For those of you who like the show Bones you may remember an episode in which Daisy states she does not celebrate Christmas because Jesus wasn't born in December. Biblical evidence suggests shepherds were tending their sheep on the night the holy son was born so it is unlikely he was born in the middle of winter. So why do we celebrate his birth in December?
As one of my history teachers said it was easier to convert pagans to Christianity if there were similarities between the two religions. Pagans celebrated the winter solstice or Yule which occurs on December 21st or 22end, they were used to a celebration in December. Other pagan traditions in Christmas include:
-Kissing under the mistletoe was considered a fertility ritual to many pagans
-The Yule log was blessed and burned in pagan culture to celebrate the wheel of life, it took 12 days for the log to burn (12 days of Christmas)
-The Wreath also celebrates the wheel of life
-The Evergreen tree represents the promised return of life in the spring
-Holly is believed to house good spirits, that would protect the family
-The birth of Jesus corresponds to the rebirth of the sun god (son of the goddess)
-Songs (Christmas Carols) were sung in circles to awaken the magic and worship the god and goddess, wassailing (singing from door to door) is also pagan in origin
-Santa Clause is based on the god Woden who had a long white beard and rode a horse through the skies one evening every Autumn, this morphed into the cult of Nicholas in which Nicholas gave gifts one night a year
There is a long history of the church banning certain Christmas traditions becasue of their pagan origins. No matter what gods you worship I wish you a merry holiday and a happy new year.
