Christmas, Lent and Easter are Pagan?!

[at0m1c]

[quote]The Origin Of Christmas



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Christmas is a holiday shared and celebrated by many religions.
It is a day that has an effect on the entire world.

To many people, it is a favorite time of the year involving gift giving, parties and feasting. Christmas is a holiday that unifies almost all of professing Christendom.

The spirit of Christmas causes people to decorate their homes and churches, cut down trees and bring them into their homes, decking them with silver and gold.

In the light of that tree, families make merry and give gifts one to another.

When the sun goes down on December 24th, and darkness covers the land, families and churches prepare for participation in customs such as burning the yule log, singing around the decorated tree, kissing under the mistletoe and holly, and attending a late night service or midnight mass.

What is the meaning of Christmas? Where did the customs and traditions originate?

You, as a Christian, would want to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth, discerning good from evil.

The truth is that all of the customs of Christmas pre-date the birth of Jesus Christ, and a study of this would reveal that
Christmas in our day is a collection of traditions and practices taken from many cultures and nations.

The date of December 25th comes from Rome and was a celebration of the Italic god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god.

This was done long before the birth of Jesus.

It was noted by the pre-Christian Romans and other pagans, that daylight began to increase after December 22nd, when they assumed that the sun god died.

These ancients believed that the sun god rose from the dead three days later as the new-born and venerable sun.

Thus, they figured that to be the reason for increasing daylight.

This was a cause for much wild excitement and celebration. Gift giving and merriment filled the temples of ancient Rome, as sacred priests of Saturn, called dendrophori, carried wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession.

In Germany, the evergreen tree was used in worship and celebration of the yule god, also in observance of the resurrected sun god.

The evergreen tree was a symbol of the essence of life and was regarded as a phallic symbol in fertility worship.

Witches and other pagans regarded the red holly as a symbol of the menstrual blood of the queen of heaven, also known as Diana.

The holly wood was used by witches to make wands.

The white berries of mistletoe were believed by pagans to represent droplets of the semen of the sun god.

Both holly and mistletoe were hung in doorways of temples and homes to invoke powers of fertility in those who stood beneath and kissed, causing the spirits of the god and goddess to enter them.

These customs transcended the borders of Rome and Germany to the far reaches of the known world.

The question now arises: How did all of these customs find their way into contemporary Christianity, ranging from Catholicism to Protestantism to fundamentalist churches?

The word "Christmas"itself reveals who married paganism to Christianity.

The word "Christmas" is a combination of the words "Christ" and "Mass.

The word "Mass" means death and was coined originally by the Roman Catholic Church, and belongs exclusively to the church of Rome.

The ritual of the Mass involves the death of Christ, and the distribution of the "Host", a word taken from the Latin word "hostiall" meaning victim!

In short, Christmas is strictly a Roman Catholic word.

A simple study of the tactics of the Romish Church reveals that in every case, the church absorbed the customs, traditions and general paganism of every tribe, culture and nation in their efforts to increase the number of people under their control.

In short, the Romish church told all of these pagan cultures, "Bring your gods, goddesses, rituals and rites, and we will assign Christian sounding titles and names to them.

When Martin Luther started the reformation on October 31st, 1517, and other reformers followed his lead, all of them took with them the paganism that was so firmly imbedded in Rome.

These reformers left Christmas intact.

In England, as the authorized Bible became available to the common people by the decree of King James the II in 1611, people began to discover the pagan roots of Christmas, which are clearly revealed in Scripture.

The Puritans in England, and later in Massachusetts Colony, outlawed this holiday as witchcraft.

Near the end of the nineteenth century, when other Bible versions began to appear, there was a revival of the celebration of Christmas.

We are now seeing ever-increasing celebrating of Christmas or Yule, its true name, as we draw closer to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Taken from [url="http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract3.html"]http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract3.html[/url]

See also this other site... [url="http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Christmas_TheRealStory.htm"]http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Chr...heRealStory.htm[/url][/quote]

My goodness!!

[StColette]

[quote]In short, the Romish church told all of these pagan cultures, "Bring your gods, goddesses, rituals and rites, and we will assign Christian sounding titles and names to them.
[/quote]

This quote just made me laugh!

It's true though that Christmas, Easter, etc. have their origins of the dates that they fall on in Pagan Religions, however the Church purposely placed the celebrations of the Church on these dates in order to rid the world of Paganism. It is not the date of the Holidays that matter, even if they do fall upon former Pagan Holidays, what matters is what is celebrated on those days. Yes Dec 25th was a Pagan Holiday but the Church claimed Dec 25th as her own in order to bring people into the Church by celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, and the same goes for Easter. The Church placed it on that date for a reason, again to bring people into the Church and away from Paganism. The important thing is that on that day we are celebrating the Resurrection of Christ. When it comes down to it the placement of these important Church celebration on these dates do not matter, what matters is what is celebrated on those days.

