Question Religion

Is Christmas A Pagan Holiday?

hcurrie7 November 03, 2009 16:32:15

Now it is time for all Christians, to hang up their sexy witch or sexy nurse costume, or whatever else they was calling their lingerie this Halloween, and start raising hell about Retailers not saying Merry Christmas to them while they are beating each other over the head for the last x-box they claim is for their kids. OOHH! The Holidays how I love them. Nothing says I love Jesus more than Pagan symbols (Christmas Tree, Yule Log, Santa, Magic) and Hypocrisy. Every year when I hear some redneck preaching about how Christ has been taken out of Christmas I cant help wonder when they will actually bother to read about the Christ they profess to love so much.

The following are some excerpts from an article written by Lorraine Day.
The Bible does not tell us when Jesus was born. However, we know that the angels announced the birth of Christ to the Bethlehem shepherds in the open fields who were tending their flocks by night. This fact certainly implies that the birth of Jesus could NOT have been on the 25th of December. "The cold of the night in Palestine between December and February is very piercing, and it was not customary for the shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than about the end of October." Hislop, A., The Two Babylons, Loiseaux Brothers, Neptune, N.J. pg 91.
Also further proof that Christ was not born on December 25.
In addition, Jesus Himself said, in speaking of the coming destruction of Jerusalem,
"But pray that your flight be NOT in winter, neither on the Sabbath day."
Matt 24:20
Obviously, Jesus understood that the wintertime in Palestine was harsh enough to make traveling difficult and uncomfortable. If the winter was such a bad time in which to flee, it seems unlikely that the shepherds would be sleeping out in the fields while tending their sheep during that season.

Because of these facts, and others to be discussed, it is virtually impossible for the birth of Christ to have occurred on December 25.
"No such festival as Christmas was ever heard of until the THIRD century, and not until the FOURTH century was far advanced did it gain much observance.

"Long before the fourth century, and long before the Christian era itself, a festival was celebrated among the HEATHEN, at that precise time of the year, in honor oft the birth of the son of the Babylonian queen of heaven; and it may fairly be presumed that, in order to conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of the nominal adherents of Christianity, the same festival was adopted by the Roman Church, giving it only the name of Christ. This tendency on the part of Christians to meet Paganism half-way was very early developed." Ibid, pg 93

OK I know what you are thinking. So what Christ was not born on December 25, but we would still like to honor him. The odd thing here is that Christ asked for his followers to remember his death not his birth (Christmas) or his rising (Easter). But as you can see his “followers are doing just the opposite. So you can see how it would be confusing to people of other religions as to why Christians insult their own God and want others to do so also. God has clear instructions on his people practicing Pagan rituals and He even felt so strong about it. He made a command about Pagan Worship. Its in the Bible you carry around. Open it up.
Here are some more excerpts from the article. It is beyond doubt that Christmas was originally a pagan festival. The time of the year and the ceremonies with which it is still celebrated, prove its origin.

Isis, the Egyptian title for the "queen of heaven," gave birth to a son at this very time, about the time of the winter solstice. The term "Yule" is the Chaldee (Babylonian) name for "infant" or "little child."

This pagan festival not only commemorated the figurative birthday of the sun in the renewal of its course, but it also was celebrated (on December 24) among the Sabeans of Arabia, as the birthday of the "Lord Moon."

In Babylon, where the sun (Baal) was the object of worship, Tammuz was considered the incarnation of the Sun.
"In the Hindu mythology, which is admitted to be essentially Babylonian, this comes out very distinctly. There, Surya, or the Sun, is represented as being incarnate, and born for the purpose of subduing the enemies of the gods, who without such a birth, could not have been subdued." Ibid pg 96
There are many other Christmas counterparts of the Babylonian winter solstice festival, such as: 1) candles lighted on Christmas eve and used throughout the festival season were equally lighted by the Pagans on the eve of the festival of the Babylonian god, to do honor to him, 2) the Christmas tree was equally common in Pagan Rome and Pagan Egypt. In Egypt that tree was the palm tree; in Rome it was the fir. The tree denoted the Pagan Messiah.
"The mother of Adonis, the Sun God and great mediatorial divinity, was mystically said to have been changed into a tree, and when in that state to have brought forth her divine son. If the mother was a tree, the son must have been recognized as the Man of the branch." Ibid pg 97
The Yule log was considered the dead stock of Nimrod (or Tammuz, depending on the specific nation involved), deified as the sun god, but cut down by his enemies; the Christmas tree is Nimrod revived - the slain god come to life again.

The Yule occultic colors are red and green.

