The Truth About Christmas

 

How would you feel if you were to find out that some of the most important people in your life had lied to you? I am sure you would be very upset possibly even angry. You may even find that you could no longer trust them. Am I right?

The pain and disappointment are felt even worse when we learn it from our own parents or adults we have looked up to our entire lives. We as parents have a right to teach and instill in our children the basic need to search for “TRUTH” in all aspects of life.

We cannot allow ourselves nor our children, whom we are responsible for sending out into the world later, to be brain-washed or just be lazy and believe whatever is thrown our way.

Sadly the majority of the world is lazy and does not want to seek out the truth of anything, especially in regards celebrations and entertainment. Because once the truth is made known to them, they will either find that it put a ‘damper’ on the whole subject or they dismiss the truth altogether for selfish reasons.

The bottom line is that the truth is the truth and as President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated “Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.” With that being said, you can celebrate Christmas all you want, it does not make it right. You can say its for Jesus all you want, but the origins have absolutely nothing to do with Jesus. This blog is to reveal the truth about Christmas and then you can make your own educated decision based on the facts.

When many look to origins of certain words, language and even rituals or holidays they often look to the Romans, Greeks, Egyptians and even the Druids and Celts. But what strikes me as odd is that they were not the original civilizations, ancient Babylon was. They were the original world empire that actually taught the Romans, Egyptians, Sumerians, Greeks and all the other small tribes of people their culture and religion. It was ancient Mesopotamian beliefs and cultures that transformed the very civilizations we know today in Roman, Greek and Egyptian history.

Perhaps in another article I will explain further on that subject, but back to the Christmas link we find that according to Babylonian belief, December was a time of the year that the queen goddess was worshiped in honor of the birth of her son. The Romans adopted this ritual and used the name “Christ” as the son of the queen to appease the Christians to draw them into conforming to the newly established Catholic Church and it kept the pagan ritual of “Mother-son worship” in line. You see, “Mother-son worship” has been going on way before Jesus was even born, so if you think Christmas is about Jesus you are mistaken.

Gifts-

During the pagan Saturnalia and Matronalia ceremonial celebrations gifts were given to one another. Even in Egypt this was the same time that they worshiped Isis’ birth in the winter time. (Isis and Osiris also originate from Babylon and the “Mother-son worship” as Isis was known as the mother, while Osiris was her son and also her husband).

Christmas Trees- 

In Rome and Egypt, Christmas trees or celebratory trees were common. However, in Egypt the tree was a palm tree and Rome used fir trees. Palm tree worship was a ritualistic worship to the pagan Babylonian god Baal-Tamar. While the fir tree was for the pagan god Baal-Berith.

Mistletoe- 

The Druids derived their pagan superstitions from ancient Babylon as well. Mistletoe was considered the “man branch” that was considered a divine branch that grew from nothing onto a tree. We all know now that mistletoe is a form of fungus that grows on certain trees, however the Druids believed in their superstitions that it was a branch from Heaven and thus they later referred to the mistletoe to being from their messiah. 

Christmas Goose or Boar’s Head- 

In England that is a standard dish during the Christmas season, however during the time of the year the Egyptians, Romans and even the Saxons used these animals as a sacrifice to their pagan gods.

Yule Day-

In ancient Babylon the Chaldean word for “yule” means “infant” and the date of December 25^th was considered “Yule Day”. The night after “Yule Day” was considered “Mother Night.” Remember, this was long before Jesus or Mary was ever born, this is not referring to Jesus in any way. 

Many other groups of peoples such as the Sabeans of Arabia and the Saxons believe December to be the “birth month” of the Sun Goddess, or “Goddess Mother” while others believe that it was the birth month of the Moon, who was considered a male. Always the male deity would be referred to as a “son” and the woman as the “mother”.

In “The Trouble With Christmas”, author Tom Flynn explains that the conclusions he reached after years spent researching Christmas was far from Christian.

"One of the great ironies of Christmas is how little of its content is truly Christian. Once we dispose of the pre-Christian elements, most of what remains is post-Christian, rather than authentically Christian, in origin."—Page 155.

The Encyclopedia Americana says: "Most of the customs now associated with Christmas were not originally Christmas customs but rather were pre-Christian and non-Christian customs taken up by the Christian church.”

Jesus, the Nativity and Mary- 

According to a Catholic Newspaper,"The real date of Jesus’ birth, from the historical viewpoint, lies concealed beneath a veil of uncertainty as regards Roman history, the imperial census of that time and research in the subsequent centuries. . . . The date of 25 December, as is well known, was chosen by the Church of Rome in the fourth century. This date in pagan Rome was dedicated to the Sun god . . . Although Christianity had already been affirmed in Rome by an Edict of Constantine, the myth of . . . the Sun god was still widespread, especially among soldiers. The above-mentioned festivities, centered on 25 December, were deeply rooted in popular tradition. This gave the Church of Rome the idea of impressing a Christian religious significance on the day by replacing the Sun god with the true Sun of Justice, Jesus Christ, choosing it as the day on which to celebrate his birth.”

Christmas or the Nativity, was not celebrated by early Christians. One encyclopedia says about this: "The celebration was not observed in the first centuries of the Christian church, since the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth.” 

It is a fact that Jesus could not have been born in December as the region of Bethlehem was very cold and shepherds would not be out in the fields with their flocks. As many know that the reason that Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem was for the Census. This fact and the fact that the shepherds** were out doors with their flocks at night left even the most revered Bible Scholars to conclude that Jesus could not have been born in December. Even Caesar himself would not have forced the Jews to trek to their home cities during cold and rainy seasons which would have resulted in further enraging this group of people.

So in my conclusion, I believe I have outlined many of the pagan origins of what many believe to be a Christian holiday. You may choose to ignore what I have placed before your eyes, and you may actually listen to what I have to say. The best part of being a human being is that you may believe what you wish. After all, we do have free will. The truth isn’t always easy to swallow, but it is there and most of the time its hidden in plain sight. You just have to be willing and open minded enough to see it.-

(footnote: **Luke 2:8 “There were also in that same country shepherds living out of doors and keeping watches in the night over their flocks.”)

J'aime Rubio (2011 Copyright)

Sources:

Encyclopedia Americana

Catholic Newspaper

Two Babylons- Alexander Hislop

Christmas Customs- Are they Christian?- Magazine Article

The Trouble With Christmas- Tom Flynn

Wikipedia