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 25th 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