The mistletoe branch symbolized "the man, the branch" and was regarded as a divine branch - a corrupt Babylonian representation of the true Messiah. Both mistletoe and holly were considered fertility plants by the pagans.
"Babylon was, at that time, the center of the civilized world; and thus Paganism, corrupting the Divine symbol as it ever has done, had opportunities of sending forth its debased counterfeit of the truth to all the ends of the earth, through the Mysteries that were affiliated with the great central system in Babylon."
Ibid pg 99
The story of the death of Adonis, also known as Tammuz, involved a fatal wound from the tusk of a boar when Tammuz was 40 years old. That is why a boar was sacrificed on this Pagan holiday. Even today, a Christmas ham is a traditional favorite of many.
And what about the other stuff that takes center stage during this so called “Celebration of the Savior's Birth”. I mean the things that you see the most like Santa, Christmas Trees, Father Christmas, Old Man Winter and the exchanging of gifts. You know you never see Christ in advertising just Santa and trees.
"The traditional customs connected with Christmas have developed from several sources as a result of the coincidence of the celebration of the birth of Christ with the pagan agricultural and solar observances at mid-winter. December 25 was regarded as the birth date of the Iranian mystery god Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness. . . The ecclesiastical calendar retains numerous remnants of Pre-Christian festivals—notably Christmas, which blends elements including both the feast of the Saturnalia and the birthday of the god Mithra." Encyclopedia Britannica, 1976 edition; Micropedia II, pg 903, Macropedia 15, pg 1063.

The much-loved hero of Christmas, Santa Claus, who "knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he knows when you've been bad or good" and who can circumnavigate the globe in one night, is nothing more than the Winter stag god, the god of the hunt, a "take-off" on the true God of heaven, who is omnipresent (everywhere at once), omniscient (knows all), and omnipotent (all powerful).

Santa has Eight Reindeer. Reindeer are symbolic of the Pagan Stag god. The number 8 is the number for a new beginning, and, when laid on its side, is the occultic symbol for Infinity.

There can be no doubt that the Pagan festival of the winter solstice—in other words, Christmas—was held in honor of the birth of the Babylonian Messiah.

The prophet Ezekiel is told by God to:
"Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they (the Israelites) do.

"Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house (the Temple) which was toward the north; and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz (A Sumerian fertility god similar to the Greek god, Adonis)." Ezekiel 8:14
December 25 was also the Day of Saturnalia, a celebration dedicated to the Chief god, Saturn, during which time there was much drinking, many banquets, and presents were exchanged.

God is very clear in his directives against the celebration of this Pagan holiday that Christians now universally celebrate as Christmas. God calls this an abomination! Christians celebrate December 25th blindly believe they are honoring the birth of Jesus, when they are in reality honoring the Pagan god Tammuz
In Jeremiah 10:1-4, we read:
"Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:

"Thus saith the Lord, Learn NOT the way of the heathen, and be NOT dismayed at the signs of heaven (the queen of heaven, Isis, worshiped by the heathen), for the heathen are dismayed at them.

"For the customs of the people are futile: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.

"They decorate it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not."
There could be NO more specific description of a present-day Christmas, than this.
God says, "DON'T do it. This is Paganism!"
My point is if you love your Savior so much then why do you continue to dishonor him in the worst way. The sad thing is there is so much ignorance about one's own religion. Maybe if everyone would stop worrying about the Wal-Mart worker that does not say Merry Christmas and more about themselves we might live in Country that is what is claims to be “A God fearing Nation”.
None of the above

None of the above

73%

16 votes

I am Christian and I agree it is Pagan

I am Christian and I agree it is Pagan

18%

4 votes

I believe it is Jesus' birthday

I believe it is Jesus' birthday

5%

1 vote

I hate Christmas

I hate Christmas

5%

1 vote

Sort By
  • Most Raves
  • Least Raves
  • Oldest
  • Newest
Comments
  • taravati 6 days ago
    taravati

    None of the above

    I think it is ludicrous and a glaring example of the blind ignorance of so called "Christians"
    I have studied all this twice, once when I was twelve, and again when I was twenty-one.
    I love to respond with "Happy Birthday" when people tell me "Merry Christmas" :D
    if they take the time to ask why, I tell them "if you want to pick a random day of the year to celebrate someone's birth, why not yours" :D
  • rinamom393 November 06, 2009 02:20:07
    rinamom393

    None of the above

    I believe it is a Pagan holiday, same as Halloween.
  • waynewest November 05, 2009 03:29:49
    waynewest

    None of the above

    yup it is
  • Gummi Bear November 05, 2009 00:05:09
    Gummi Bear

    I am Christian and I agree it is Pagan

    i wouldnt say im completely christian but it is a pagan holiday that was inherited by Christians.
  • bamalady35077 November 04, 2009 20:12:10
    bamalady35077

    None of the above

    It is the day we celebrate his birth. It is not the actual day. If I remember my history right it is based on a pagan Roman holiday of Saturnalia where the folk got pretty wild and crazy in order to calm them down the Catholic church decided to use this day to celebrate the birth of Christ (The Reverend Increase Mather of Boston observed in 1687 that “the early Christians who first observed the Nativity on December 25 did not do so thinking that Christ was born in that Month, but because the Heathens’ Saturnalia was at that time kept in Rome, and they were willing to have those Pagan Holidays metamorphosed into Christian ones. "Because of its known pagan origin, Christmas was banned by the Puritans and its observance was illegal in Massachusetts between 1659 and 1681. However, Christmas was and still is celebrated by most Christians. http://www.simpletoremember.c... ) Jesus was probably born in the springtime or early fall based on the fact that there were "shepherds tending sheep in the fields" if it was winter they would have them (the sheep) in their homes or caves.
  • Moya November 04, 2009 05:48:17
    Moya

