THE TRUE ORIGAIN OF CRISTMAS The Foundations of Western Culture Where did Christmas originate? From the Bible or paganism? What is the real origin of Santa Claus—mistletoe—Christmas trees—holly wreaths—and the custom of exchanging gifts? Many are concerned about putting “Christ back into Christmas.” Was He ever there? Here are the stunning answers! Every year after Thanksgiving, most peoples thoughts turn to Christmas. It is the time when professing Christians are supposed to focus on Jesus Christ. After all, it is the “Christ-mass” season! Christmas is thought by most to be a wonderful time, focusing the participants on giving, family togetherness, beautiful music and decorations, feasting on special foods and singing Christmas carols throughout the neighborhood (as my family did every year). All of this is supposedly centered around the worship of Christ. Surely the Bible instructs us to do all this—right? The answers will shock you! Why do people think that Christmas is wonderful? Most never reflect on why they believe what they believe or do what they do. We live in a world filled with customs, but few ever seek to understand their origin. We generally accept them without question. Most people basically do what everyone else does—because it is easy and natural! Lets carefully examine the roots of Christmas. Lets look at why people follow the customs associated with it. Why is it kept on December 25th? Did the early New Testament Church keep it? This article is filled with facts from history that, when placed together, paint a complete picture. Lets avoid all assumptions and only accept what can be PROVEN! realtruth.org/articles/169-ttooc.html CHRISTMAS (from Old English Cristes maesse, “Christ’s mass”) is another example of the paganization of Christianity. The 25th of December was chosen by the Roman Catholic Church as the date of Jesus’ birth without any scriptural or historical evidence. The earliest record of its celebration was in CE 336 in Rome.10 The 25th coincided with the pagan Roman festival marking the “birthday of the unconquered sun” (natalis solis invicti); this festival celebrated the winter solstice, when the days again begin to lengthen. It also coincided with Roman celebration of the Saturnalia (17th December) in which gifts were exchanged.11 Tree worship, common among the pagan Europeans, survived after their conversion to Christianity in the Scandinavian customs of decorating the house and barn with ever greens (Christmas trees).12 The roots of Western culture can be found in Europe. Western civilization is often referred to as being a Greco-Roman civilization. Western Civilization began in Greece and Rome while the rest of Europe existed in a state of savagery. However, as in the rest of Europe, their official religion was one of idolatry. The Greeks and Romans worshiped a multitude of gods, all distinguished from men by their immortality. They were thought to control various natural or social forces: Zeus the weather, Poseidon the sea, Demeter the harvest, Hera marriage, Fortuna good and bad fortune, Diana love, and so on. In Greek mythology the major gods lived on Mount Olympus led by the chief god, Zeus (Jupiter in Rome). All gods were worshipped as idols in human form and the most important act of Greek worship was the sacrifice. Sacrificial offerings varied according to the gods addressed: e.g., cows for Hera, bulls for Zeus, and pigs for Demeter. Effects The effects of idolatry from Greece and Rome, as well as other European nations, can still be found in Western civilization, though the religions have long since been abandoned. For example, although each country around the world today has names for the days of the week in their own language, the English names for the days of week have become the international standard. The origin of the English names is bathed in idolatry. The days assigned by the Romans for the worship of the Sun, Moon, and Saturn were retained for the corresponding days of the week. Saturday from the Old English term Saeterndaeg,or Saturn’s day (Saturn being the Roman god of agriculture), Sunday from Old English sunnan daeg, day of the sun; Monday from Old English monandaeg, moon day. The other weekday names are derived from Anglo-Saxon words for the gods of Teutonic mythology. Tuesday from Old English Tiwesdaeg, 8The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, vol. 5, p. 462. T Tiw’s day (Tiw being the Anglo-Saxon name for Tyr, the Norse god of war); Wednesday from Old English Wodnes daeg, the day of Woden (the chief god of the Germanic peoples); Thursday from Old English thunresdaeg, the day of Thunor [Thor], the Anglo-Saxon god of thunder; Friday from Old English Frigedaeg, the goddess Frig’s day (Frigg was the wife of Woden, and she was the goddess of beauty and love).9 Western civilization also identifies its roots as being Judeo- Christian. Christianity’s origins are in Judaism. Jesus was a Jewish prophet who lived according to Jewish Law (The Torah). However, Jesus’ teachings were paganized when they were transferred to Greece and Rome. As the Roman and Greek gods looked like human beings and were known to have relations with humans producing half-gods. In the new teachings, Jesus became God incarnate, born of a human mother who walked the earth among humans. Statues of Jesus, his mother, and the saints became an integral part Christian worship. The main day for congregational worship was shifted from the Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday. In Rome, Sunday was the day designated for the worship of the Sun god, Apollo, the son of the chief god, Jupiter. The shift was to attract Roman pagans based on the similarity in their beliefs about the son of god. ………………………………………………… Christmas (from Old English Cristes maesse, “Christ’s mass”) is another example of the paganization of Christianity. The 25th of December was chosen by the Roman Catholic Church as the date of Jesus’ birth without any scriptural or historical evidence. The earliest record of its celebration was in CE 336 in Rome.10 The 25th coincided with the pagan Roman festival marking the “birthday of the unconquered sun” (natalis solis invicti); this festival celebrated the winter solstice, when the days again begin to lengthen. It also coincided with Roman celebration of the Saturnalia (17th December) in which gifts were exchanged.11 Tree worship, common among the pagan Europeans, survived after their conversion to Christianity in the Scandinavian customs of decorating the house and barn with ever greens (Christmas trees). ………………………………………… Furthermore, a traveler in the West will not find in the elevators of apartment buildings, commercial complexes or hotels a 13th floor. Houses on streets are numbered: 11,12, 12 ½, 14. No one wants to live in house number 13, apartment number 13 on floor number 13. During the late 60s an Apollo moonshot missed the moon and was almost lost in space but narrowly managed to return to earth safely. After its crew were fished out of the Atlantic and brought back to the Cape Canaveral base, reporters questioned the flight commander about his feelings. He replied that he should have known that this would have happened. When they quizzed him about details of technical problems that were ignored, he replied that there were none. Instead he informed them that the flight was Apollo 13, which took off at 13:13 hours on Friday the 13th! This superstition has its roots in Christian tradition that holds that at the Last Supper Jesus ate with his twelve disciples. One of them, Judas, later betrayed Jesus leading to his apparent crucifixion. Thirteen, as it turned our, was bad luck for Jesus, consequently, pagan beliefs in good and bad luck charms resurfaced among Westerners in number 13. ……… HERE ARE SOME OF THER LINKS YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE… .https://google.co.th/search?q=13The+New+Encyclopaedia+Britannica% .archive.org/stream/EbooksOfBilalPhilips/TheMoralFoundationsOfIslamicCulture-.bilalPhilips-islamchest_djvu.txt .realtruth.org/articles/169-ttooc.html
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 08:37:41 +0000
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