08-11-2005, 06:00 AM
Pre-christian pagan origins of Christmas and Easter Festivals and
other Christian traditions by Ravi Kumar, Australia
Christmas, the birthday of Christ, is perhaps the most widely known
festival in the world. But not many know that it is pre-Christian in
its origin. One may wonder how the birth and the death of Christ can
be of pre-Christian origin!! In fact the birth of Christ is shrouded
in one more mystery.
Jesus of Nazareth was born four to eight years before he was 'born.'
(His birth was in the reign of Herod, who died in 4 B.C., four years
'before Christ.')
In 534 A.D., the first man who calculated the year of Jesus' birth
made a mistake and we've been stuck with it ever since. [Source: Isaac
Asimov's Book of Facts] Rob from Kearns, Utah (31 March 1999)
Connections between Pre-Christian Pagans and Hindus:
Pre-Christian Pagans in Europe had many things in common with ancient Hindus in
India - 7 days in a week, worship of Sun-God, Spring Festival,
reincarnation, cremating the dead and immortality of the soul. The
heroes who died in the Trojan war were cremated in a manner similar to
those in India. Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagorus in 500
BC studied in Takshashila University in North India and learnt
Mathematics (famous Pythogorus Theorem is from Bodhayana Sutra of the
Vedic Period), Medicine and Transmigration of the soul. This is called
the Pythogorean School of Thought.
Christmas is Mid-winter Festival of the Pagan Europeans:
Now the Roman records do not throw any light on the life of Jesus Christ and the
mystery starts from whether Jesus was a historical figure. But the
world celebrates December 25th as Jesus Christ's birthday. Santa Claus comes on a sledge driven by a reindeer and distributes sweets and plays with
children throwing snow on them. Jesus was born at Bethlehem and lived
in Palestine all through as recorded in the Bible. But snow games,
sledge and reindeer are unheard of things in Palestine. Obviously
Santa Claus and December 25th celebrations have their origin in
Pre-Christian Europe and not in Arabia or Israel or Palestine.
According to Britanica Encyclopaedia, "the reason why Christmas came
to be celebrated on December 25 remains uncertain, but most probably
the reason is that early Christians wished the date to coincide with
the pagan Roman festival marking the "birthday of the unconquered sun"
(natalis solis invicti). This festival celebrated the winter solstice,
when the days again begin to lengthen and the sun begins to climb
higher in the sky.
The traditional customs connected with Christmas have accordingly developed from several sources as a result of the coincidence of the celebration of
the birth of Christ with the pagan agricultural and solar observances
at midwinter. In the Roman world the Saturnalia (December 17) was a
time of merrymaking and exchange of gifts.
December 25 was also regarded as the birth date of the Iranian mystery
god Mithra,
the Sun of Righteousness. On the Roman New Year (January 1), houses
were decorated with greenery and lights, and gifts were given to
children and the poor. To these observances were added the German and
Celtic Yule rites when the Teutonic tribes penetrated into Gaul,
Britain, and central Europe. Food and good fellowship, the Yule log
and Yule cakes, greenery and fir trees, and gifts and greetings all
commemorated different aspects of this festive season.
Fires and lights, symbols of warmth and lasting life, have always been
associated with the winter festival of the pagans. In other words
Christmas is the Pagan Mid-winter festival which in India is called
the Makara Sankranti which also falls during this time. It may also be
noted that Hindu Makara Sankranti used to fall on 1st Januaray before
Pope Gregory XIII introduced the present Gregorian calendar in 1584 by
skipping 11 days and later in a day each was eliminated in 1700, 1800
and 1900. This resulted in Makara Sankranti falling on 1st January
every year to be shifted to 14th January as is seen today. Similarly
the Hindu Solar New Year which used to fall on 1st April before 1584
got shifted to 14th April as is seen today. Thus the Hindu Makara
Sankranti and Hindu Solar New Year Days were also festival days in
Europe till recently.
Easter another Pagan Festival:
Easter is the principal festival of the Christian church, celebrating
the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his
Crucifixion. Britanicca Encyclopaedia 2002 Deluxe Edition says, "The
English name Easter is of uncertain origin; the Anglo-Saxon priest
Venerable Bede in the 8th century derived it from the Anglo-Saxon
spring goddess Eostre."
But many practices associated with Easter festival go to prove more
connections with Pagan beliefs. Millions of eggs and egg-shaped
replicas are being bought, decorated, given as gifts and happily eaten
every Easter. Why the egg? To understand the egg's prominent place in
Easter celebrations we need to go far back in history to the origins
of the festival. The name Easter is derived from
Eostre, the ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility whose
rebirth after the dark northern winter was heralded by feasting,
bon-fires and various rituals involving the egg. The Anglo-Saxons
believed Eostre was reincarnated in the form of a hare, since it was
widely believed that when hunted, the hare would sacrifice itself so
its offspring could escape. The cute little Easter bunny that today
pops up on greetings cards or in chocolate shops is a survivor of
those beliefs.
