HOW THE CHRISTIANS STOLE CHRISTMAS (PART 4)

AND OTHER PAGAN HOLIDAYS. PART 4

CHRISTMAS

Even though Christmas in America is mostly a holiday of gifts, decorating
trees, and jolly old Santa ClausSanta Claus we all know (maybe in the back of our minds) that we are celebrating the birth of baby Jesus. Or are we? Nobody actually knows when Jesus was born. Most likely, however, it was not even in December. Before the fourth century the date of his birth had been celebrated either sometime in January- March or in November. Christmas was celebrated around the fourth century and was placed on December 25th to turn the worship of the Pagans sun god into adoration of Jesus Christ. Many cults celebrated their gods during the time of the Winter Solstice until this time.

The Pagan Winter Solstice celebrations commemorated the figurative birthday of the sun and in the renewal of its course. This festival was called Saturnia, after Saturn, the god of agriculture, and it was celebrated from December 17-25th. At this time parties were thrown and presents were exchanged. During that week fighting was forbidden.

Popular symbols of peace at this time were mistletoe and holly. This was
because they were considered fertility plants that stayed green throughout the
whole winter. Mistletoe was considered a charm against evil, that was hung on
doorsteps so that people who stood under it would never be hurt. They are also entitled to a welcome kiss, which was a token of love. Legend says that if two enemies crossed each others path and there was mistletoe between them, they would shake hands and go on their own way. Mistletoe was so highly venerated by the Pagan culture that even now Christians cannot use it as their own symbol and some churches won't even use it as a decoration.

The evergreen was also respected greatly because it gave Pagans
reassurance in the Winter, that Spring would come back. The trees were thought to be blessed by the gods because they stayed green all year. During the Winter Solstice these trees would be set on fire to entice the sun god to return so that Spring would bring life back again. The church does not accept this as a custom but this tradition is too popular to be stopped-we still light up our trees along with our decorations. We also place lights on the outside of our houses because of the Pagan custom of placing candles outside of a home to give strength to the sun god.

The tradition of Santa Claus has an infinite amount of influences from
all over the world. He does not have one origin and evolved from so many
stories and traditions that it would have to be an article in itself. I can,
however, tell you that the Pagans did have their own version as well. Fashioned after the "True God of Heaven," who is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent (knows all, is everywhere at once, and is all powerful,) there is a stag god known as the God of the Hunt. It is thought that the 8 reindeer (minus Rudolph) that lead Santa Claus originated from this stag god. The number 8 is a very symbolic number for the pagans. It is a number of new beginnings and, turned on its side, it is an occultic symbol for infinity.

If you enjoyed this article please check out the other ones in this series to learn about Valentines day, Easter, and Halloween