Pendragon
12-15-2007, 12:55 PM
I'm getting a little tired everyone and their cousins trying to remind me of the "true meaning of christmas". Too be honest, it was a marketing ploy by the early christian church to sell the newfound religion to Pagans. So they take one of the most popular festivals in the pagan world and revamp it for their needs. So from the beginning the reason for the season was selling. Sure in the beginning it was selling a religion but still, the 'reason for the season' had little to do with the actual Jesus Christ.
Before anyone tries to cut my nuts off. I do not present this as the end all xplanation of the origins of the holiday, I'm just tired of generally nice but very pushy people getting a little hoity with this crap.
Natalis Solis Invicti
Main article: Sol Invictus
Alleged representation of Christ in the form of the sun-god Helios or Sol Invictus riding in his chariot. Third century mosaic of the Vatican grottoes under St. Peter's Basilica, on the ceiling of the tomb of the Julii.The Romans held a festival on December 25 called Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, "the birthday of the unconquered sun." The use of the title Sol Invictus allowed several solar deities to be worshipped collectively, including Elah-Gabal, a Syrian sun god; Sol, the god of Emperor Aurelian (AD 270–274); and Mithras, a soldiers' god of Persian origin.[9] Emperor Elagabalus (218–222) introduced the festival, and it reached the height of its popularity under Aurelian, who promoted it as an empire-wide holiday.[10]
December 25 was also considered to be the date of the winter solstice, which the Romans called bruma.[6] It was therefore the day the Sun proved itself to be "unconquered" despite the shortening of daylight hours. (When Julius Caesar introduced the Julian Calendar in 45 BC, December 25 was approximately the date of the solstice. In modern times, the solstice falls on December 21 or 22.) The Sol Invictus festival has a "strong claim on the responsibility" for the date of Christmas, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia.[1] Several early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus[11] "O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born . . . Christ should be born," Cyprian wrote.[1]
O.k. I'm done, just feeling a little feisty today.
Before anyone tries to cut my nuts off. I do not present this as the end all xplanation of the origins of the holiday, I'm just tired of generally nice but very pushy people getting a little hoity with this crap.
Natalis Solis Invicti
Main article: Sol Invictus
Alleged representation of Christ in the form of the sun-god Helios or Sol Invictus riding in his chariot. Third century mosaic of the Vatican grottoes under St. Peter's Basilica, on the ceiling of the tomb of the Julii.The Romans held a festival on December 25 called Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, "the birthday of the unconquered sun." The use of the title Sol Invictus allowed several solar deities to be worshipped collectively, including Elah-Gabal, a Syrian sun god; Sol, the god of Emperor Aurelian (AD 270–274); and Mithras, a soldiers' god of Persian origin.[9] Emperor Elagabalus (218–222) introduced the festival, and it reached the height of its popularity under Aurelian, who promoted it as an empire-wide holiday.[10]
December 25 was also considered to be the date of the winter solstice, which the Romans called bruma.[6] It was therefore the day the Sun proved itself to be "unconquered" despite the shortening of daylight hours. (When Julius Caesar introduced the Julian Calendar in 45 BC, December 25 was approximately the date of the solstice. In modern times, the solstice falls on December 21 or 22.) The Sol Invictus festival has a "strong claim on the responsibility" for the date of Christmas, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia.[1] Several early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus[11] "O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born . . . Christ should be born," Cyprian wrote.[1]
O.k. I'm done, just feeling a little feisty today.