Paganism and the Invention of Christmas
Among the arguments between historians and professional debaters of Christmas is the paradox between pagan traditions and Christian history: did Christians steal Christmas from pagans or did pagans steal Christmas from Christians? Just who invented Christmas anyway?
As always, the truth is never that simple.
There are two very real things to consider as one attempts to answer the question:
- 1. Pagans did not pull their traditions out of thin air.
Remember that as you read below and as you see media reports of the ongoing tug-of-war between those who peg Pagans against Christians in the debate over who invented Christmas.
First, the obvious:
Judeo-Christian scripture of the Old Testament clearly foretells the coming of a Savior. Ever hear the words “For unto us a child is born”? That comes from Isaiah, an Old Testament prophet who came 500 years before the birth of Jesus Christ.
That is scriptural and historical – if you’re Christian you know and admit that Christmas simply didn’t just “begin” with the Baby Jesus at Bethlehem.
But are there other evidences of the anticipation of the birth of Christ and the coming of a Savior in the world?
Indeed, such ideas are abundant in the cultures of many nations throughout history.
Complicating matters is that the written history of man only goes so far – not even a couple of thousand years.
Considering Christ walked the earth 2000 years ago historians are left to debate “legends” – that is, stories passed down by word of mouth through generations.
Legends = myths = untruth. These thoughts dominate the theories of skeptics and critics.
But the real lessons do not necessary come from what truth can be ascertained from any legend or myth. The lessons come from their commonality in seemingly disconnected areas of the world.
Compare, for example, the Great White God of the Aztecs, Quetzalcoatl.
Here was a god with many Christ-like attributes: he was the creator of all, he taught virtue and “had a long beard with the features of a white man”. Ancient writings, drawings and spoken legends tell the belief in a divine creator couple living in a paradise until expelled for transgression, only later to be redeemed by the self-sacrifice of Quetzalcoatl.
Such studies are sometimes used to support the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, a book of scripture used by the Mormon church which makes liberal use of Isaiah and tells the story of Christ’s visit to the Americas after the resurrection.
There are other “saviors” out there with amazing parallels to Christ.
Zoroaster was born of a virgin, baptized in a river, tempted of the devil in the wilderness and credited with many miracles including the restoration of sight to blind man.
Attis was born on December 25th to a virgin. He was crucified “on a tree”, slain for the salvation of mankind. After three days Attis was resurrected.
In Egypt, Horus was born of a virgin and was the “only begotten son of Osiris”. At the time of the winter solstice the Egyptians paraded a manger and child representing Horus through the streets. He was baptized at age 30, performed many miracles including walking on water, was crucified, descended into hell and was resurrected after three days.
Heracles was the son of Zeus. He was of royal lineage, performed miracles, was nearly killed as an infant, and descended into Hell, his body never returned and assumed to have been taken up with the gods.
Dionysus was born of a virgin on December 25th and became a traveling teacher who was known to “ride in on an ass”. He was killed, rose from the dead on March 25th, turned water into wine and was known as the “King of Kings”.
Romulus was born of a virgin, his mother claiming she was impregnated by the divine. Romulus was nearly killed as a child, and was snatched away by the gods and made many appearances after death.
Odysseus lived a life of suffering and had companions who, like Christ, were at times weak, unbelieving and even foolish. He was a carpenter, just as was Jesus.
Krishna was born of a virgin and was called God and Son of God, sent to earth in the form of a man. Both were visited at birth by wise men and shepherds guided by a star. The parallels between
Krishna and Christ are almost too many to count: both claimed “I am the Resurrection”, both were “without sin” and both performed miracles. Both were crucified.
Buddha, too, has astonishingly similar traits to the Christ story. Both went to the temple at the age of 12, both demonstrated great wisdom there. Both fasted for more than 40 days and both were the same age when they began their ministry. Both spoke in parables and share common wording in much of what they said.
When you consider the source and location of each of these figures it is not hard to see where “pagans” and “heathens” got their ideas behind the celebrations of the changing seasons and the symbolism inherent in such iconic holiday elements such as mistletoe, evergreens and yule logs.
Though disconnected by time and in distance there are simply too many connections to say that Christians stole anything from pagans.
The easier theory is to embrace the idea that celebrating the birth of a Savior is indeed an ancient practice often associated with the time of year around the winter solstice.
Finally, the ultimate in “dumb” of the Pagan versus Christian arguments is that in the days of Christ birthdays were not celebrated. This is a silly argument because what were Christians anyway? They were overwhelmingly converted Jews. And the Jews have a well known calendar of feast and holy days almost all of which are tied to a coming Messiah.
Militant atheists and battlers in the war on Christmas want the world to believe Christmas was born of pure winter solstice activities of pagans pre-dating Christ. The truth of the matter is that almost all “pagan” rituals of ancient origin were religious and tied to a Savior coming into the world.
