Taking Back Christmas

Gary Davison

Christmas originated from early Christians calculating the date of Jesus' birth, not from co-opting pagan festivals. Evidence suggests the December 25th date was set before later pagan festivals adopted it; alleged pagan origins like Saturnalia, Tammuz, Mithras, and Yule lack credible evidence of predating or influencing Christmas celebrations.

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Taking Back Christmas

Gary Davison

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Community Discussion

Thanks for this. I agree we should claim Christmas for ourselves and use it to witness to its true meaning. There is similarly a common idea that the name Easter comes from a pagan goddess Eostre, but the evidence for this is thin, and I think it more likely comes form the word "east" or "dawn" (the sun rises in the east) - the rebirth of light and life (cf. German Ostern).

- David

Thanks for your comment, I must admit I've not yet done any serious research about Easter, perhaps that should be a future project!

- Gary Davison