Christmas is Pagan (Part 2)

Note:  This makes a lot more sense if you read Part 1 first, below.


We’ve already established that Christmas does have its roots in ancient solstice celebrations that were undoubtedly Pagan, mostly because most of the world outside of the nation of Israel was Pagan.    

Does it matter?

It’s often said about Christmas that Christians adopted Roman holidays, but I think it’s a little more complicated than that. 

From a theological and historical standpoint, Jesus, by calling himself the “Son of Man,” and talking about his kingdom and referring to God as his father, was making a statement about himself and about God.   The Romans worshiped their leader as a deity, the son of the gods.  In the Gospels, Jesus was opposing this, saying that there is only one God, the God of Israel, and his son is not on the throne of Rome, but with his people.  In the Gospels, Jesus is placing God’s framework over the Roman framework.  What Jesus is saying in the Gospels is:  “This—all that Caesar claims, all that the Romans have—rightly belongs to God.”  Jesus was setting up a different type of kingdom, the kingdom of God.  So, from the first, from Jesus himself, we have this idea of taking what the world has corrupted and bringing it into God’s framework.

When Constantine legalized Christianity in 313, Christianity quickly became the majority religion throughout the empire.  In 389, Theodosius I made Christianity the religion of the empire, and Paganism was outlawed in the ensuing years.  I don’t believe that Christianizing Roman holidays was so much a result of Christians giving in to and trying to placate Pagans as it was the same replacement with God’s framework that Jesus talked about—or so people thought.  As the empire Christianized, Pagan temples, sites, and holidays were turned into their Christian counterparts.  Roman Paganism didn’t taint Christianity; Christianity supplanted Paganism.

I think we need to consider that prior to the rise of monotheism throughout the world, most people were Pagans.  That’s why ancient Israel stood out, right?  They were different from the nations around them because they were not Pagan.  Because of that, a good many things in modern life have their origins in Paganism, Pagan practices, or Pagan people.

Having an indoor stove can be traced to primitive people's worship of fire and wanting to have the fire god in their houses (and as an added bonus, it's convenient and warm).  The first stoves were altars.  But, probably very few Christians are planning to part with their stoves for religious reasons. 

Cookies (small cakes) were used in ancient Nordic pagan worship.  Cookies as we know them originated in Persia and spread through Europe by Muslims.  That's right, that Chips Ahoy has its roots in Paganism, and/or Islam, another religion many Christians have issues with, yet there are cookies and pastries at the coffee hour after most church services in the US every Sunday.

Tacos and hot chocolate are foods invented by "Pagan" tribes in Mexico/Central-South America, and were consumed at "Pagan" feasts and rituals.  Many Christians consume these foods.  

Almost everything we do in modern life, most of our foods, most of our customs, even our languages, have their roots in antiquity, and in antiquity, people were what we would consider today to be "Pagan."  You can’t get away from our ancestry, and the reality is that many things, most things in fact, have Pagan roots.

Cultures blend when they come in contact with one another.  Christianity began under the Roman Empire.  The Roman Empire influenced most of western civilization.  It's been 2,000 years and Christians everywhere have settled into their own traditions, and have picked up traditions from areas where Christianity spread, as well.

The answer that Paul had, in his example about meat sacrificed to idols, was that because Christians belong to God, and everything is God’s, everything is permissible for Christians  (1 Corinthians 6:12 and 10:23), though we don’t want to cause another person to sin, lose faith, or get a bad impression of Christians (1 Corinthians 10:28), but everything should be done to the glory of God. 

With all its flaws, including commercialism and lack of spirituality (which, as I pointed out above in Part 1, the Romans also complained about with regard to Saturnalia, because getting carried away is human nature), there is no time when there is so much emphasis throughout the world on Christ than at Christmas.

Does Christmas have Pagan roots?  You bet it does, along with many things. 

Does it matter?  No.  We don’t know the exact date Jesus was born, but we have a day to celebrate it.  That we recognize it is the important thing.  It’s been superimposed over an ancient Roman feast day, but Christmas has been a Christian holiday for almost 2,000 years.  It’s no more Pagan than chocolate chip cookies are.