Did Jesus Steal Christmas From Horus, Mithra and Saturn?!

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Oh, Kandahar!

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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. So why do we celebrate Christ’s birthday as Christmas, on December the 25th?

The answer lies in the pagan origins of Christmas. 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.”

The controversy continues even today in some fundamentalist sects.

LINK
 
Everyone knows this now, like they know that Columbus brought syphillis to the New World. :dry:
 
Wilhelm-Scream said:
Everyone knows this now, like they know that Columbus brought syphillis to the New World. :dry:


and pop tarts, don't forget pop tarts.
 
The origin of Easter eggs in Rome centered on men painting up little boys and girls and telling them to run for their lives. If any of the kids were found they would be raped. Now it's little kids hunting for painted up eggs. :huh:
 
Wow, pagan origins, interesting. So will we ever know Christ's real birthday....
 
That was offensive for the sake of offensive. Take a day off.--Dew
 
According to some sources, Christ was born in the summer.
 
Who cares? Most people dont even celebrate Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ anyway. Its just an excuse for getting presents, having awkward family get togethers, drunk sex and pie.
 
Darthphere said:
Who cares? Most people dont even celebrate Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ anyway. Its just an excuse for getting presents, having awkward family get togethers, drunk sex and pie.
Hey, I'm with you man, but look at the **** storm that happened last year with all the people crying about everyone saying "happy holidays" instead of "merry christmas".
 
Oh said:
Hey, I'm with you man, but look at the **** storm that happened last year with all the people crying about everyone saying "happy holidays" instead of "merry christmas".


Yeah, its ridiculous. These christain groups need to comprehend that there are other thigns going on other than Christmas in that month. And im a christian. Good lord, I hate christians.:huh:
 
Darthphere said:
Who cares? Most people dont even celebrate Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ anyway. Its just an excuse for getting presents, having awkward family get togethers, drunk sex and pie.


I hope I get drunk sex and pie as a gift this year.
not at a family get together, cuz that would be weird.
 
Mr Sparkle said:
I hope I get drunk sex and pie as a gift this year.
not at a family get together, cuz that would be weird.


Jesus makes miracles happen.
 
Not that I would turn to a Wikipedia entry as a scholarly source, but the resource links at the bottom show that there are plenty of pro and con arguments to the "Jesus as Mithra/Horus/Sol Invictus" debate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus-Myth
 
OK that articel is full of innacurate representations.

-Yes December 25 was the holiday to celebrate the main Roman diety, first Saturn then after he was repalced by Sol invictus (the unconquered sun) him. Also yes this date was taken as the celebration of the birth of Jesus in the 4th century.

-Mithras isn't a northern european god. He's not a european god at all. Mithras came to the Roman world from Mithra. Which was a demi-god of Zoroastrian religion of Iran. Mithra was a messanger of the supreme being Ahura Mazda. Mithras was born during the journey across Asia minor. Mithras was the favored god of the Imperial legions. Thus you find subterainian Mithraeums wherever legions were stationed. Christianity also got many things from Mithrasism (and Zoroastrianism). Confession before god was a Mithranic practise, as was baptism. Also the highest rank an initate of Mithras could achieve was Pope (father).

-Yes Yule, holly berries, christmas trees, and mistletoe are Germanic pagan winter solstice traditions.
 
I think Jesus just borrowed Christmas from his neighbours (Horus, Mithra and Saturn) but forgot to return it.
 
Assuming that the Bible is true, it's likely that God told Adam what was going to come and mythologies had developed from there.
 
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