Christmas has been a celebration of the birth of Jesus for over a millennium of Christian history. While there is
little doubt that folklores and various traditions have built upon today’s Christmas celebrations, the claims that it was
rooted in pagan worship does not hold candle under scrutiny. It is more fiction than fact. We will take a look at
two aspects:
I. The Date: December 25th
The Myth: The date of Christmas is borrowed from pagan festivals like Sol Invictus or Saturnalia.
The Facts:
A. Sol Invictus:
The Roman festival of Sol Invictus wasn’t associated with December 25th until the year 354 AD, as noted in the
Philocalian Calendar. Even then, the calendar does not specify any significant celebrations connected to sun worship. Before this, inscriptions connected with Sol Invictus showed that Sun festivals were held on dates such as August 8th, 9th, 28th, December 11th, and possibly October 19th. Emperor Aurelian is even supposed to have established games
for the Sun every four years around October 19-22.
B. Saturnalia:
Saturnalia was never on December 25th. The ancient Roman records, especially by Macrobius, placed Saturnalia starting days 14 days before January. It was closer to December 17th based on the Roman calendar and the festival took three days (or to some interpretations up to seven) ending in December 24th.
C. Winter Solstice:
While the Winter Solstice was important to some cultures, to ancient Romans it was not a date of festive significance. The Julian Calendar originally calculated the date of the solstice as December 25th, although other Roman sources indicated December 26th, as by Pliny the Elder, while Columella mentioned December 23rd. However, these dates come after the 4th century long after Christians already celebrated Jesus’ birthday on December 25th.
D. Jesus’ Birthday:
Although nobody really knows the actual date of Jesus’ birthdate, Christians had already celebrated Jesus’ birthday on December 25th according to the writings of Sextus Julias Africanus in the late 2nd to early 3rd century and John Crysostom in 386 AD. More likely, pagans moved their celebration to December 25th to compete with the growing rate of Christianity because their idols were being abandoned.
II. The Christmas Trees
The Myth: Christmas trees come from the practices of the Druids or other pagans who would bring pine trees into
their homes to scare away evil spirits.
The Fact:
The history of Christmas trees dates back to the 16th century in Europe. The first recorded notice of a Christmas tree was found in an ordinance in Alsace, France, in the early 1500s. People used to bring trees inside their houses and decorate them in order to celebrate Christmas.
One well-known story credits Martin Luther with helping to popularize the Christmas tree. According to the tale, while walking through an evergreen forest on a winter evening, Luther was struck by the brilliance of the night sky shining through the branches. Inspired, he brought a pine tree into his home and decorated its branches with lit candles to recreate the scene for his family.
Historically, pagans did not associate pine trees with spiritual significance. For instance, the Germanic tribes were known to revere the oak tree, not the pine. Maximus of Tyre recorded, “Celts indeed worship Zeus, but they honor him in the form of a lofty oak.” The association of pine trees with Christmas is purely Christian, symbolizing eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
The pagan connections of Christmas often claimed by critics are either loosely correlated or the other alternative is where Christian tradition was copied by pagans. In reality, Christmas has its origin in the celebration the birth of Christ.
Angga
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash