Why is December 25 a pagan holiday?

Though December 25 is the day Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the date itself and several of the customs we’ve come to associate with Christmas actually evolved from pagan traditions celebrating the winter solstice. “In ancient Rome there was a feast called Saturnalia that celebrated the solstice.

Where did the pagan holiday Christmas come from?

Christmas owes its roots to the ancient Roman holiday of Saturnalia, which was a pagan festival which was celebrated from December 17-25 each year. This custom was altered and absorbed into Christmas, and this allowed early Christians to gradually erase these old pagan holidays.

What is December 25th to pagans?

In pre-Christian pagan belief, December 25 marked what was known as the Winter Solstice. Sol is the ancient Latin word for ‘Sun’, and Stice literally means ‘standing still’. It was celebrated by sun-worshippers as the day signaling the middle of winter, the shortest day of the solar calendar.

What was the original holiday on December 25th?

Christmas
The first official mention of December 25 as a holiday honoring Jesus’ birthday appears in an early Roman calendar from AD 336. The celebration of Christmas spread throughout the Western world over the next several centuries, but many Christians continued to view Epiphany and Easter as more important.

How did pagans celebrate Christmas?

Pagans celebrate Yule, a holiday that takes place during the Winter Solstice, usually just a few days before Christians celebrate Christmas. For example, pagans would traditionally decorate an evergreen tree to celebrate the winter solstice. This influenced the decorating of Christmas trees.

Why do we celebrate Christmas on 25th?

It was a public holiday celebrated around December 25th in the family home. A time for feasting, goodwill, generosity to the poor, the exchange of gifts and the decoration of trees. But it wasn’t Christmas. This was Saturnalia, the pagan Roman winter solstice festival.

What is the origin of the 25th of December?

The earliest known reference to it commemorating the birth of Christ on December 25th is in the Roman Philocalian calendar of AD 354. Provincial schisms soon resulted in different Christian calendars.

Why is December 25th celebrated as Sol Invicta?

The Philocalian calendar also states that December 25th was a Roman civil holiday honouring the cult of sol invicta. With its origins in Syria and the monotheistic cult of Mithras, sol invicta certainly has similarities to the worship of Jesus.

Why did the Romans celebrate the winter solstice?

Also around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition, members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock.