Pocos personas realizan que los orígenes de una forma de Navidad eran pagan y celebrados en Europa mucho antes cualquier persona allí había oído hablar de Jesús (p). Nadie sabe qué día Jesús (p) fue llevado encendido. De la descripción bíblica, la mayoría de los historiadores creen que su nacimiento ocurrió probablemente en septiembre, aproximadamente seis meses después del Passover. Una cosa que convienen encendido es que es muy inverosímil que Jesús nació en diciembre, puesto que la biblia registra a pastores que tienden a sus ovejas en los campos en esa noche.Esto es absolutamente poco probable de haber sucedido durante un invierno frío de Judean. ¿Tan porqué celebramos a Cristo? ¿cumpleaños de s como Navidad, el 25 de diciembre? La respuesta miente en los orígenes pagan de Navidad. En Babylon antiguo, el banquete del hijo de IS-IS (diosa de la naturaleza) fue celebrado el 25 de diciembre. Raucous partying, comiendo glotón, bebiendo y regalo-dando era tradiciones de este banquete. En Roma, el solsticio del invierno fue celebrado muchos años antes del nacimiento de Cristo. El Romans llamado su día de fiesta de invierno “Saturnalia”, honrando Saturno, el dios de la agricultura. En enero, observaron Kalends de enero, que representó el triunfo de la vida sobre muerte. Esta estación entera fue llamada Dados Natalis Invicti Solis, el cumpleaños del sol de Unconquered. La estación del festival fue marcada mucho merrymaking. Es en Roma antigua que la tradición de los Mummers fue llevada. Los Mummers eran grupos de los cantantes y de los bailarines vestidos que viajaron de casa a la casa que entretenía a sus vecinos. De esto, la tradición de Navidad de caroling fue llevada.
En Europa norteña, muchas otras tradiciones que ahora consideramos la parte de adoración de Navidad fueron comenzadas mucho antes los participantes habían oído hablar siempre de Cristo. Los pagans de Europa norteña celebraron su propio solsticio del invierno, conocido como Yule. Yule era simbólico del dios pagan del sol, Mithras, siendo llevado, y fue observado en el día más corto del año. Mientras que el dios del sol creció y se maduró, los días se convirtieron en más largos y warmer. Era acostumbrado encender una vela para animar a Mithras y al sol que reaparezcan el año próximo. Los registros de Yule enormes fueron quemados en honor del sol. La palabra Yule
sí mismo significa la “rueda”, la rueda que es un símbolo pagan para el sol. Mistletoe was considered a sacred plant, and the custom of kissing under the mistletoe began as a fertility ritual. Holly berries were thought to be a food of the gods. The tree is the one symbol that unites almost all the northern European winter solstices. Live evergreen trees were often brought into homes during the harsh winters as a reminder to inhabitants that soon their crops would grow again. Evergreen boughs were sometimes carried as totems of good luck and were often present at weddings, representing fertility. The Druids used the tree as a religious symbol, holding their sacred ceremonies while surrounding and worshipping huge trees. In the year 350 AD, Pope Julius I declared that Christ?s birth would be celebrated on December 25. There is little doubt that he was trying to make it as painless as possible for pagan Romans (who remained a majority at that time) to convert to Christianity. The new religion went down a but easier, knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them. Christmas (Christ-Mass) as we know it today, most historians agree, began in Germany, though Catholics and Lutherans still disagree about which church celebrated it first. The earliest record of an evergreen being decorated in a Christian celebration was in 1521 in the Alsace region of Germany. A prominent Lutheran minister of the day cried blasphemy: “Better that they should look to the true tree of life, Christ”The controversy continues even today in some fundamentalist sects.
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Shadowofears said on 28 December 2006:
Christmas festivals today incorporate many other pagan customs, such as the use of holly, mistletoe, Yule logs, and wassail bowls. The Christmas tree itself is the most obvious aspect of ancient pagan celebrations which were later incorporated into church rites. Scholars believe that the Christian celebration was originally derived in part from rites held by pre-Christian Germanic and Celtic peoples to celebrate the winter solstice. The Christmas tree, an evergreen trimmed with lights and other decorations, because it keeps its green needles throughout the winter months, was believed by pre-Christian pagans to have special powers of protection against the forces of nature and evil spirits. The end of December marked the onset of a visible lengthening of daylight hours - the return of warmth and light and defeat of those evil forces of cold and darkness. The Christmas tree is derived from the so-called paradise tree, symbolizing Eden, of German mystery plays. The use of a Christmas tree began early in the 17th century, in Strasbourg, France, spreading from there through Germany, into northern Europe and Great Britain, and then on to the United States.
Christmas is not the only Christian festival which was borrowed from ancient paganism and foisted upon the religion of Jesus . There is also Easter, the Feast of St. John, the Holy communion, the Annunciation of the virgin, the assumption of the virgin, and many others have their roots in ancient pagan worship. Since we can not get into the details here, therefore, the interested reader is encouraged to consult the above books.
Many people object to people who advise them not to introduce new and innovative practices into their religion, even if they were only to be festivals and celebrations. They object “what could it hurt if I were to worship God and thank Him for his blessings on this day when pagans performed their worship? I am not worshipping idols.” For this we only need to read the very explicit prohibition of God in this regard which He Himself emphatically declared in the Bible:
“Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them (pagans), after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. (Deuteronomy 12:30)”
There is a good reason why God commands us to do things. Just because we do not know the wisdom behind a prohibition does not give us the freedom to disregard it. Indeed, it is exactly such willingness to “adapt” and “compromise” which eventually lead to the loss of the message of Jesus.
Tarek said on 28 December 2006: