If Christmas has such strong Pagan Origins, do you think it is wrong to celebrate it?
Yule Log - The celebration of burning the Yule Log started out in the Pagan Community to worship and hurry the return of the Sun.
Kissing Under Mistletoe - Kissing and Mistletoe are tied together in many Norse myths. (One including Balder and Frigga will come to mind) Often thought of as a symbol of love and fertility.
Tree Decorating - In Pagan Communities people would chop down trees in the harsh winter and take them to their houses to remind them that Summer would soon return and they will be able to have a good harvest. Modern decorating of the trees may have come from the Roman holiday Saturnalia.
Gift Giving - The Christians attribute the giving of gifts at Christmas to the wise men who brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn Jesus. But this tradition was common well before the time of Jesus, during Saturnalia.
The Ancient Roman Festival of Saturnalia
A Well known Celebration of the Winter Solstice. Romans would worship the God Saturn, work was suspended and devious sinful fun was held by all, even the slaves. Decorations were strewn over the entire cities. This Holiday was held on the 25th. Pope Julius I also declared the 25th to be Christs bday, to make conversion as painless as possible. (Though it is impossible for that to be his true bday. Thats another story)
In Jeremiah 10:1-4, we read:
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"Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
"Thus saith the Lord, Å’Learn NOT the way of the heathen, and be NOT dismayed at the signs of heaven (the queen of heaven, Isis, worshiped by the heathen), for the heathen are dismayed at them.
"For the customs of the people are futile: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
"They decorate it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not."
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It sounds a little familiar. And we are doing the exact OPPOSITE of what he says.
Many Christians believe Christmas should NOT be celebrated, (Jehova’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Advents) Mainly b/c Saturnalia was celebrated on the 25th, but also b/c every time a bday was celebrated in the Bible someone died. Some felt that Christmas was nothing more than celebrating him as if he were a king or a Pharaoh, and that is not proper worship.
I think as long as you know who you are worshiping it is fine, but you should be aware of the roots and then decide if you want to continue celebration.