The Real History of Christmas...

Sun, 24 Dec 2006 07:15:00 -0700

I hate to be a big party pooper, but do you know the real history of Christmas? Do you think that Jesus was born on Dec. 25? Believe it or not, but the idea of Jesus being born on Dec. 25 is a creation of the Catholic church. The Creation of the holiday of Christmas was an attempt by the church to claim the pagan holiday of the Winter Solstice for Christianity. It does not actually mean that Jesus was born on Dec. 25, the date was chosen becuase of how close it was to Dec. 21, the winter solstice. That being said, I still celebrate Christmas, but not as a celebration of the birth of Christ. I celebrate it as a time to be thankful for friends and family. I am a Christian, but I try to remember the birth and death of Christ all the time, not just once a year. "In the early years of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated. In the fourth century, church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday.Unfortunately, the Bible does not mention date for his birth (a fact Puritans later pointed out in order to deny the legitimacy of the celebration). Although some evidence suggests that his birth may have occurred in the spring (why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter?), Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival. First called the Feast of the Nativity, the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century." http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=1290 http://www.christmas-time.com/ct-jesus.htm

The Warp - Holidays

The Real History of Christmas...