The Origins of Christian Holidays and their Traditions

[SalixIncendium]

Do Christian holidays have their roots in ancient Pagan festivals or did they just become secular over time?

Christmas:

• Why is there a Yule log?
• Why do we hang stockings over the fireplace?
• Why do we cut down a tree and drag it into our living rooms, decorate it with lights and ornaments?
• Why does the date of Jesus' birth align with the winter solstice?

Easter:

• Why is there an Easter bunny?
• How do eggs and the egg hunt fit in?
• Why is Easter always on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox?

 

[Vouthon]

@SalixIncendium

• Why is there an Easter bunny?

Because the rabbit/hare was a popular motif in medieval Christian art. For some bizarre reason, classical Greek zoologists had believed that the hare or rabbit produced offspring virgin-ally. This appealed to the early Christians, therefore, as a symbol of the Virgin Mary.

In many ancient cathedrals throughout Europe, if you inspect the architecture closely you will find 'three hares' or rabbits being used to signify the Holy Trinity. This was it's second usage.

The Easter Bunny proper, however, was first popularized as a symbol of the feast by the German Lutherans. It is likely they invented the myth of the Easter Bunny for their children.

• How do eggs and the egg hunt fit in?

Easter is about the resurrection - newness of life, a fresh beginning. And the miracle, according to the gospel accounts, involved a huge boulder being rolled away from Jesus' tomb.

So the egg, as an oval symbol of new life, was the natural pick for the feast.

• Why is Easter always on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox?

Because Jesus was resurrected on a Sunday, following the Jewish Passover. The decision to link the celebration to the lunar cycle was taken at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. It was the result of a centuries-long controversy, see:

First Council of Nicaea - Wikipedia

As early as Pope Sixtus I, some Christians had set Easter to a Sunday in the lunar month of Nisan. To determine which lunar month was to be designated as Nisan, Christians relied on the Jewish community. By the later 3rd century some Christians began to express dissatisfaction with what they took to be the disorderly state of the Jewish calendar. They argued that contemporary Jews were identifying the wrong lunar month as the month of Nisan, choosing a month whose 14th day fell before the spring equinox.[55]

Christians, these thinkers argued, should abandon the custom of relying on Jewish informants and instead do their own computations to determine which month should be styled Nisan, setting Easter within this independently computed, Christian Nisan, which would always locate the festival after the equinox. They justified this break with tradition by arguing that it was in fact the contemporary Jewish calendar that had broken with tradition by ignoring the equinox, and that in former times the 14th of Nisan had never preceded the equinox.[56] Others felt that the customary practice of reliance on the Jewish calendar should continue, even if the Jewish computations were in error from a Christian point of view.[57]

The controversy between those who argued for independent computations and those who argued for continued reliance on the Jewish calendar was formally resolved by the Council, which endorsed the independent procedure that had been in use for some time at Rome and Alexandria. Easter was henceforward to be a Sunday in a lunar month chosen according to Christian criteria—in effect, a Christian Nisan—not in the month of Nisan as defined by Jews.[7] Those who argued for continued reliance on the Jewish calendar (called "protopaschites" by later historians) were urged to come around to the majority position. That they did not all immediately do so is revealed by the existence of sermons,[58]canons,[59] and tracts[60] written against the protopaschite practice in the later 4th century.

These two rules, independence of the Jewish calendar and worldwide uniformity, were the only rules for Easter explicitly laid down by the Council. ​

 

[lostwanderingsoul]

"Christmas" was celebrated centuries before the birth of Christ. Of course it was not called by that name. Same thing for "Easter". Both are pagan celebrations. When the so-called "universal" church began they wanted to attract converts from the pagans. Which would be easier? Telling the pagans they had to completely give up there pagan ideas, or allow them to keep the same celebration but just give them a different name? Obviously it was easier to keep the pagan celebrations and pretend they had some "Christian" meaning.

 

[Deeje]

@SalixIncendium that video just cracked me up!

When you put it like that, you really show up how ridiculous these traditions are.

 

[David T]

Do Christian holidays have their roots in ancient Pagan festivals or did they just become secular over time?

Christmas:

• Why is there a Yule log?
• Why do we hang stockings over the fireplace?
• Why do we cut down a tree and drag it into our living rooms, decorate it with lights and ornaments?
• Why does the date of Jesus' birth align with the winter solstice?

Easter:

• Why is there an Easter bunny?
• How do eggs and the egg hunt fit in?
• Why is Easter always on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox?

A bit Like asking does human DNA have It's roots in other forms of life on the planet?

So from the religious side the answer is no. Christian DNA sprang. Up ex nililo. Everything else is a separate species.

From a non religious view yes but usually qualified as proof christian DNA is invalid old DNA copycat obsolete nonsense and.the new."modern DNA SPRANG UP EX NIHILO called the scientific revolution..never mind the self similar statements.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

The video was good, but one of my favorites was Drew Carey at a White House Corespondents Dinner!

It’s all funny, but the ‘holiday’ roasting starts at 1:45 into the vid.:

 

[Augustus]

Why does the date of Jesus' birth align with the winter solstice?

An academic article that may be of interest


Steven Hijmans, "Sol Invictus, the Winter Solstice, and the Origins of Christmas"

tl;dr

The cult of Sol Invictus is overstated in its importance and the idea that there was a massively important festival in his honour on Dec 25 is not supported by the evidence.

Romans (and many others) did acknowledge cosmological significance in the equinoxes, although theses were not inexorably bound to Sol Invictus. These are tangible astrological events after all, not simply religious constructs.

As such, based on cultural perception of the equinox as significant, Christian dates became attached to these relating to both Jesus and John the Baptist because they were the equinoxes, not because they were trying to appropriate pagan festivals to win converts.

The similarity is based on the similar cultures rather than direct imitation.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

An academic article that may be of interest


Steven Hijmans, "Sol Invictus, the Winter Solstice, and the Origins of Christmas"

tl;dr

The cult of Sol Invictus is overstated in its importance and the idea that there was a massively important festival in his honour on Dec 25 is not supported by the evidence.

Romans (and many others) did acknowledge cosmological significance in the equinoxes, although theses were not inexorably bound to Sol Invictus. These are tangible astrological events after all, not simply religious constructs.

As such, based on cultural perception of the equinox as significant, Christian dates became attached to these relating to both Jesus and John the Baptist because they were the equinoxes, not because they were trying to appropriate pagan festivals to win converts.

The similarity is based on the similar cultures rather than direct imitation.

Lol. More spin.
You can’t change history.
Dies Solis was a birthday celebration. Christmas is a birthday celebration
After Lucius Domitius Aurelianus Augustus became Emperor in 270, he elevated Sol Invictus to being one of the premier gods, and it’s worship remained premier until Constantine the Great

Also, the Romans “incorporated gods from conquered peoples throughout the empire, and held celebrations accordingly. All of this was to hold the Empire together through a conglomeration of religions and celebrations of all included gods.”
(Celebrating Sol Invictus)

This establishes precedent. It was common for Roman Emperors to mix celebrations together, and the Church, under the control of Constantine, went along.

 

[Augustus]

Lol. More spin.

"Spin"

It's a fully referenced, peer reviewed academic journal reflecting contemporary scholarship.

(Celebrating Sol Invictus)

This is a random chap on the internet who used 3 books written 50 years ago to make his blog post.

After Lucius Domitius Aurelianus Augustus became Emperor in 270, he elevated Sol Invictus to being one of the premier gods, and it’s worship remained premier until Constantine the Great

This narrative is refuted in the paper which has a detailed analysis or Roman paganism and the history of Sol starting p281. There is no evidence that Sol was 'elevated' into some kind of henotheistic primacy, as representations are consistent over centuries,

The idea that 25 Dec was a longstanding and important feast day for Sol Invictus has no evidence to support. The only source that identifies 25 Dec for Sol, also identifies it as the date of the Birth of Christ and is from the 4th C. Even this is ambiguous as it does;t mention Sol, only 'birthday of the unconquered'.

