The Pagan Aspects of Christmas (1)

I’ve waited until mid January to publish the first of this series.

Christianity has taken a great number of Pagan celebrations and incorporated them into Christian dogma so as not to confront but absorb.    Instead of making enemies of Pagans and arguing against their practices, the early Church built them into the various celebrations.

The first one I will deal with is Christmas.

THE PAGANS

On the Winter Solstice, usually falling on the 21st Day of December, (In the Northern Hemisphere) the Sun rises at the lowest point on the horizon.   It spends the least time in sky before it sets.

On the next day, the 22nd of December, it rises a little higher on the horizon and spends a few minutes more in the sky.

By the 23rd of December, the Sun clearly rises higher, stays longer in the sky, proving, the Sun, giver of life is returning.

The people who built Stonehenge understood the travels of the Sun and marked the solstices. When the Winter Solstice passed, proving the Sun was spending more time in the sky, they celebrated.

In Babylon, years before the birth of Moses, the feast was for the Son of Isis, an imported Egyptian goddess.  This birth of  the Son of Isis was celebrated on December 25.

It was a very happy holiday with feasting and gift giving

The Romans celebrated this time of year with Saturnalia, honoring Saturn.    In their pantheon Saturn was God of Agriculture.  The Season was known as Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun.

One of the more unique features of this festival were persons called Mummers.   These were groups of costumed singers and dancers who went from house to house entertaining their neighbours.

As you can see, there seems to be a kind of ‘overlap’ between what the Pagans celebrated and what was adopted by the Christians.