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| Christmas Carnivals » Christmas History » Pagan History of Christmas |
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Pagan History of Christmas |
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Pagan History of Christmas traces out the roots of Christmas back to its early beginnings as a pagan.
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In ancient Babylon December 25th was celebrated as Yule Day or Holy Child Day as Yule signified infant. On this day the incarnate sun appeared as a baby boy to redeem the world from darkness. The Yule is actually a large piece of wood. The legends in the History of Pagan Christmas refer this botanical symbol with the battle between the Oak King and the Holly King at Yule, in which the Holly King won. At the time of the festival the log was cut into pieces and offered to each celebrants. It symbolically offered wealth and protection throughout the coming year.
History of Pagan Christmas informs that the Scandinavian Norse also celebrated the Yule festival though with different interpretation. Norse Yuletide lasted from December 20th through December 31st or twelve nights. The Norse word for Yule means wheel, which signifies the circle of the year.
The Jewish Festival of Lights or Hanukkah occurred on the 25th day of the Hebrew month, which approximately falls in December by the Roman calendar.
According to Pagan History of Christmas The Roman Pagan celebration or the Saturnalia Festival began from 17th of December and ended on the birthday of their sun god Mithras that occurred on 25th December. These twelve days are now observed as twelve days of Christmas.
All these Pagan festivals were also known as winter festivals as most of them were celebrated during the winter solstice. They involved gift giving, colored lights to ward off evil spirits, festive meals and decorated trees. The present day Christmas tree also goes back to the worship of sacred trees by various religions. The Druids worshipped the oak tree, the Egyptians worshipped the palm tree and while in Rome it was the fir tree
To learn more about Pagan History of Christmas refer to Christmas Carnivals.
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