Is Christmas Pagan? No! It's time to learn some real history....

CatholicKnight.blogspot.com ^ | December 2012 | CatholicKnight

[Salvation]

Have a blessed Christmas, everyone.

[Salvation]

Preparing for Christmas Ping!

[Salvation]

Preparing for Christmas Ping!

[Jack Hydrazine]

Even the Christians deified rabbi from 2,000 years would celebrate it, right???

Think I’ll throw another Yule Log on the fire. No paganism associated with that, eh?

[Salvation]

Are you saying that Judaism is pagan? I hope not.

[Jack Hydrazine]

I’m asking a rhetorical question.

Would Jesus celebrate Christmas? Let’s take it back to his time during the height of ancient Rome’s power.

The holiday equivalent would have been the Feast of Saturnalia for the Romans. During Jesus’ time would he have celebrated it? Absolutely not. He was an observant Jew - not a Roman or Christian or a Hellenized Jew. He celebrated Chanukah. Why? Because the Feast of Saturnalia was a pagan celebration. I’m sure some Romans back then would have denied that Saturnalia was pagan.

[Salvation]

I think Jesus would be very disappointed at the way we scurry around, buying, exchanging, and then returning gifts for something else.

He is the gift. I found something about this last night. I’ll see if I can find it again.

[muawiyah]

The solstice is never of great importance in any ancient tradition or belief; rather, it's the return of the Sun to it's normal path that is very important ~ and for good reason ~ if it didn't, it'd just get colder and darker.

The earliest the ancients could have readily discerned a return to normal would have been about half a week later, or December 25.

That makes December 25 (modern calendar) a most propitious date! Folks can impute any other meaning to it they want, but after thousands of years of observation, I am sure no one disputes that it's good that it happens. The early church fathers must certainly have recognized that ~ whatever else they recognized.

Now, about that Yule Log ~ there are a number of stories ~ probably all of them true and reflecting nothing more than a roaring large log on a cold night ~ once we know the Sun is coming back ~ is just more good stuff.

Then, there's the Christmas tree. Ancient European pagans dressed up their human sacrifices like Christmas trees. The jump to using a tree is positively Abramic!

The thing to remember in all these customs is that God did not fail to impart revelations to the ancients ~ this is the 'amnesty from oblivion' doctrine at work ~ which means, basically, that if the ancient pagans did it ~ or the cavemen did it ~ or the wild savages out in Borneo or darkest Africa did it ~ if it was obviously a good thing, or instructive of a major moral precept, God said, if only in their hearts, do this instead.

We don't need to know if they were pagans since it was clearly the case that God was trying to communicate with them much as He communicates with us. Maybe we are just the latest link in the chain for the delivery of the Message.

More recently human sacrifice has returned to our planet. We need more Christmas trees; more Yule Logs more devices to detect the solstice so we can see if the Sun will not return to warm the land, 'cause, let me tell you, there's a darned good chance this may have been the last Solstice!

[Salvation]

Christmas, Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ - Mary's dream

Christmas, Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ - Mary's dream

I had a dream, Joseph. I don't understand it, not really, but I think it was about a birthday celebration for our Son. I think that was what it was all about. The people had been preparing for it for about six weeks. They had decorated the house and bought elaborate gifts. It was peculiar, though because the presents weren't for our Son. They wrapped them in beautiful paper and tied them with lovely bows and stacked them under a tree. Yes, a tree Joseph, right in their house. They'd decorated the tree also. The branches were full of glowing balls and sparkling ornaments. There was a figure on top of the tree. It looked like an Angel might look. Oh it was beautiful. Everyone was laughing and happy. They were all excited about the gifts. They gave the gifts to each other, Joseph, not to our Son. I don't think they even knew Him. They never mentioned His name. Doesn't it seem odd for people to go to all that trouble to celebrate someone's birthday if they don't know Him. I had the strangest feeling that if our Son had gone to this celebration, He would have been intruding. Everything was so beautiful, Joseph, and everyone so full of cheer, but it made me want to cry. How sad for Jesus not to be wanted at His own birthday celebration. I'm glad it was only a dream. How terrible, Joseph, if it had been real!

 Author unknown (Say a prayer for him or her)

[INVAR]

Unfortunately, there is not a shred of truth in this rewrite of history to accommodate an unbiblical tradition grafted into the Christian faith.

