Why the 25th of Dec?

Before Jesus alleged life, the 25th of December was celebrated as the rebirth of the Sun during the Winter Solstice after 3 days of no movement. The so called resurrection of the Sun after 3 days of death.

Jesus' alleged birthday is said to have been sometime around summer, but supposedly moved to the date of the 25th of Dec. If so, why? What is the significance of that particular date?

It probably has something to do with Mithras' birthday. By celebrating Jesus' birth in the same day, they'd be attempting to silence the pagan celebration, and it has worked like a charm. I'm amazed by the amount of people who still think that Dec 25th is a christian celebration.

... It's summer in Australia around Christmas time.

X-Mas is not a Christian holiday. It is a pagan ceremony. It is thecelebration of the Winter Solstice.Only later down the road did the bogus Christians claim it as their own.

Barf_ly

[QUOTE="Barf_ly"]

X-Mas is not a Christian holiday. It is a pagan ceremony. It is thecelebration of the Winter Solstice.Only later down the road did the bogus Christians claim it as their own.

Dystopian-X

You are not much of a Dystopian with that attitude...wait...I'm drunk...Smileys all round...

"Christianity is ranked as the largest religion in the world today with approximately 2 billion adherents."

Maybe this is why it's more recognized as Christ's Birthday?

Shame on me for being a drunken prick to my own folk.

NO U!

Barf_ly

Checkmate >: D

http://most-popular.net/religion-world

"Approximately 1 billion people adhere to irreligious beliefs which include humanism, atheism and agnosticism, making this category of beliefs more popular than Hinduism but less popular than Islam."

http://most-popular.net/religion-world

"Approximately 1 billion people adhere to irreligious beliefs which include humanism, atheism and agnosticism, making this category of beliefs more popular than Hinduism but less popular than Islam."

Barf_ly

Out of 6.671 Billion people worldwide, Christianity makes up almost a Third at 1.923 Billion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religious_populations

The most central and recognizable symbol of Christmas today is the Christmas tree — and it has nothing to do with Christianity, Christ, or Jesus. It's a purely pagan symbol taken from ancient German mid-winter festivals. Even if people hang religious ornaments on the tree, the hanging of ornaments is originally pagan, not Christian. The practice of cutting down trees and taking them home to decorate them with gold and silver is even condemned by God in the book of Jeremiah.

The most central and recognizable symbol of Christmas today is the Christmas tree — and it has nothing to do with Christianity, Christ, or Jesus. It's a purely pagan symbol taken from ancient German mid-winter festivals. Even if people hang religious ornaments on the tree, the hanging of ornaments is originally pagan, not Christian. The practice of cutting down trees and taking them home to decorate them with gold and silver is even condemned by God in the book of Jeremiah.

Barf_ly

"The fir tree has a long association with Christianity, it began in Germany almost 1,000 years ago when St Boniface, who converted the German people to Christianity, was said to have come across a group of pagans worshipping an oak tree. In anger, St Boniface is said to have cut down the oak tree and to his amazement a young fir tree sprung up from the roots of the oak tree. St Boniface took this as a sign of the Christian faith. But it was not until the 16th century that fir trees were brought indoors at Christmas time"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Tree#Origin

I don't see where cutting down trees and decorating them is offensive to God.

http://landscaping.about.com/cs/winterlandscaping1/a/holly_trees.htm

Enough already! Religious connotations are a joke.

http://landscaping.about.com/cs/winterlandscaping1/a/holly_trees.htm

Enough already! Religious connotations are a joke.

Barf_ly

THey came off of Wikipedia so...ANd why are we talking about Holly Now?

"The North's winter solstice occurs around December 21, when the sun is over the tropic of Capricorn."

How's Christmas interfering with this?

there was no such thing as christmas in the early christianity, the concept of christmas probably has its root in that pagan sun birth celebration as stated by previous posters.

"The date of commemoration is not known to be Jesus' actualbirthday, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either the day exactly nine months after some early Christians believedJesus had been conceived"

I still don't see how it interferes with the Solstice if it's on the 25th and the Solstice on the 21st.

