The Christmas holiday is an adaptation of the "Pagan winter solstice rites". In other words "The Roman Catholic Church" took the Paga's Christmas holiday. Pagans in northwestern Europe, and many parts of the world conducted a yearly celebration which is remarkably similar to the Christian Christmas we know today' even gift giving. Christians even took Easter from the Pagans, and many more special rites they had. Few people realize that the origins of Christmas was Pagan long before anyone there had ever heard of Jesus Christ.
If this is true or not, I don't know, BUT it is written in the Bible that Jesus was born during the days of Herod the King. Historians have determined, on this and other evidence, that King Herod apparently died in the Spring of what we now call 4 B.C. So according to these writing in the Bible' Jesus was born sometime around 4 B.C. BUT no one has ever known the correct date or year.
St. Nicholas, {Santa} also goes back to Pagan times. St. Nicholas was a Pagan God, and Early depictions of Father Christmas in Britain often showed him wreathed in ivy and dressed in green. You are right Coca-Cola made red his signature colour, the Victorians would dress him in a range of many colours including red, blue and purple.
It's all good I guess!! :?
Take care....
eace:
I think there is a difference between co-opting an existing pagan celebration and turning it into a Christian celebration (which I will readily admit did happen), and saying that the origins of Christmas are pagan. That would be like saying that Muslims who participate the circumambulations of the Kaaba are involved in pagan worship because it was an object of veneration in pre-Islamic days. But as Umar ibn al-Khattab said, it is just a stone. And similarly December 25 is just a day on a calender. Many Christians choose to honor Christ's birth this day. Some Christians honor Christ's birth on January 6 or some other day. And a few Christians are not concerned about a celebration honoring Christ's birth at all, but only of his death and resurrection.
I think those of us who are not Christian would be more pleased if Christmas were celebrated as a religious holiday by more Christians. It would be more conducive for a mutual understanding as to why non-Christians avoid Christmas Celebrations.
This secular celebration is seen as being simply a use of religion to promote store sales. It is sad to see grown people judge each others faith by who can throw the best party or have the best decorations.
Christians who truly celebrate Christmas should have no problem with those of us who do not Celebrate it. We do not expect non-Muslims to Celebrate Eid nor fast during Ramadahm, and have no bad feelings towards them because they don't.
Woodrow, I have no problem with you nor anyone else not celebrating Christmas. As I've said before in this thread, I personally could do with a little less celebration -- at least of the type that is prevelant in the USA where I live.
I live in a small town of 5000. My guess is that 4999 of them will be celebrating Christmas this year. But I am at one of the larger churches in town and we have only 500 members. Even if you add all of the members of all of the churches together it would be only about 3000 people, or 60% of the town are serious enough about being Christian to belong to a church. Of them, only about 1/2 actually attend the church they belong to. And, unless I miss my guess, we will probably actually be down in attedance have have only about 150 of our 500 participating in worship on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
How should do one interpret this? I'm not quite sure. But one possible way is to suggest that perhaps 70% of what claims to be Christmas celebration really isn't about Christmas at all. Perhpas there is a new form of paganism that has infected (some might say, re-emerged in) this Holy Day turning it into just another holiday. Whatever, I just ask you all to remember that not everyone who is buying (and certainly not everyone who is selling) Christmas presents is planning on celebrating Christmas. Some will call it that, but they are really celebrating something else of their own creation.
For my part, I will remember that the Saudi students at the nearby college dorm who went out, got drunk and smashed my Halloween pumpkin (there's another mixed-up holiday for you) to celebrate the end of Ramadan this fall may claim to be Muslim, but were not practicing Islam. They too were simply celebrating something of their own creation.
Christmas celebration in December has never been all about Christ.
Never? That's a pretty big word. Given that I try to make my Christmas celebration (which does take place in December) about Christ (and I know others who do too), maybe it would be better if you just said that it hasn't always been just about Christ?
St. Nicholas, {Santa} also goes back to Pagan times. St. Nicholas was a Pagan God, and Early depictions of Father Christmas in Britain often showed him wreathed in ivy and dressed in green. You are right Coca-Cola made red his signature colour, the Victorians would dress him in a range of many colours including red, blue and purple.
There are many stories about Santa, and some of them do have pagan roots, but when you speak of St. Nicholas, be aware that you are talking about a real person who was certainly no pagan. A quick google search will bring you pages of websites telling his story, this one
"Who Was St. Nicholas?" is as good a place to start as any if you seek to learn more about him.
kay: 