In former Yugoslavia, children still design nests for hares in their
gardens and next
morning find brightly painted eggs deposited there. In Germany and
Hungary children carry baskets decorated with painted hares, in which
they collect chocolate eggs and other small gifts on Easter Sundays.
While the Anglo-Saxons were wrong in assuming hares hatched from eggs,
they were right in associating eggs with Spring renewal. Spring
Festival Celebrations around the World The rebirth of a spring deity
has been celebrated through rituals and feasting not only by
Anglo-Saxons but by other cultures all around the world.
Hindus have been celebrating this festival as Chaitra Varsha Pratipada
or Yugadi or Cheti Chand or Gudipadwa since times immemorial. This is followed by
eight days of fasting for Goddess Parvati. This is followed by
feasting for Rama Nawami, the birth of Lord Ram of Ayodhya.
The ancient Egyptians marked the rebirth of the God Osiris with eight days of
celebrations. It is from these celebrations that we get the eight days
of Easter, known as Holy Week, which begins on Palm Sunday and
finishes on Easter Sunday. In ancient Rome, an annual festival was
held for the rebirth of the God Attis, whose return was celebrated
with banqueting, processions and sporting events. This festival was
held just after the spring equinox, and it is from here that we derive
the date of Easter, which always falls on the first Sunday after the
first full moon following the spring equinox. This means Easter can
fall any time between March 21 and April 25. In China people were
offering each other painted red eggs during the Ching Ming (Pure
Brightness) festival as far back as 3,000 years ago. Central to all
ancient spring festivals are huge feasts celebrating the fact that the
spring was a return to abundance after long, lean winters without
fresh food.
Venerable Mother Mary
The concept of Mother Mary has also been taken from another source. Around 11th
and 12th century AD many nomadic tribes from Rajasthan and Sind in
north India were tortured and harassed by the invading Muslims from
Arabia and they migrated to Europe by land route.
In Europe they are called GYPSIES. They were worshippers of Mother
Parvati (a female deity still popular among Hindus in India). When
they were travelling through coastal France, the local inhabitants
sought their help in overcoming the loss of lives and property due to
continuous flooding. The Gypsies kept their deity Mother Parvati in
the local church and offered prayers. To the great surprise of all,
the sea waters receded giving much relief to the local people. They
then requested the Gypsies to leave their female deity so that the sea
may not disturb them again.
Thus Mother Parvati of the Gypsies or Hindus came to be worshipped in
the churches of Europe who gave the name of Mother Mary to it.
Source: Proceedings of the First International Conference and
Gathering of Elders
http://www.iccsus.org/IstConf/215.html (Feb. 2004)
other Christian traditions by Ravi Kumar, Australia
Christmas, the birthday of Christ, is perhaps the most widely known
festival in the world. But not many know that it is pre-Christian in
its origin. One may wonder how the birth and the death of Christ can
be of pre-Christian origin!! In fact the birth of Christ is shrouded
in one more mystery.
Jesus of Nazareth was born four to eight years before he was 'born.'
(His birth was in the reign of Herod, who died in 4 B.C., four years
'before Christ.')
In 534 A.D., the first man who calculated the year of Jesus' birth
made a mistake and we've been stuck with it ever since. [Source: Isaac
Asimov's Book of Facts] Rob from Kearns, Utah (31 March 1999)
Connections between Pre-Christian Pagans and Hindus:
Pre-Christian Pagans in Europe had many things in common with ancient Hindus in
India - 7 days in a week, worship of Sun-God, Spring Festival,
reincarnation, cremating the dead and immortality of the soul. The
heroes who died in the Trojan war were cremated in a manner similar to
those in India. Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagorus in 500
BC studied in Takshashila University in North India and learnt
Mathematics (famous Pythogorus Theorem is from Bodhayana Sutra of the
Vedic Period), Medicine and Transmigration of the soul. This is called
the Pythogorean School of Thought.
Christmas is Mid-winter Festival of the Pagan Europeans:
Now the Roman records do not throw any light on the life of Jesus Christ and the
mystery starts from whether Jesus was a historical figure. But the
world celebrates December 25th as Jesus Christ's birthday. Santa Claus comes on a sledge driven by a reindeer and distributes sweets and plays with
children throwing snow on them. Jesus was born at Bethlehem and lived
in Palestine all through as recorded in the Bible. But snow games,
sledge and reindeer are unheard of things in Palestine. Obviously
Santa Claus and December 25th celebrations have their origin in
Pre-Christian Europe and not in Arabia or Israel or Palestine.
According to Britanica Encyclopaedia, "the reason why Christmas came
to be celebrated on December 25 remains uncertain, but most probably
the reason is that early Christians wished the date to coincide with
the pagan Roman festival marking the "birthday of the unconquered sun"
(natalis solis invicti). This festival celebrated the winter solstice,
when the days again begin to lengthen and the sun begins to climb
higher in the sky.
The traditional customs connected with Christmas have accordingly developed from several sources as a result of the coincidence of the celebration of
the birth of Christ with the pagan agricultural and solar observances
at midwinter. In the Roman world the Saturnalia (December 17) was a
time of merrymaking and exchange of gifts.