Festivals for Sol are also recorded in August 8, 9, 28 and October 19, 22 and Dec 11, all predating the Dec 25 date recorded in a single source.

So there is no source that clearly identifies 25 Dec as a major festival for Sol. The one source that is possible also mentions Christ on 25 Dec. There is no clear evidence Sol was elevated into a position of primacy at any point. Festivals for Sol were more established on other dates.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

"Spin"

It's a fully referenced, peer reviewed academic journal reflecting contemporary scholarship.



This is a random chap on the internet who used 3 books written 50 years ago to make his blog post.



This narrative is refuted in the paper which has a detailed analysis or Roman paganism and the history of Sol starting p281. There is no evidence that Sol was 'elevated' into some kind of henotheistic primacy, as representations are consistent over centuries,

The idea that 25 Dec was a longstanding and important feast day for Sol Invictus has no evidence to support. The only source that identifies 25 Dec for Sol, also identifies it as the date of the Birth of Christ and is from the 4th C. Even this is ambiguous as it does;t mention Sol, only 'birthday of the unconquered'.

Festivals for Sol are also recorded in August 8, 9, 28 and October 19, 22 and Dec 11, all predating the Dec 25 date recorded in a single source.

So there is no source that clearly identifies 25 Dec as a major festival for Sol. The one source that is possible also mentions Christ on 25 Dec. There is no clear evidence Sol was elevated into a position of primacy at any point. Festivals for Sol were more established on other dates.

Then, there’s a lot of references that need to emend their data!

December 25th is obvious as “birthday of the sun”, as the days start getting longer.

Birthday (of pagan) corresponding to birthday (of Jesus).

 

[Augustus]

December 25th is obvious as “birthday of the sun”, as the days start getting longer.

Yet the known date for the festivals of Sol in the Roman Empire had nothing to do with solar events.

As I said, the only reference to 25 Dec is a) ambiguous b) from the 4thC c) also noted 25 Dec as date of the birth of the Christ.

Take that up with the Romans if you don't think they were practicing their religion in the way you think they should have been.

 

[Cherie Faye]

Do Christian holidays have their roots in ancient Pagan festivals or did they just become secular over time?

Christmas:

• Why is there a Yule log?
• Why do we hang stockings over the fireplace?
• Why do we cut down a tree and drag it into our living rooms, decorate it with lights and ornaments?
• Why does the date of Jesus' birth align with the winter solstice?

Easter:

• Why is there an Easter bunny?
• How do eggs and the egg hunt fit in?
• Why is Easter always on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox?

Hi! That's a really good question. I've also been researching about Christian holidays and their origins. I found this website about celebrating Easter and its traditions.

What Does Celebrating Easter Say About You?

 

[metis]

Hi! That's a really good question. I've also been researching about Christian holidays and their origins. I found this website about celebrating Easter and its traditions.

What Does Celebrating Easter Say About You?

The link is just another "We're the only true Christians" kinda garbage.

And welcome here to RF.

 

[ChristineM]

Why is there a Yule log?

Its a northen european tradition, with many versions from log to whole tree, the earliest i have found is an oak log was cut on the morning of the winter solstice to be burned in the evening to symbolise the death of the old year.

Why do we cut down a tree...

Related to the yule log. In early christian timesa tree was cut, the thickest part cut to burn, the tree was decorated with evergreen leaves and bright berries.

Why does the date of Jesus' birth...

Convenience, the date is unknown but more probably in springtime. But moving it to near solstice was a way of caching converts saying something along the lines of "join are club and you dont need to give up your winter party"

 

[lostwanderingsoul]

Imagine you are trying to syary a new church. You want to get as many people to join as possible. You have two choices. You can tell people that they must completely give up all the traditions and holidays they used to celebrate. Or you can keep the old pagan ideas and just give them new names and meanings. Which way would attract more people. So the earlier Christian church kept old pagan holidays and just gave them new names. Most of the ideas about both Christmas and Easter come from pagan beliefs.