    None of the above

    The christian celebration of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord. however, historically this was not when Jesus was actually born, and some pagan traditions have found there way into the common practices used today, for example, the christmas tree. That doesn't mean that what we're celebrating is any less important, or that we celebrate a pagan holiday, it just means that we incorporate culturally accepted practices into our celebration of something that is religiously, and, for me, spiritually important.
  • yaz-Way of the Master November 04, 2009 05:11:59
    yaz-Way of the Master

    None of the above

    There is no Biblical warrant, precedent, nor precept for remembrance of the day of Christ's birth as a day of special religious celebration. This is not to say that we shouldn't remember Christ's birth and its significance, but for religious commemorations or celebrations, we must have Biblical command or precedent! The fact of the matter is this -- the early church did not celebrate Christ's birth, but such celebration only came into the church with the "Christianization" of pagan rites as Catholicism was made the state religion by Constantine in the fourth century A.D. Since the Word of God does not support the tradition of Christmas, a Christian's conscience ought not and must not be bound.

    Praise God!
  • WTF, Liz. November 04, 2009 02:14:57
    WTF, Liz.

    None of the above

  • Captain Sticky November 03, 2009 21:39:13
    Captain Sticky

    None of the above

    Christmas is a Christian holiday. Yule is a Pagan holiday. As for holidays, this Pagan says "the more the better". Party on.
  • seathanaich November 03, 2009 21:17:21
    seathanaich

    I hate Christmas

    Holidays are different things to different people, and are whatever people want them to be.

    Pagan is just a perjorative word coined by early Christians to pretend that other myths were somehow different and less valid than their own myths. All religions are "pagan", including Christianity, if one of them is.

    I call Christmas "The Holomonths". Sixty days of annoying advertising which begins on November 1, and doesn't end until January 2 (oh happy day). Two months of phony hype, unmerited expectation, and crass commercialism, tinged with some whining by revisionist religionists.
  • Guyupstairs November 03, 2009 18:40:44
    Guyupstairs

    I am Christian and I agree it is Pagan

    Hybrid Saturnalia celebration. Invented by Constantine.
  • Zorro November 03, 2009 18:26:53
    Zorro

    I am Christian and I agree it is Pagan

    Christmas, like the "rapture" and unconditional support for the Zionist state of Israel is a huge scam perpetrated on professing Christians, who follow along like a herd of blind sheeple. It's all about consumerism and commercialism.
  • California Hippie Chic November 03, 2009 18:13:33
    California Hippie Chic

    None of the above

    Anymore Christmas is just another major holiday in the lives of a lot of people around the world. To some it represents the birth of Christ, to others it's the pagan celebration of the winter solstice.

    For me it's an opportunity at the end of the year to kick back at home with my family, exchange gifts, eat a lot of food that isn't good for you, watch A Charlie Brown Christmas and reminisce over good times.
  • Kev316 November 03, 2009 18:02:08
    Kev316

    I am Christian and I agree it is Pagan

    All Christian holidays have their roots in Paganism and mystery schools of thought. It is how Constantine brought his empire together and reconciled the differences between it's people.

    Religion is ALWAYS used for control and subjection. Why do you think church leaders feel it necessary to tell us what God thinks, rather than giving men the tools to search it out for themselves.
  • Yukkione "In Science We Trust" November 03, 2009 17:19:31
    Yukkione

    None of the above

    Well the time and the trappings are all Pagan. Even the story is derived from earlier Pagan myths.
  • Peru November 03, 2009 17:15:59
    Peru

    None of the above

    That same book you quoted by Alexander Hislop condemns the symbol of the cross as having nothing to do with Christ and being pagan the symbol Tau (see http://www.thewordsofeternall... ) but what does it matter? Christians love pagan ritual, pomp, and ceremony.
  • Compassionate Christian November 03, 2009 17:14:31
    Compassionate Christian

    None of the above

    No, it's not a pagan holiday.
  • thessa November 03, 2009 16:54:54
    thessa

    I believe it is Jesus' birthday

    For me and my household its a day to get together with loved ones and open gifts and celebrate the fact that Jesus came into the world.
    MERRY CHRISTMAS! CHRIST is what its about, no matter what others say in retrospect.
  • Alexander November 03, 2009 16:48:37
    Alexander

    None of the above

    Constantine along with the church he picked out to be the one true church, which would become the Roman Catholic Church, picked a pagan holiday that celibrated the Winter Solstice for the birth of Christ at the Council of Nicea in 325 c.e. Jesus was born two years before the death of Herod the Great in 4 b.c.e. making his birth in 6 b.c.e. Some scholars and theologians put his birth during the summer of that year.
  • wombat November 03, 2009 16:46:18
    wombat

    None of the above

    They celebrated in Europe the shortest day of the year before the Christians came and made Jesus birthday of it to destroy the bais of former celebration reasons(same as easter)
    Since we know that the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn caused the Star of Bethlehem we know that Jesus must be born between end of March and 1. of June and not in December as performed.
or
Cancel