December 25 was also regarded as the birth date of the Iranian mystery
god Mithra,
the Sun of Righteousness. On the Roman New Year (January 1), houses
were decorated with greenery and lights, and gifts were given to
children and the poor. To these observances were added the German and
Celtic Yule rites when the Teutonic tribes penetrated into Gaul,
Britain, and central Europe. Food and good fellowship, the Yule log
and Yule cakes, greenery and fir trees, and gifts and greetings all
commemorated different aspects of this festive season.
Fires and lights, symbols of warmth and lasting life, have always been
associated with the winter festival of the pagans. In other words
Christmas is the Pagan Mid-winter festival which in India is called
the Makara Sankranti which also falls during this time. It may also be
noted that Hindu Makara Sankranti used to fall on 1st Januaray before
Pope Gregory XIII introduced the present Gregorian calendar in 1584 by
skipping 11 days and later in a day each was eliminated in 1700, 1800
and 1900. This resulted in Makara Sankranti falling on 1st January
every year to be shifted to 14th January as is seen today. Similarly
the Hindu Solar New Year which used to fall on 1st April before 1584
got shifted to 14th April as is seen today. Thus the Hindu Makara
Sankranti and Hindu Solar New Year Days were also festival days in
Europe till recently.
Easter another Pagan Festival:
Easter is the principal festival of the Christian church, celebrating
the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his
Crucifixion. Britanicca Encyclopaedia 2002 Deluxe Edition says, "The
English name Easter is of uncertain origin; the Anglo-Saxon priest
Venerable Bede in the 8th century derived it from the Anglo-Saxon
spring goddess Eostre."
But many practices associated with Easter festival go to prove more
connections with Pagan beliefs. Millions of eggs and egg-shaped
replicas are being bought, decorated, given as gifts and happily eaten
every Easter. Why the egg? To understand the egg's prominent place in
Easter celebrations we need to go far back in history to the origins
of the festival. The name Easter is derived from
Eostre, the ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility whose
rebirth after the dark northern winter was heralded by feasting,
bon-fires and various rituals involving the egg. The Anglo-Saxons
believed Eostre was reincarnated in the form of a hare, since it was
widely believed that when hunted, the hare would sacrifice itself so
its offspring could escape. The cute little Easter bunny that today
pops up on greetings cards or in chocolate shops is a survivor of
those beliefs.
In former Yugoslavia, children still design nests for hares in their
gardens and next
morning find brightly painted eggs deposited there. In Germany and
Hungary children carry baskets decorated with painted hares, in which
they collect chocolate eggs and other small gifts on Easter Sundays.
While the Anglo-Saxons were wrong in assuming hares hatched from eggs,
they were right in associating eggs with Spring renewal. Spring
Festival Celebrations around the World The rebirth of a spring deity
has been celebrated through rituals and feasting not only by
Anglo-Saxons but by other cultures all around the world.
Hindus have been celebrating this festival as Chaitra Varsha Pratipada
or Yugadi or Cheti Chand or Gudipadwa since times immemorial. This is followed by
eight days of fasting for Goddess Parvati. This is followed by
feasting for Rama Nawami, the birth of Lord Ram of Ayodhya.
The ancient Egyptians marked the rebirth of the God Osiris with eight days of
celebrations. It is from these celebrations that we get the eight days
of Easter, known as Holy Week, which begins on Palm Sunday and
finishes on Easter Sunday. In ancient Rome, an annual festival was
held for the rebirth of the God Attis, whose return was celebrated
with banqueting, processions and sporting events. This festival was
held just after the spring equinox, and it is from here that we derive
the date of Easter, which always falls on the first Sunday after the
first full moon following the spring equinox. This means Easter can
fall any time between March 21 and April 25. In China people were
offering each other painted red eggs during the Ching Ming (Pure
Brightness) festival as far back as 3,000 years ago. Central to all
ancient spring festivals are huge feasts celebrating the fact that the
spring was a return to abundance after long, lean winters without
fresh food.
Venerable Mother Mary
The concept of Mother Mary has also been taken from another source. Around 11th
and 12th century AD many nomadic tribes from Rajasthan and Sind in
north India were tortured and harassed by the invading Muslims from
Arabia and they migrated to Europe by land route.
In Europe they are called GYPSIES. They were worshippers of Mother
Parvati (a female deity still popular among Hindus in India). When
they were travelling through coastal France, the local inhabitants
sought their help in overcoming the loss of lives and property due to
continuous flooding. The Gypsies kept their deity Mother Parvati in
the local church and offered prayers. To the great surprise of all,
the sea waters receded giving much relief to the local people. They
then requested the Gypsies to leave their female deity so that the sea
may not disturb them again.
Thus Mother Parvati of the Gypsies or Hindus came to be worshipped in
the churches of Europe who gave the name of Mother Mary to it.
Source: Proceedings of the First International Conference and
Gathering of Elders
http://www.iccsus.org/IstConf/215.html (Feb. 2004)