[Mateo el Feo]

Sometimes, the people's imagination gets the better of them. For example:

[quote]The word "Christmas" is a combination of the words "Christ" and "Mass.[/quote]
True.

[quote]The word "Mass" means death and was coined originally by the Roman Catholic Church, and belongs exclusively to the church of Rome.[/quote]

Umm...no.

Quoting Wiki ([url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_%28liturgy%29"]link[/url]):
[quote]The term is derived from the Latin word missa, whose meaning is thus explained:

The origin and first meaning of the word, once much discussed, is not really doubtful. We may dismiss at once such fanciful explanations as that missa is the Hebrew missah ("oblation" -- so Reuchlin and Luther), or the Greek myesis ("initiation"), or the German Mess ("assembly", "market"). Nor is it the participle feminine of mittere, with a noun understood ("oblatio missa ad Deum", "congregatio missa", i.e., dimissa -- so Diez, "Etymol. Wörterbuch der roman. Sprachen", 212, and others). It is a substantive of a late form for missio. There are many parallels in medieval Latin, collecta, ingressa, confessa, accessa, ascensa -- all for forms in -io. It does not mean an offering (mittere, in the sense of handing over to God), but the dismissal of the people, as in the versicle: "[b][i]Ite missa est[/i][/b]" (Go, the dismissal is made).[/quote]

[quote]A simple study of the tactics of the Romish Church reveals that in every case, the church absorbed the customs, traditions and general paganism of every tribe, culture and nation in their efforts to increase the number of people under their control.[/quote]
I'd hate to hear what they think of St. Paul:
[quote name='1 Cor 9:19-23']Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible.  To the Jews I became like a Jew to win over Jews; to those under the law I became like one under the law--though I myself am not under the law--to win over those under the law.  To those outside the law I became like one outside the law--though I am not outside God's law but within the law of Christ--to win over those outside the law.  To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some.  All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it.[/quote]
Was this just a "tactic" of St. Paul "to increase the number of people under [his] control"?

LOL

[Paphnutius]

I guess they cannot use our postal system for it was based off of the Roman Imperial postal system. Nor can they use our roads which are based off of the size of a normal roman road (enough room for two chariots to pass side by side). And the list goes on....

[StColette]

[quote name='Paphnutius' date='Mar 20 2006, 10:12 AM']I guess they cannot use our postal system for it was based off of the Roman Imperial postal system. Nor can they use our roads which are based off of the size of a normal roman road (enough room for two chariots to pass side by side). And the list goes on....
[right][snapback]915613[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]

ROFL

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

Where was their church when this was all going on? Couple of hundred years away?

[jswranch]

[quote name='at0m1c' date='Mar 20 2006, 09:25 AM']Christmas is a holiday shared and celebrated by many religions.
[right][snapback]915567[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]

Negative. Only Christians celebrated Christmass. 'Many religions' celebrated a wintertime holliday. Some celebrated the shortest day of the year (dec 21st). Others sat around the yule log. None of these were celebrating a Mass commemorating the birth or Christ.

Bravo to Mateo for the 1 Cor 9 parallel.

[phatcatholic]

go here:
[url="http://www.phatmass.com/directory/index.php/cat_id/265"]http://www.phatmass.com/directory/index.php/cat_id/265[/url]

[Rebecca2009]

I am glad I found this thread, as I didn't want to duplicate anything.

The answers given make sense. I have been wrestling with this very subject.

I have to say something got my attention this week, though, regarding this.....it is in Jeremiah ch.10...God speaks to Israel, telling them not to learn the ways of the nations around them....
Jeremiah 10:2 Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
3. For the customs of the people are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that is will not topple.


I know this probably refers to worship activity, which we don't do....we don't worship the Christmas tree.

But in all the times i've heard or read people talking about the pagan roots of Christmas, etc, no one ever mentioned this scripture. When I read it the other night i was very surprised.
Regardless of the "whys" of things, if God has said do not do this, then we won't be doing it.

Still plan to send out cards though and probably all the other stuff. As it is my family doesn't really care a whole lot about the tree anyway, so that won't be a big deal to not have one. We had a horrible fake tree for the past several years, and last year none of us wanted to set it up.