I, myself learned where Christmas had it’s origins from the parochial school I belonged, from Catholic encyclopedias no less.

This author tries to cite the feast of Sol Invictus as the prime error in associating Christmas with paganism. The fact is - the traditions that became Christmas were borrowed from the Roman pagan festival of The Saturnalia, which was kept as far back as 497 B.C. when the temple to the god Saturn was dedicated in December.

The Saturnalia and the later festival of Sol Invictus (158 A.D.) were state holidays and both feasts combined in practice near the 300s A.D. Constantine in 321 simply changed the festivals from worship of the sun god, to the worship of the Son OF God when he converted to Christianity and became the first Holy Roman Emperor. That is plain historical fact.

The idea that Christians chose to celebrate the birth of Jesus on 25 December because this was the date of the Saturnalia and Sol Invictus, was expressed in by 12th-century Syrian bishop Jacob Bar-Salibi. He wrote: “It was a custom of the Pagans to celebrate on the same 25 December the birthday of the Sun, at which they kindled lights in token of festivity. In these solemnities and revelries the Christians also took part. Accordingly when the doctors of the Church perceived that the Christians had a leaning to this festival, they took counsel and resolved that the true Nativity should be solemnised on that day.”

Jesus did not give us any instructions to celebrate His birthday - nor is there any record of the 1st Century Church ever keeping such a day. Rather - Jesus was very specific that we should commemorate His DEATH, something the Apostle Paul also reiterated that Christians should proclaim ‘until He come again’.

It is not Jesus’ birth that redeems us from the penalty of sin, which the bible says is eternal death. It is the DEATH of our Savior, wherein He sprinkled His own blood on the mercy seat as an atoning sacrifice for all mankind - that saves us from oblivion, and breaches the divide between man and the Adonai with the promise of life everlasting.

[Salvation]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2971709/posts?page=9#9

[Raycpa]

What does it matter the history of Christmas? It no longer is a Christian day. It is a certainty that our current culture has transformed Christmas into a pagan holiday that celebrates such things as family, shopping for bargains, decorations, annual songs and just about everything but Christ.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders." "And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

WORTH CELEBRATING!

[omega4179]

Evergreens-pagan
yule-pagan
lights and fires-pagan
date of solstice-pagan
Christmas tree and wreath-pagan

Jesus was born when the animals where calving.

[uncommonsense]

"Unfortunately, there is not a shred of truth in this rewrite of history to accommodate an unbiblical tradition grafted into the Christian faith."

I concur and would add that Jesus was not born in December, but during The Feast of Booths in the spring.

I frankly don't care if people want to celebrate Christmas, but they should know what and why they celebrate.

[KevinDavis]

So what??

[Mercat]

Today’s first reading from the OT includes these words:

“one who is to be ruler in Israel;
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.”

People have been searching for salvation from the beginning of time. Societies have always used blood sacrifice. It was always in anticipation of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross once for all and never again is it required.

Further on, second reading Hebrews: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,but a body you prepared for me;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.”

God operates outside of time. All salvation is under His direction.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“Evergreens-pagan
yule-pagan
lights and fires-pagan
date of solstice-pagan
Christmas tree and wreath-pagan

Jesus was born when the animals where calving.”

Evergreens - God made and fun
Yule Log - God created it all and beautiful
Lights and fires - beautiful
Date - God made it all!
Christmas Tree and Wreath - beautiful and we do it celebrate the season

Jesus was born when Shepherds were keeping watch over their flock at night.
The Jewish Temple kept sheep just outside Jerusalem for sacrifice year round.

If you personally are celebrating a pagan holiday, well... I guess it’s your right. I can assure you we are celebrating the most amazing gift ever!

[roamer_1]

[...] for no other reason than tradition's sake [...]

There is the whole article in seven words.

And when Paganism becomes tradition? When the church has accepted a syncretism (which she boasts of in her supposed authority) as tradition, what then?

[Biggirl]

A good and blessed Merry Christmas.

I go with this, no Easter, no Christmas, no Christmas, no Easter.

NO Christ, NO Peace of Mind and Heart. KNOW Christ, KNOW Peace of Mind and Heart.