HOW THE CHRISTIANS STOLE CHRISTMAS (PART 1)

AND OTHER PAGAN HOLIDAYS PART 1

A lot of people wonder why we celebrate certain holidays. Where did
they come from, and what do they mean? Why do we practice silly rituals during these holidays? If you've ever wondered why we give Valentine's day cards, why we decorate Christmas trees, why we dress up for Halloween, or even what the hell rabbits and eggs have to do with Easter.... this article will answer all your questions. When you're done you'll see how the Christians stole Christmas, and other holidays you may celebrate, from the Pagans.

Paganism is a religion much, much older than Christianity. These people worshipped multiple gods, instead of just one, and they were mostly gods of nature. Christians could not have this, they believed that you can have only one god, The God. Whether peacefully or forcebly, little by little, Pagans were being converted to Christians, or they were killed. In order to make Christianity acceptable to Pagans, not only were Pagans celebrations redirected as Christian holy days, but many Pagan rituals and doctrines gradually took on Christian meanings and were incorporated into Christian
doctrine.


VALENTINES DAY

We all know Valentines day as a day we celebrate romance, we give out
candy, flowers, and cards, in hopes of getting laid on this magical day. This
actually resembles how the Pagan version of Valentines day was celebrated. On February 14th, Pagans would celebrate a day of love and fertility, praising the goddess Juno Fructifier or Juno Februata- queen of the Roman gods and goddesses, as well as the Goddess of marriage. In one ritual, practiced on this day, women would put their names in a box, and men would pick one out. These two would be a couple for the duration of the festival, and sometimes even for the rest of the year. This ritual was designed to promote fertility and life in general. It was also customary to bring candy and flowers to the temples of Greek gods and goddesses, and spend the night drinking and having sex. Then, on the 15th, Romans celebrated Luperaclia, honoring Lupercus- the wolf god of fertility. Men would sacrifice a goat, wear it's skin and hit women with small whips- this was supposed to ensure fertility. Please don't try this at home, the only thing it will ensure is that you don't get laid for a while.

It is said that Lupercus, "The Mighty Hunter," was where the name Valentine came from, because "Valens" in Latin means to be strong, which is what this god was known for. Cupid is also thought to be depicted with a bow and arrow because of the fact that Lupercus was also a symbol of strength. Cupid is actually the son of the Greek Goddess, Venus/Aphrodite- who was associated with love, beauty, and fertility.

In the year 469, Emperor Gelasius declared February 14th a holy day, in
honor of valentinus- a jailed christian who has several different stories and
rumors around him. Some think that Valentinus performed secret marriages while in jail, other think he fell in love with the jailers daughter and before he died he sent her a card signed, "Your Valentine." This was, some people believed, to be the first Valentines day card. Of course this holiday was declared some 200 years after St. Valentine was "martyred," in hopes of replacing the Greek god Lupercus. This allowed the Christians to take over some of the celebrations of love and fertility that occured in Paganism, but instead of celebrating sexuality, as the pagans did, they celebrated the martyrdom of saints. Luckily in the 14th century, during the Renaissance, Valentines day was starting to be celebrated as a day of life and love rather than faith and death.

Now this holiday is more commericalized than religious, and in the year
1969 it was removed from the calendar of "official holidays" by the Catholic
Church. So next time you celebrate Valentines day remember it is a day of
celebrating life, love, and sexuality- enjoy it.

if you enjoyed this article please check out the other parts in this series to learn about Easter, Halloween and Christmas.