[Archaeology cat]

You need to look at the context of Jeremiah 10. [quote]2 Thus says the LORD: "Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, 3 for the customs of the peoples are false. A tree from the forest is cut down, and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. 4 Men deck it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. 5 Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Be not afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good."[/quote] Look at v5: the passage is talking about carving idols out of wood, not decorating a tree. If someone were worshipping a tree, of course that would be wrong, and it isn't required to have a Christmas tree, though a Christmas tree can provide a teaching opportunity. For example, we can teach our children that the evergreen reminds us of eternal life; the lights remind us that the Light of the World was born. [url="http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/adx/xcust.html"]Here's a good page on it.[/url]

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='StColette' timestamp='1142872958' post='915576']
This quote just made me laugh!

It's true though that Christmas, Easter, etc. have their origins of the dates that they fall on in Pagan Religions, however the Church purposely placed the celebrations of the Church on these dates in order to rid the world of Paganism. It is not the date of the Holidays that matter, even if they do fall upon former Pagan Holidays, what matters is what is celebrated on those days. Yes Dec 25th was a Pagan Holiday but the Church claimed Dec 25th as her own in order to bring people into the Church by celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, and the same goes for Easter. The Church placed it on that date for a reason, again to bring people into the Church and away from Paganism. The important thing is that on that day we are celebrating the Resurrection of Christ. When it comes down to it the placement of these important Church celebration on these dates do not matter, what matters is what is celebrated on those days.
[/quote]
That's somewhat debateable about the dates, from what I've seen. Well, at least from looking at [url="http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=16-10-012-v"]this article[/url].

BTW: while some often say that Saturnalia was on 25 December, that's not accurate. It was on 17 December, and at some point the festival, ending on 23 December.

[LaPetiteSoeur]

Sometimes I wonder if people who accuse the Catholic Church of celebrating pagan holidays have looked at their own history.

What church was founded by the Son of God himself?

The Catholic Church

.

The Church was smart. If pagans were having trouble converting because they'd miss their holidays, why not put a Catholic holiday around the same time.

Thank God for the Catholic Church!

Dieu vous benisse!

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='LaPetiteSoeur' timestamp='1286988531' post='2179439']
Sometimes I wonder if people who accuse the Catholic Church of celebrating pagan holidays have looked at their own history.
[/quote]
Ignorance of history is often a problem, IMO.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Rebecca2009' timestamp='1286761515' post='2179022']
I am glad I found this thread, as I didn't want to duplicate anything.

The answers given make sense. I have been wrestling with this very subject.

I have to say something got my attention this week, though, regarding this.....it is in Jeremiah ch.10...God speaks to Israel, telling them not to learn the ways of the nations around them....
Jeremiah 10:2 Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
3. For the customs of the people are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that is will not topple.


I know this probably refers to worship activity, which we don't do....we don't worship the Christmas tree.

But in all the times i've heard or read people talking about the pagan roots of Christmas, etc, no one ever mentioned this scripture. When I read it the other night i was very surprised.
Regardless of the "whys" of things, if God has said do not do this, then we won't be doing it.

Still plan to send out cards though and probably all the other stuff. As it is my family doesn't really care a whole lot about the tree anyway, so that won't be a big deal to not have one. We had a horrible fake tree for the past several years, and last year none of us wanted to set it up.
[/quote]

[color="#0000FF"]If you don't want a tree thats fine, but this scripture verse is not a valid reason. You are right- it is referring to idols, carved idols - statues. God is against worshipping idols, this has nothing to do with actual trees. If you take its logical conclusion you would have to throw all your statues of Jesus or Mary out as well.[/color]
<< Jeremiah 10 >>
Douay-Rheims Bible

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1 Hear ye the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning you, O house of Israel.
2 Thus saith the Lord: Learn not according to the ways of the Gentiles: and be not afraid of the signs of heaven, which the heathens fear:

3 For the laws of the people are vain: for the works of the hand of the workman hath cut a tree out of the forest with an axe.

4 He hath decked it with silver and gold: he hath put it together with nails and hammers, that it may not fall asunder.

5 They are framed after the likeness of a palm tree, and shall not speak: they must be carried to be removed, because they cannot go. Therefore, fear them not, for they can neither do evil nor good.

6 There is none like to thee, O Lord: thou art great and great is thy name in might.

7 Who shall fear thee, O king of nations? for thine is the glory: among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms there is none like unto thee.

8 They shall all proved together to be senseless and foolish: the doctrine of their vanity is wood.

9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tharsis, and gold from Ophaz: the work of the artificer, and of the hand of the coppersmith: violet and purple is their clothing: all these things are the work of artificers.

10 But the Lord is the true God: he is the living God, and the everlasting king, at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his threatening.

[CatherineM]

There were so many pagan gods, that it wouldn't matter what day of the year we picked for festivals. We would fall on the day of some pagan celebration.