<Home~ Sponsor ~ Bookmark ~ Contact ~ Index>

Origins of Christmas and Easter Do NOT copy this page!!!

The true origin of Christmas is filled with controversy and argumentation. And yet the origin of Christmas is presented beautifully in the well-known biblical account found in Luke 2:1-11. For today's Christian, the origin of Christmas is, and should be, the birth of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Bible. However, most of what we witness on December 25th each year has practically nothing to do with that special day, which probably occurred in late summer or early autumn about 2,000 years ago. In fact, most of the customs and traditions of Christmas actually pre-date the birth of Jesus. And this is where the controversy begins. This article seeks not to argue the origins of Christmas and Easter, but to argue the relevance of those origins.

The actual date of December 25th probably originated with the ancient "birthday" of the son-god, Mithra, a pagan deity whose religious influence became widespread in the Roman Empire during the first few centuries A.D. Mithra was related to the Semitic sun-god, Shamash, and his worship spread throughout Asia to Europe where he was called Deus Sol Invictus Mithras. Rome was well-known for absorbing the pagan religions and rituals of its widespread empire. As such, Rome converted this pagan legacy to a celebration of the god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god during the winter solstice period. The winter holiday became known as Saturnalia and began the week prior to December 25th. The festival was characterized by gift-giving, feasting, and singing, as the priests of Saturn carried wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession tthroughout the Roman temples. Variations of this holiday flourished throughout the first few centuries after Jesus Christ, but it probably wasn't until 336 AD that Emperor Constantine officially converted this pagan tradition into the "Christian" holiday of Christmas.

In short, the trappings associated with Christmas holiday we celebrate today is likely to cause us to forget its simple roots in the historical reality of Jesus Christ. Christmas should be a wonderful reminder of Christ's humble beginning as a human child in this world. His birth merely set the stage for the power, glory, and salvation that would be revealed in His life, death, and resurrection! Whether it's December 25th, sometime in late September, or any other day of the year, we should use each and every opportunity to reflect on Jesus Christ and His message of hope for all of us.

We also should not get so caught up in the past that we forget that Jesus has rôle for us to live in the here-and-now, and a future for us in Heaven. We cannot help the day’s pagan origin, but should not use our knowledge of it to cause us to spread ill will rather than good will.

We would never think of calling the first day of the week anything other than Sunday. Yet the pagan name Sunday celebrates the sun god, Ra, Helios, Apollo, Ogmios, Mithrias, the sun goddess, and Phoebe.

We would never think of calling the second day of the week anything other than Monday. Yet the pagan name Monday is derived from Lunae Dies, day of the moon, the name reflects the ancient observance of feast days dedicated to moon goddesses (Selene, Luna and Mani) and Earth’s Moon.

We would never think of calling the third day of the week anything other than Tuesday. Yet the pagan name Tuesday in the Roman calendar was dies Martis, the day of Mars, associated with Ares. Tiw's day is derived from Tyr or Tir, the god of honorable war, the wrestler and the son of Odin and, or Woden, the Norse god of war and Frigga, the earth mother. His emblem is the sword, and in olden days the people paid him great homage. Tuesday was named in his honor.

We would never think of calling the fourth day of the week anything other than Wednesday. Yet the pagan name Wednesday (which corresponds to the Roman Dies Mercurii) derives it’s name from the Scandinavian Woden (Odin), chief god of Norse mythology, who was often called the All Father.

We would never think of calling the fifth day of the week anything other than Thursday. Yet the pagan name Thursday derives its name from the Middle English Thoresday, or Thursdaye, corresponding to the Roman dies Jovis. Thor, the god of strength and thunder, defender and help in war, son of Odin, is the counterpart of Jupiter or Jove. Thor is one of the twelve great gods of northern mythology. He is the only god who cannot cross from earth to heaven upon the rainbow, for he is so heavy and powerful that the gods fear it will break under his weight. It was said that whenever Thor threw his hammer, the noise of thunder is heard through the heavens. Thursday was sacred to Thor.

We would never think of calling the sixth day of the week anything other than Friday. Yet the pagan name Friday is derived from the Germanic Frigga the name of the Norse god Odin's wife. Frigga is considered to be the mother of all, and the goddess who presides over marriage. The name means loving or beloved. The corresponding Latin name is Dies Veneris, a day dedicated to Venus, the goddess of love and sexuality.

Other than the word Sabbath (meaning rest) we would never think of calling the seventh day of the week anything other than Saturday. Yet the pagan name Saturday is from the Roman dies Saturni, or day of Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture. In Scandinavia, Saturday is also represented by Loki, the Norse god of tricks and chaos.

We would never think of calling the birthday celebration of Christ anything other than Christmas. Yet that date has pagan origins.

We don’t celebrate the Queen’s birthday to correspond with the actual day that she was born, we choose a day that is appropriate to our cultural environment. Likewise We don’t celebrate the King of king’s birthday to correspond with the actual day that He was born, we choose a day that is appropriate to our cultural environment – December 25th.

Modern-day Easter is derived from two ancient traditions: one Judeo-Christian and the other Pagan. Both Christians and Pagans have celebrated death and resurrection themes following the Spring Equinox for millennia. Most religious historians concede that many elements of the Christian observance of Easter were derived from earlier Pagan celebrations. The equinox occurs each year on March 20, 21 or 22. Both Neopagans and Christians continue to celebrate religious rituals linked to the equinox in the present day. Wiccans and other Neopagans usually hold their celebrations on the day or eve of the equinox. Western Christians wait until the Sunday on or after the next full moon. The Eastern Orthodox churches follow a different calculation; their celebration is often many weeks after the date selected by the Western churches.

So once again the focus should not be on the WHEN but the WHOM (Jesus) of Easter. It would be a tragic waste of an opportunity to worship God and thank him for his Birth, Life, Death, and Resurrection if we let pagan origins hinder our present celebration of the God-Man Jesus who transcends time.

Many in New South Wales (Australia) would proudly claim that their ancestors were convicts on the “first Fleet”. Does this mean that these modern New South Welshmen and Women are criminals just because of their origins? Should we shun them because of their “questionable” origins? Or should we look past the dark of the past and into the heart of the present? The heart of the present Christmas for those who truly love Christ will be a focus on His birth. The heart of the present Easter for those who truly love Christ will be a focus on His life, death and resurrection. For others the focus will be commercialism and ephemeral trimmings.

Christmas or Easter – Jesus is the reason for more than the season - he is also the reason for every nano-second between seasons!
-- Lionel Hartley, PhD

Free Audio CD: Christmas Carols For Piano (Includes Sheet Music & MP3 player files)