Must they Steal All Our Celebratory Days?

I have been thinking a lot about the holidays lately. The more research I do into the subject of religion and celebrations, the more I realize that Christianity has taken over polytheist celebrations. It is said this was done to try and wipe out polytheist celebrations and make those who were not so keen to convert to consider changing religions or participating in the new religion more actively.

As Christmas approaches, I find that I want to celebrate actual Christmas, less and less. You see, the Greeks were not the first to observe the Winter and Summer Solstices. The Winter Solstice occurred on the shortest day of the year. The date of the solstice was recorded by astronomers in Babylon and Africa, who were able to find out when it was by observing it as the darkest day of the year. The day is the shortest on the solstice. So, when the Ancients celebrated, they did so in honor of their Sun God. By appeasing the Sun God, the sun wouldn’t disappear for too long and spring would come with plenty of crops to feed the hungry populations after the winter had ended.

The day of the Solstice is generally celebrated on December 21, but in Ancient times it fell anywhere between what we know as December 21 and December 25. The Romans called their celebration of the solstice Saturnalia. December 25 also happened to be the birthdate of a Babylonian figure known as Nimrod. After Nimrod died, his wife/mother, Semiramis, claims that Nimrod was resurrected in the form of an Evergreen tree. The tree was sprouted miraculously from a spot where a dead stump rested. Semiramis said every year, on Nimrod’s birthday, he would leave gifts upon his tree for others.

Another Babylonian celebration on December 25 was the feast of the son of Isis. The Ancient Greeks celebrated the Solstice with festivals for Poseidon. Both Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans had performers traveling from home to home during the Solstice, singing, dancing and having a good time. You could say these were the ancestors of the first Christmas carolers.

Followers of Mithras, the sun God who coincidentally was born close to the supposed birth of Jesus, celebrated with Yule celebrations. Mithras was actually said to have been born of a virgin birth (remember this was before Jesus’ time). When he died, he was resurrected. Some might say Jesus’ life paralleled Mithras’ life significantly.

Even the mistletoe was an Ancient symbol and tradition. Couples would kiss under this “holy” plant in order to promote fertility and the birth of prospective children. While mistletoe was hung, Evergreens were kept inside during the Solstice. It was done for an agricultural reminder. Since Evergreens did not die in the winter like other plants, the thought that crops would soon be sprouting and new food could be distributed after the long winter, was comforting.

In all honesty, there is no proof Jesus was born in December. Many theologians believe if he was born, then it was probably in the Spring. Nevertheless, Christianity, thanks to Pope Julius who declared the 25th of December was Jesus’ birthday in 350 AD, has taken over many of the polytheist and early Ancient, religious traditions. It’s bad enough that Easter and Valentines were original celebrations of the Ancients, did they have to take our Solstice celebration, too?

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