianity, plants and trees that remained green through out the year were believed to have special meaning for people in winter. Bill McLain continues explaining, Romans used evergreens to decorate their homes during the winter festival of Saturnalia, which honored Saturn, the god of farming. In addition, Ancient Druids, a member of an order of priests in ancient Gaul and Britain who appear in Welsh and Irish legend as prophets and sorcerers, were known to place evergreen branches over doors to frighten away evil spirits.
Bibliography
- McLain, Bill. Do Fish Drink Water?. Quill, 1999.
- Brain, Marshall. Is December 25 really the day Jesus was born? in How Christmas Works
[1] (http://people.howstuffworks.com/christmas4.htm). October 10, 2003.
- Wittmann, Kelly. Christmas' pagan origins [2] (http://de.essortment.com/christmaspagan_rece.htm). October 10, 2003. [NOTE: This is NOT a scholarly article... It is a mish-mash of fact and fiction with a large dose of New-Age Neo-Pagan twaddle... e.g. - Kelly asserts that the northern pagan Yule is a holiday of the god Mithras... NOT... Mithras and Yule are different traditions, please don't conflate them. Lots of other rash mis-statements asserted with no sound authority. Who is "Kelly Wittmann"? This seems like a college freshman's paper... but it has NO footnotes and so would get an "F" if I were the grader. Please use higher standards of scholarship in our Wikipedia...]
- Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario. [ctfo@christmastrees.on.ca]. The History of Christmas Trees, Part One in Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario Virtual Christmas Tree Farm [3] (http://www.christmastrees.on.ca/vtfsite/vtf%20copy/history1.html). October 10, 2003
See Also
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