Rules for celebrating a 'Christian' Christmas.
1)
Do not celebrate on Dec. 25th. – Prior to the 4th Century CE, the birth of Christ was celebrated either in the springtime or on the Epiphany (Jan 6th). The Romans co-opted the Pagan Winter Solstice festival in order to swell the numbers of the new Church.
Additionally, December 25th comes on the 8th day of Saturnalia, or the Pagan Winter Solstice festival. One of the pagan deities honored during this festival was Mithra. Mithra, by the way, was born on December 25, of a virgin. His birth was witnessed by shepherds and magicians
. Mithra raised the dead and healed the sick and cast out demons. He returned to heaven at the spring equinox and before doing so had a last supper with his 12 disciples (representing the 12 signs of the zodiac), eating mizd, a piece of bread marked with a cross (an almost universal symbol of the sun).
Early Americans did not even celebrate Christmas. The Puritans banned Christmas altogether and during the Cromwellian period in England, anyone celebrating Christmas was jailed for heresy.
In America, Christmas was generally outlawed until the end of the last century. In Boston, up to 1870, anyone missing work on Christmas Day would be fired. Factory owners customarily required employees to come to work at 5 a.m. on Christmas -- to insure they wouldn't have time to go to church that day. And any student who failed to go to school on December 25 would be expelled. Only the arrival of large numbers of Irish and northern European immigrants brought acceptance of Christmas in this country. (Davis, Rel (Rev.): "St. Nick, Old Nick and the Good God Thor"
2) Do not put up a “Christmas” Tree - The idea of decorating trees at the time of the Winter Solstice was at one time highly frowned upon by the Christians as a pagan activity. The early Roman households would decorate trees during the Calends of January, to celebrate the New Year.
3) Do not kiss under the mistletoe. - Mistletoe is an old Celtic symbol of regeneration and eternal life. The Romans valued it as a symbol of peace and this eventually led to its usage as one of the common symbols of Christmas. Kissing under mistletoe was a Roman custom, due to its' being regarded as a symbol of fertility.
4) Do not bring up ‘Santa’. - Vestiges of fire Holly King can be seen in our modern Santa Claus, who also wears red, dons a spring of holly in his hat, lives but one night a year, and drives a team of eight deer. Santa has Eight Reindeer. Reindeer are symbolic of the Pagan Stag god. The number 8 is the number for a new beginning, and, when laid on its side, is the occultic symbol for Infinity.
5) Do not shop at stores that wish you ‘Merry Christmas’. – This promotes commercialization of the birth of Christ. We all remember what Jesus did to the moneychangers in the Temple!
6) Do not give gifts. - The celebration of Saturnalia was a new year's festival of Pagan Rome where gifts were given in honor of loved ones who had died during the previous year. Early Roman explorers brought this tradition to Ireland where it remained as part of the Yule celebration.
In fact, according to the Bible, God specifically forbids his people from celebrating what we now know as Christmas. In Jeremiah 10:1-4, we read:
"Hear ye the word, which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
"Thus saith the Lord, “Learn NOT the way of the heathen, and be NOT dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the heathen are dismayed at them.”
"For the customs of the people are futile: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
They decorate it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not."
(Authors Note – This was created with a substantial dose of sarcasm. The intended lesson is to point out how ridiculous this whole ‘War on Christmas’ is when you look at the Christmas celebration in its historical context. On that note, I would like to take this moment to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Kwaanza, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year. May you and your families enjoy the peace of the season, enjoy each others company, and remember that love truly makes the world go around.)
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