THE PAGAN ORIGINS OF CHRISTMAS Why the 25th of December?

Have you ever wondered why Christmas is celebrated on Dec 25th? While Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, his exact birthdate is not mentioned anywhere in the bible. Luke 2:8 states that on the night of Jesus' birth "there were also in that same country shepherds living out of doors and keeping watches in the night over their flocks." This would have been unlikely in December, as shepherds would be keeping their flock under cover during the cold winter. Also, it is written in the Bible that Joseph and Mary travelled to Bethlehem to register in a Roman census and we know that the census did not take place in winter.

Like many Christian holidays we can look towards Paganism to better understand the historical origins.

Pagans all over Europe were already celebrating the Winter Solstice around this time and of course it’s easier to convert someone by using traditions and celebrations that are already familiar to them. In fact, many of our ‘Christmas Traditions’ such as the evergreen tree, come from the Winter Solstice celebrations. However, the Winter Solstice falls on the 20th-23rd, so not exactly the 25th.

There is also the celebration of Saturnalia, an ancient Roman festival in honor of the god Saturn. This festival consisted of much feasting, gambling, and gift giving. This could indeed be the origin of gift giving that we currently participate in for Christmas. Saturnalia was held on December 17 of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities to December 23. So around the right time, but still not the 25th. Where does the date of the 25th come from?

For that we need to look at the Roman deity Mithras. Followers of Mithras, which became popular among the military in the Roman Empire from the 1st - 4th centuries CE, are believed to have celebrated his birthday on the 25th December. This was considered one of the holiest days of the year for many Romans. The worship of the Sun God, Mithra, has its origin in Persia, from around the 6th century BC and it is believed that Roman soldiers initially encountered this religion during their military excursions to Persia.

So in attempt to give the pagan holidays Christian significance, Christian leaders decided that the birthday of the Sun God would also be the birthday of the Son of God. Dies Natalis Solis Invicti means 'birthday of the unconquered sun' so lets all raise a glass and give a toast to Mithras, the true origin of why we celebrate on the 25 of December.

Will you be celebrating Yule this year? Share your Yule plans below in the comments!