Sun God or the Son of God?

So you think Jesus Christ was born on 25th December?

Most experts conclude that Jesus Christ was not born in December at all but rather September. They say shepherds would not be tending their sheep on a cold winter's night. So why have we adopted December 25th as Christmas ( Christ Mass ) day?

Pagan Tradition and the Christian Takeover

When we look into man's pagan history it's not difficult to see why December was chosen. It is, after all, the month of the winter solstice, a day of great importance in pagan times. The 'sol' part means sun, and sun worship was the high point of man's existence. In addition, all the paraphernalia surrounding this worship, the Yule logs, the holly and ivy, the mistletoe and not forgetting the tree, are all pagan fertility symbols still in use today.

When in Rome

Around 350 AD the Romans were still chiefly pagan and Pope Julius 1 probably got orders from the top to increase subscription and rope in more converts to the faith. Then he had a brainwave. He didn't want to tell the people they could no longer worship their sun god. They would probably have rioted. So he simply superimposed new feast days on top of the existing ones. It worked! Everyone continued with their merrymaking whilst the Pope happily told them they were now honouring Jesus Christ. Perfect!

And now, when you go into a church and see the lighted candles, what you are really doing is paying homage to Mithras the sun god.

What do you make of Christmas?

Christmas seems to have many faces. One face is the face of great joy and happiness, and family get-togethers. Another face represents heartache and sorrow, the nadir in emotional turbulence. Yet another face is the face of enterprise and commerce with its miasma of sales, bargains, gadgets and gifts. Whole industries have mushroomed around it. The lights have their purpose too. They chase away the winter blues, thereby replacing the sun's weak winter light.

Christmas can be a roller coaster ride for families and individuals alike. According to the Samaritans, there is a greater potential for suicide at Christmas than at any other time of year. Why? Have we been indoctrinated so well by rose-tinted tradition, with fairy tale images of joy and happiness and the sound of Bing Crosby singing 'White Christmas'?

For those whose emotions are not so robust, these images can be a dangerous foray into fantasy. Like Cinderella, the clock must strike twelve at some point and then comes the reality shock. For some people it's too much.

I have another face for Christmas. It is the face of each individual looking in the mirror and saying to their reflection "I love you", and saying it with confidence and joy. It is the face of you and me loving ourselves for who we are regardless of where we come from or the colour of our skin. By doing this on a regular basis we are laying the foundations for loving other people. For we cannot love others until we have first learned to love ourselves. This has the potential to change the world. All we need is the will to do it.

A merry Christmas to my readers ( all three of you ) and a prosperous new year.