 

[RedhorseWoman]

Imagine you are trying to syary a new church. You want to get as many people to join as possible. You have two choices. You can tell people that they must completely give up all the traditions and holidays they used to celebrate. Or you can keep the old pagan ideas and just give them new names and meanings. Which way would attract more people. So the earlier Christian church kept old pagan holidays and just gave them new names. Most of the ideas about both Christmas and Easter come from pagan beliefs.

Good point. All the angst about "celebrating pagan traditions" just seems a bit over the top to me. As you stated, in order to attract new converts, old traditions were simply modified and, shall we say, stripped of many of the pagan elements and molded into a new, but similar, tradition.

Over the years, the pagan significance and/or worship has diminished to the point that there is basically no vestige left of the original celebration.

 

[lostwanderingsoul]

Good point. All the angst about "celebrating pagan traditions" just seems a bit over the top to me. As you stated, in order to attract new converts, old traditions were simply modified and, shall we say, stripped of many of the pagan elements and molded into a new, but similar, tradition.

Over the years, the pagan significance and/or worship has diminished to the point that there is basically no vestige left of the original celebration.

Really??? No vestige??? There was a pagan holiday in the spring with eggs, and rabbits. Sound like Easter? Pagans burned yule logs and decorated trees and gave gifts in the middle of winter. Sound like Christmas?

 

[RedhorseWoman]

Really??? No vestige??? There was a pagan holiday in the spring with eggs, and rabbits. Sound like Easter? Pagans burned yule logs and decorated trees and gave gifts in the middle of winter. Sound like Christmas?

Nobody today worships eggs or rabbits, nor do any of the current Christmas traditions have anything to do with worship today. If you're going to condemn any pagan traditions involved with spiritism or worship, then you should also be condemning bridesmaids (believed to confuse the demons who sought to abduct the bride,) bridal bouquets (also used to confuse the demons,) pinatas (used in ancient times for human sacrificial rites to pagan gods) and luaus (feasts in honor of pagan gods) along with numerous other traditions that we have today that no longer carry any of the significance to worship that they once did.

Can you name ANY current holiday tradition that entails worship of the "pagan" items you condemn? If you don't want to utilize any of these things...don't. But don't proclaim yourself to be better than anyone who chooses to enjoy them unless you can be absolutely sure that YOU are free of ANY pagan tradition, which I highly doubt is possible unless you live in a cave without ever participating in anything.

 

[lostwanderingsoul]

Nobody today worships eggs or rabbits, nor do any of the current Christmas traditions have anything to do with worship today. If you're going to condemn any pagan traditions involved with spiritism or worship, then you should also be condemning bridesmaids (believed to confuse the demons who sought to abduct the bride,) bridal bouquets (also used to confuse the demons,) pinatas (used in ancient times for human sacrificial rites to pagan gods) and luaus (feasts in honor of pagan gods) along with numerous other traditions that we have today that no longer carry any of the significance to worship that they once did.

Can you name ANY current holiday tradition that entails worship of the "pagan" items you condemn? If you don't want to utilize any of these things...don't. But don't proclaim yourself to be better than anyone who chooses to enjoy them unless you can be absolutely sure that YOU are free of ANY pagan tradition, which I highly doubt is possible unless you live in a cave without ever participating in anything.

I did not say anyone worships eggs or Christmas trees. They were brought over to "Christianity" from pagan origins mainly to attract converts to Christianity. If a new religion told you that you had to give up traditions you have had all your life, would you do it? The Bible says we should not follow pagan practices. If you like Easter eggs and Christmas trees please continue to enjoy them. Just remember their pagan origins.

 

[RedhorseWoman]

I did not say anyone worships eggs or Christmas trees. They were brought over to "Christianity" from pagan origins mainly to attract converts to Christianity. If a new religion told you that you had to give up traditions you have had all your life, would you do it? The Bible says we should not follow pagan practices. If you like Easter eggs and Christmas trees please continue to enjoy them. Just remember their pagan origins.

Honestly, pretty much every "tradition" today started out with pagan origins. If you want to invoke the Bible with regard to "pagan practices" then you really need to do a lot of research and avoid pretty much everything.