Christmas origin

For Christians today, the origin of Christmas is, and should be, the birth of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Bible. Nothing more and nothing less. However, most of what we see on December 25 of each year has nothing to do with that blessed day, which probably occurred in late summer or early fall nearly 2,000 years ago. In fact, most of the customs and traditions of Christmas actually precede the birth of Jesus, and many of them are completely deceptive in their meaning and origin. Here are a few examples: The date of December 25 probably originated with the ancient "birthday" of the sun-god, Mithras, a pagan deity whose religious influence extended widely into the Roman empire during the first centuries after Christ. Mitra was related to the Semitic sun-god, Shamash, and his worship spread throughout Asia to Europe, where he was called Deus Sol Invictus Mitras. Rome was well known for absorbing the pagan religions and rituals of her extended empire. As such, Rome turned this pagan legacy into a celebration of the god Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god, during the winter solstice period. The winter party became known as Saturnalia and began the week before December 25. The festival was characterized by the gift of gifts, banquets, songs, and total dissipation, as the priests of Saturn carried in procession through all the Roman temples crowns made of pine branches. Variations of this pagan festival flourished in all the first centuries after Jesus Christ, but it was not until 336 AD. that Emperor Constantine officially converted this pagan tradition into the "Christian" holiday of Christmas.

Origins may vary according to the holiday. Although the exact date of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth is not recorded in the Old Testament or the New Testament (Bible), December 25 has been significant in ancient peoples who celebrated during the winter solstice in the hemisphere North (from December 21). The adoption to that date was made centuries later, starting with the testimony of Sixth African July in the year 221 about the date of birth in Judea and the philocal liturgical calendar of 354 after Christ