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Well, that’s easy to answer…it’s Christmas! Birth of Jesus…three wise men and shepherds…presents…tree…drinks and dinner.

Yes but why the 25th of December? Trickier to answer eh? Well yes because there is no mention of the 25th of December in the Bible at all or anywhere else really until 336CE when Pope Julius I set the date for Christmas. By 529CE it had become a public holiday and by 567CE the 12 days of Christmas were established.


So where did the 25th of December come from then?

Well first of all – could Jesus have been born on that day? Most scholars agree that it is unlikely. In the gospel of Luke, the shepherds are mentioned watching over their flocks at night. This is considered highly unlikely as they would have kept them under cover in the freezing cold winter. Also, the Bible places Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem for the Roman census – but any census in the Roman Empire was never done in the winter because of the cold and the terrible state of the roads.


So where did it come from then?

Almost certainly from existing pagan celebrations. The winter solstice (shortest day) had always been celebrated by primitive peoples as the beginning of hope for the arrival of spring. This continued into classical times. The Romans celebrated the festival of Saturnalia between 17th and 25th December. It paid tribute to Saturn – the God of Agriculture and Harvest. There were sacrifices, banquets, gift giving and partying. Even the so called Barbarian tribes of Europe celebrated with midwinter festivals. However this became firmed up with the arrival of a new religion emerging in the Roman Empire from the first century CE onwards.


Christianity?

No! The sun god Mithra had been worshipped in Persia from about the 6th century BCE, The Greeks adapted the name to Mithras and experts believe that Roman soldiers picked it up on campaigns in Persia. It became a hugely popular mystery religion across the whole Empire. It was celebrated almost exclusively by men who were soldiers. This of course explains why it never thrived totally unlike Christianity. It became associated with the Roman worship of the Sun and in 274CE the Emperor Aurelian established the birth of Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun) on the 25th December.

When the Emperor, Constantine the Great, converted to Christianity in the early 4th century CE he had to try to convert an Empire full of pagans. The decision to celebrate the birth of Jesus on a date that was already sacred in pagan traditions made perfect sense. It was therefore decided that the birthday of the Sun God would also be the birthday of the Son of God! (why do you think that the most important church services are held on a SUNday?)


25th of December

Merry Xmas everybody!

Holly – sacred plant of Saturn

Mistletoe – sacred plant of Celts and Norse

Ivy – sacred plant of Bacchus (God of wine and revelry)

Wreaths – Roman sign of victory

Odin – pagan god with white beard and flowing robes

Wassail – Saxon for good health, said when they drank a version of mulled wine

Carols – sung at Winter Solstice festivals

Yule log – doused in alcohol flour and foliage and then lit

Candles – used during Saturnalia to ward off evil


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