CHRISTMAS - A PAGAN FESTIVAL Christmas or Christ-Mass, is the annual mass which the Christians celebrate in commemoration of the birth of JESUS (pbuh) . Just like another minor Festivals borrowed from Pagan cults, christmas also does not owe its origin to the birth of JESUS (pbuh) but is the continuation of the heathen rituals. All the Four Gospels, as also the Acts and Epistles include in the canonical Bible, are silent on the date and month of Jesus birth. Only Two of the Gospels, namely, Luke and Matthew, record the story of the Virgin birth but they too indicate no definite time and are virtually silent on the date of his nativity. Luke records that the night Jesus was born, the shepherd in the outskirts of Judas saw visions while they were out under the open sky in their paddocks an and Angels sang hymns: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on Earth HIS PEACE for men on whom His favours rest. (Luke 2:14) This statement , if it is right, means that the nativity of Jesus must have fallen ia a summer month when generally the shepherds are out in their paddocks to guard their flocks. Clement of Alexandria, one of the earliest christian authorities, says that Basilidian christian held that Jesus was born on the 24th or 25th of the Month of which Egyptians call Pharmuthi, i.e. April, and another christian Sect asserted that his nativity occurred in the 28th year of Augustus Caesar on the 25th day of Month Pachon, which corresponds to May 20. ( Hastings Encyclopaedia of Religion, and Ethics, vol.3; p.683). As regards Clement himself he dated the nativity on November 18. (ibid). The church also possesses a short tract, found among the work of Cyprian, written in 243 AD., which states nativity as on March 28. (Hastings Encyclopaedia of Religion , and Ethics, vol.3; p.603). J.M Robertson Says, Several Sects, indeed long persisted in fixing the day on 24th or 25th of April..., while others placed it at 25th May; and the greater part of the Eastern church for centuries made the date 6th January. (ibid) For the first three centuries no such festival was celebrated in the churches, but when the Graeco-Roman heathen cults had permeated its body, such rituals also an easy way into it. The Rationalist Encyclopaedia Record, From very early times the Romans had celebrated their Saturnalia in honour of the old vegetation-gods at that time when a great display of presents, candles and Idols... from the reign of Emperor Aurelian (270-276 AD.), who introduced a Solar cult of a high ethical character, December 25th was the outstanding day of their Calendar and was officially described as the birthday of Unconquered SUN. (Rationalist Encyclopaedia, p.102). When Christianity became official religion of Roman Empire, is sought to take up of a formal shape in terms of its retualistic dogma . About 530 AD., a Synthian Monk, Dionysius Exiguus, who was reported to be aquainted with Astronomy, was commissioned to fix the date and year of the birth of JESUS. ( Edward Carpenter in his Pagan and Christian Creeds. ). Now, theres was no first hand information available with the regard to the nativity; it was variously held-by the Basilidians somewhere in April and by other Sects on the 20th May; the Gospels were absolutely silent on this point. In short there was no clue to know the exact date and the year. The Catholic die-hards claim that in the early times the feast of Nativity was held on the 6th January and that in 253-254 AD., the Pope Liberius displaced it to December 25. But the modern research has also disproved this claim and it is now admitted that no such feast was ever held by the Christian churches before the Fourth century. In 389 AD. the Emperor Valentitianous issued an imperial ordinance notifying legal holidays among which only Sundays and Easter are reckoned and no mention whatsoever is made of the feast of nativity on any date in the year. (Hastings Encyclopaedia of Religion, and Ethicts.vol.3; p.601). So, Dionysius Exiguss, had nothing traditional from church to rely upon and the result was that this Monk-astronomer took a rather arbitrary decision and quite fantastically fixed the nativity as DECEMBER 25. The universal celebration of the event took place in 534 AD., when for the first time it was reckoned by the law courts as dies none, but it is interesting to note that the Word CHRISTMAS so Popular now, was never used before the Eleventh century. ( Rationalist Encyclopaedia; p.102). It will not be out of place to mention here that in the Mediterranean World 25th December has always been a significant date. Even in the Pre-christian era, the 25th December had been a holy-day of many heathen cults. The ancient people thought that at the winter Solstice the Sun commenced its annual journey around the heaven and, therefore the 25th of December was thought to be its Birthday which was annually celebrated by great festivals in many parts of the HEATHEN World in China, India, Persia, Egypt, and also in ancient Greece, Rome, Germany, Scandinavia, Great Britain, Ireland, and America. (Vivian Philips- Progressive Revelation, 1936;p,110). Consequently many Suns-gods were believed to have born on the same date or aday or two before or after; Mithra was born on the 25th December, Isis and Osiris on the 362nd day of the year, and Horus and Apollo on the 362 day, which means the last week of the month December. Thus the last week of the year , 25th December in particular, witnessed Birthdays of numerous Mediterrannean Sun-gods. (Edward Carpenter in his Pagan and Christian Creeds)
Posted on: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 07:42:25 +0000
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