Was Christmas A Pagan Holiday First
Many pagans practiced ancestor worship.
Was christmas a pagan holiday first. Many argue christmas traditions are pagan because they re used in pagan practices. 1 they knew jesus wasn t born on december 25 and. Likewise saturnalia which has also been proposed an origin of christmas was never celebrated on december 25. The festival of saturnalia an ancient pagan holiday which honoured the roman god saturn took place every year between the 17th and 24th december.
The earliest history of christmas is composed of pagan non christian fertility rites and practices which predate jesus by centuries. We can thank the romans and celts for most of our modern day christmas traditions. The supposed pagan tree mistletoe and wreath. The winter solstice often tied with christmas never falls on december 25.
Christmas is a holiday that has evolved due the passage of time and the influence of various cultures as christmas has entered their lives. Saturn is the roman god analogous to the greek god cronus or kronos saturn cronus goes back to a bible person. The december christmas observance began as a pagan holiday that was papered over with christian meaning when the roman empire officially converted to christianity in the 4th century. It just so happens that on the twenty fifth of december in the roman empire there was a pagan holiday that was linked to mystery religions.
First the pagan origins of christmas are far from certain. But first let s discuss this pagan holiday. Early christians refused to recognize it because. Traditions may resemble a pagan practice but that doesn t mean paganism is taking place.
This celebration was the pagan holiday saturnalia 1 which was the roman festival for their god saturn 2 it ran from about december 17 23. The christians didn t want to. Each of those cultures has enriched the holiday giving. In the first place there s no direct biblical commandment to celebrate the birth of jesus on december 25.
Gjones creative as christianity took root some pagan holidays were so popular that they were simply absorbed. The pagans celebrated their festival on december 25. They hung pictures of their ancestors in their homes. Christmas is a pagan holiday.