The tradition of celebrating December 25 as Christs birthday came to the Romans from Persia. Mithra, the Persian god of light and sacred contracts, was born out of a rock on December 25. Rome was famous for its flirtations with strange gods and cults, and in the third century the unchristian emperor Aurelian established the festival of Dies Invicti Solis, the Day of the Invincible Sun, on December 25. Mithra was an embodiment of the sun, so this period of its rebirth was a major day in Mithraism, which had become Romes latest official religion . . . It is believed that the emperor Constantine adhered to Mithraism up to the time of his conversion to Christianity. [He dragged this major feast of his old religion to his new faith] ( The Christmas Almanac, 1979, p. 17). And then a contrived date was chosen because it was already a popular pagan holiday celebrating the birth of the sun god! Similarly, virtually all of the customs associated with Christmas- evergreen trees, holly, mistletoe, yule logs, a jolly plump man in a fur-lined red suit, sleighs and flying reindeer- are recycled from ancient pagan festivals honoring other gods.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 20:30:16 +0000