Christmas and religion
- Locked due to inactivity on Aug 4, '16 4:22pm
Thread Topic: Christmas and religion
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Repoman NewbieNow this is something I have been thing a lot about and it is the simple fact while Christmas celebrated as christen holiday when it is of pagen origin. So what I want to know is can it really be called a christen holiday? And yes i know that is when jesus was suposedly born but the holiday was celebrated before that. now I am not bashing on religion in fact I believe strongly in freedom of religion although I myself chose not to do so myself . I am only curious as to your thoughts on this matter oh and please no insults or rants like I said before it is my natural inquisitive nature that makes me ask this.
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Okay, remember what I'm about to say isn't me being frank and/or mean, m'kay?
So first off, it's spelled "Christan"
Secondly, Jesus's birthday was in july or june I believe so no, the holliday itself isn't really a "Christan" holliday.
this is why...
Roman pagans first introduced the holiday of Saturnalia, a week long period of lawlessness celebrated between December 17-25. During this period, Roman courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people during the weeklong celebration. The festival began when Roman authorities chose an enemy of the Roman people to represent the Lord of Misrule. Each Roman community selected a victim whom they forced to indulge in food and other physical pleasures throughout the week. At the festivals conclusion, December 25th, Roman authorities believed they were destroying the forces of darkness by brutally murdering this innocent man or woman.
In the 4th century CE, Christianity imported the Saturnalia festival hoping to take the pagan masses in with it. Christian leaders succeeded in converting to Christianity large numbers of pagans by promising them that they could continue to celebrate the Saturnalia as Christians
The problem was that there was nothing intrinsically Christian about Saturnalia. To remedy this, these Christian leaders named Saturnalias concluding day, December 25th, to be Jesus birthday
Christians had little success, however, refining the practices of Saturnalia. As Stephen Nissenbaum, professor history at the University of Massachussetts, Amherst, writes, In return for ensuring massive observance of the anniversary of the Saviors birth by assigning it to this resonant date, the Church for its part tacitly agreed to allow the holiday to be celebrated more or less the way it had always been. The earliest Christmas holidays were celebrated by drinking, sexual indulgence, singing naked in the streets (a precursor of modern caroling), etc. -
Jesus wasnt born on Christmas, but everyone says its the day to honor the christ's birth.
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Actually, it's spelled "Christian"
*shot* -
Christmas is about reunion and the gift of giving. Sheesh, why must religion complicate such simple things?
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^ nope christianity complicates the days of the week holidays and much more. In the hopes that some people would get the hint.
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