A Misconception About Christmas

[Gryphon]

Edit: I don't want to start a flame war that wont end well.

[Gryphon]

Edit:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::

[Gryphon]

Could a mod delete this thread please?

[Paradox]

While you make some salient points, it's actually more of "six of one, half a dozen of the other". Both versions are PART of the story, neither is 100% of it.

[Gryphon]

While you make some salient points, it's actually more of "six of one, half a dozen of the other". Both versions are PART of the story, neither is 100% of it.

If you say so.

I kind of regret making the thread as I dont want to start any arguments that will get out of hand.

[Paradox]

OK. It's just that...anyplace that has perceivable winter has a festival. They all originate in the agricultural cycle, and just get their current religion tacked onto it.

[finfangfool]

Didn't read the unedited Original Post, but as an atheist I'd like to say I think Christmas is fun even if you don't take the magic part seriously. Great songs, great traditions, decorations, lights, presents, etc. What's not to love? Also, good for the economy. Like a colder Halloween.

[The Black Guardian]

Indeed. What's not to love about this Saturnalia thing. We should only take this to new heights of "December liberty" and get all debauched.

[the4thpip]

I am just gonna hazard a guess that the original posts were about THIS misconception.

[Kieran_Frost]

I wish I could remember who this quote is by:
"It is every little girl's dream to be
The fairy on a Christmas tree.
A wand in her hand,
A smile on her face.
And a tree in a most peculiar place."

[Paradox]

Heh, that one always cracked me up. It's not the tryptophan at Thanksgiving and Christmas, it's the fact that you just ate the equivalent of three meals.

[Gryphon]

These were the original posts



From a discussion in Rita's

Many people today assume that christmas is just a christianized form of saturnalia but that isnt the case.

Well about christmas as a roman holiday originally, thats only half true. The other half is that the early christians often celebrated at the same time as the pagans and made their celebrations resemble the pagan ones in order to hide to escape persecution. Many pagan elements in christmas are holdovers from that, not from attempts to appropriate a pagan holiday.

I had a class on this during my courses in university, and the professor took the time to explain that it is a historical error.

Christmas is not saturnalia and should not be mistaken for it.

I don't celebrate christmas but historical errors like that irk me.


It is true that it became part of mass conversions but the fact remains that many christians held on to pagan customs they had to hide from perseciton from the romans.

This was more due to the fact that christmas now had some resemblance to saturnalia and others but not as deep as many think.

The puritans banned christmas celebrations due to extreme fanatical beliefs that it was impure and pagan but not all christians felt the same.

[the4thpip]

I had never even heard about a saturnalia connection. But the "winter solstice" thing is quite common knowledge here.

Same thing with Easter, which still has all those fertility symbols from Pagan spring celebrations attached to it.

[Gryphon]

I had never even heard about a saturnalia connection. But the "winter solstice" thing is quite common knowledge here.

Same thing with Easter, which still has all those fertility symbols from Pagan spring celebrations attached to it.

Like I said, many of the connections do come from the early ( emphasis on early) christians celebrating at the same time and taking some customs to hide from pagans better. Remember that in the early days of christianity the romans didnt really like them that much ( an understatement of course)

[the4thpip]

Like I said, many of the connections do come from the early ( emphasis on early) christians celebrating at the same time and taking some customs to hide from pagans better. Remember that in the early days of christianity the romans didnt really like them that much ( an understatement of course)

Is it "hide from Pagans" or "win them over better by adding to their holidays instead of replacing them"?

After all, "early Christians" also knew that they could sell their religion better to some cultures when they brought in the Mother of God as a figure to be prayed to. They were cunning.