The mass of people upon the Winter Solstice is what we should truly be celebrating, not some bogus Christian nonsense.

Barf_ly

Well, that's your opinion.

I believe the 25th was picked because Odin declared it to be so. What other reason doth thou need?

The Roman church picked the 25th to try and replace celebrations that were in honor of pagan gods on the same date.

"The date of commemoration is not known to be Jesus' actualbirthday, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either the day exactly nine months after some early Christians believedJesus had been conceived"

I still don't see how it interferes with the Solstice if it's on the 25th and the Solstice on the 21st.

Snipes_2

well, the Sun gets to it's lowest point on the 22nd, it percievably stops moving towards the horizon for 3 days. On the 25th is begins to move back up from the horizon, signaling the rebirth of the Sun blah blah blah. To be honest tho, I havent really taken a good look at the sun around the 22nd to see for myself this 'death' of the Sun. I suppose if I remember, this is a good chance for me to do so this year.

It probably has something to do with Mithras' birthday. By celebrating Jesus' birth in the same day, they'd be attempting to silence the pagan celebration, and it has worked like a charm. I'm amazed by the amount of people who still think that Dec 25th is a christian celebration.

dracula_16

Basically holiday celebrations need to be spread apart, and Christians didn't have a "winter holiday". Had they put Jesus' birthday closer to the correct date it would likely to interfere w/ lent, Easter, and all that hoopla. Also putting the date slightly after the winter solstice celebration allowed the Christians to gain followers by 1 upping their celebrations. If the "pagans" put up a big tree, and stuck pig, the Christians could put up a bigger tree, and roast beef.

As society gains more free time they've also needed more holidays. Hence the popularization of holidays like holloween, and more recently 420.

Because it is the date of Santa's birthday.solid_mario

I thought I'd just add this as we're looking at the origin of pretty much everything that has anything to do with christmas.

[QUOTE="dracula_16"]

It probably has something to do with Mithras' birthday. By celebrating Jesus' birth in the same day, they'd be attempting to silence the pagan celebration, and it has worked like a charm. I'm amazed by the amount of people who still think that Dec 25th is a christian celebration.

CaptainSchwamm

Anyone can celebrate anything any way they want, I just think it's hilarious that some Christians get so bent out of shape with this whole, "attack on Christmas," thing when Christmas itself was an attack on someone else's holiday. Like I said to someone else on OT the other day, Jesus is NOT, in fact, the reason for the season.

... It's summer in Australia around Christmas time.

MrsSolidSnake

isn't it still called winter in Australia at that time of the year despite being warmer?

Ever wonder why it's called.."CHRISTmas.."?...It's the day Jesus was born...Christians celebrate it just like jews celebrate hanukkah...and it was NOT an attack on someone elses holiday..that is utterly absurd...so that would mean every holiday was an attack on someone elses holiday...so i could say..Kwanza for instance is an attack on Christmas...according to your logic..the time of the season for Christians has to do with the preparation for his birth and the events leading up to it...

Though it is believed to be a counter to the pagan holiday celebrating something to do with Thor..not sure if that's true...it's a tradition...Thor no longer exists so...i say it's not attacking anything..

Ever wonder why it's called.."CHRISTmas.."?...It's the day Jesus was born...Christians celebrate it just like jews celebrate hanukkah...and it was NOT an attack on someone elses holiday..that is utterly absurd...so that would mean every holiday was an attack on someone elses holiday...so i could say..Kwanza for instance is an attack on Christmas...according to your logic..the time of the season for Christians has to do with the preparation for his birth and the events leading up to it...

Xx_Hopeless_xX

And you completelyignored everything I was saying. Christmas was specifically moved to the date of the solstice to interfere with pagan holidays, it WAS a direct attack on them. It's not an attack by virtue of it being celebrated, it's an attack by virtue of it actually being an attack. Kwaanza doesn't start until the day after Christmas, it was set on that week to have a celebration that coincided loosely with the time of other seasonal holidays, Christmas and Haunakah. And thanks for proving my point, soem Christians are so quick to call foul whenever anyone else does something as miniscule as say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, but when it was Christians who were purposely trying to undermine a pagan holiday there wasn't anything wrong with that, typical double-standard.

