Christmas and how it was stolen by Christians: Christmas: Theophilus of Antioch (CE 171-83) is one of the earliest recognized references to December 25 being the date of Jesuss birth. In the third century CE, December 25 was already a recognized festival, and one that commemorated a special birth. It was the birthday of Mithras, the Persian god of the Sun. The Cult of Mithras had been brought back to the heart of the Roman Empire by soldiers who had been serving in Syria. There are many surprising similarities between the life of Christ and that of the mythical Mithras. Christmas: A document supposedly written by one Theophilus of Antioch (171-83 CE) is one of the earliest recognized references to December 25 being the date of Jesus’s birth. In the third century CE (Common Era…now accepted instead of BC or AD by most historians), December 25 was already a recognized festival, and one that commemorated a special birth. It was the birthday of Mithras, the Persian god of the Sun. The cult of Mithras had been brought back to the heart of the Roman Empire by soldiers who had been serving in Syria. There are many surprising similarities between the life of Christ and that of the mythical Mithras. Mithras was born in a cave, as was Jesus (according to both the Protoevangelium of James, and Justin Martyr from the second century, as this was the typical location of stables in classical Palestine.) Mithras sacrificed a bull, from the blood of which sprang the whole of creation, just as God, Jesuss father, had created the world. At the end of his life, Mithras took part in a feast, just as Jesus took part in the Last Supper, before being taken up into heaven in a fiery chariot, just as Jesus ascended to heaven after his resurrection from the dead. Nonetheless, it wasnt until the year 350 CE that the then Pope, Julius I, made it official. He decreed that Christs birth would be celebrated on Dec. 25 because it would make it as easy as possible for those Romans who were still pagans (which was most of them) to make the change to the new rituals. But what of our name for this festival: where did that come from? The first written reference we have to the word Christmas itself being used comes from a Saxon book dating from 1038 CE that mentions Cristes Maesse, meaning Christs Mass, from which we get Christmas. Christmas itself is predated by two major pagan festivals, the Roman Saturnalia and the Viking Yule.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:20:59 +0000
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