[QUOTE="Xx_Hopeless_xX"]

Ever wonder why it's called.."CHRISTmas.."?...It's the day Jesus was born...Christians celebrate it just like jews celebrate hanukkah...and it was NOT an attack on someone elses holiday..that is utterly absurd...so that would mean every holiday was an attack on someone elses holiday...so i could say..Kwanza for instance is an attack on Christmas...according to your logic..the time of the season for Christians has to do with the preparation for his birth and the events leading up to it...

theone86

And you completelyignored everything I was saying. Christmas was specifically moved to the date of the solstice to interfere with pagan holidays, it WAS a direct attack on them. It's not an attack by virtue of it being celebrated, it's an attack by virtue of it actually being an attack. Kwaanza doesn't start until the day after Christmas, it was set on that week to have a celebration that coincided loosely with the time of other seasonal holidays, Christmas and Haunakah. And thanks for proving my point, soem Christians are so quick to call foul whenever anyone else does something as miniscule as say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, but when it was Christians who were purposely trying to undermine a pagan holiday there wasn't anything wrong with that, typical double-standard.

Actually...it was traditionally made to be December 25..i believe it happens to be a coincidence...why does it even matter...do you believe in Thor? Do you know anyone that believes in Thor...?

[QUOTE="dracula_16"]

It probably has something to do with Mithras' birthday. By celebrating Jesus' birth in the same day, they'd be attempting to silence the pagan celebration, and it has worked like a charm. I'm amazed by the amount of people who still think that Dec 25th is a christian celebration.

CaptainSchwamm

They can celebrate that if they want, but that isn't the point. My point was that it's incorrect to claim that December 25th is a christian celebration. Pagan traditions were around long before Jesus was even born.

You answered your own question TC.

The festival you mentioned was popular, and the church didn't want people celebrating a pagan holiday, so they just redeifined it.

The Christmas tree is a holdover of the pagan festival.

I'm amazed by the amount of people who still think that Dec 25th is a christian celebration.

dracula_16

You answered your own question TC.

The festival you mentioned was popular, and the church didn't want people celebrating a pagan holiday, so they just redeifined it.

The Christmas tree is a holdover of the pagan festival.

TBoogy

lol yea I guess I did.

I suppose I was just wondering if there was any more significance to the that particular date besides the Pagan rituals/celebration which were then transformed/redefined as the birth of todays diety.

Correct answer to everything:

25 december is definately a christian day of celebration. That doesn't mean that other people can't have celebrations for another reason on the same day. The 25th of december was probably chosen a long time ago to interfere with a pagan holiday. Therefore, if atheists or people from other religions celebrate for whatever reason on the 25th of december, it would be hypocritical to cry foul. Just let everyone enjoy their own 25th of december.

Well back in the times when they were trying to convert the pagans, winter feast was the holiday for december, so instead of scrapping it and making the pagans angry they just relabeled it with Christ's birthday.

... It's summer in Australia around Christmas time.

MrsSolidSnake

[QUOTE="MrsSolidSnake"]

... It's summer in Australia around Christmas time.

JustPlainLucas

Crocodile Hunter didnt believe, so he payed teh price!!!

[QUOTE="MrsSolidSnake"]

... It's summer in Australia around Christmas time.

JustPlainLucas

More importantly, it's summer in Africa around Christmas time...

[QUOTE="JustPlainLucas"][QUOTE="MrsSolidSnake"]

... It's summer in Australia around Christmas time.

TBoogy

More importantly, it's summer in Africa around Christmas time...

at least it's warm for them around this time of year. I hate how Chicago gets.

Not sure if anyone said this exactly already but, what I learned for the actual reasoning was within the early centuries of the spread of Christianity in Rome, many Catholics also believed in pagan Gods, and like someone before said, December 25th was the celebrated birthday of the Sun God. From my understanding, at this time believers just started celebrating both the birth of Jesus and the birth of the sun God at the same time, December 25th. Today, of course the "brith" of Jesus is much more celebrated becasue Catholicism is so widespread.