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Christian holidays, confusion or paganism?
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Jeremiah 10 2-4: 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 of them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They deck it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers, that it move not.
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Many Christians are being led by man made laws and regulations as Dr. McLuhan calls it: …series of “do’s and don’ts” that have been set up by religious and sectarian leaders and which are purely legalistic, becoming the basis of judgment of each other…
A few of the do’s can be considered nicer than others. Like the celebrations of Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and others.
On this page we challenge the celebrations of Christmas and Eastern, the two most important events in the Christian year. Events that have no reference in the Bible, the only true Word of God, and that have just been invented in the years after the death of the Lord at the cross, to keep the flock happy. The candy that church leaders offer in compensation for all the other hardship they put you through.
We want to make sure, however, that we certainly do not and never will challenge neither the birth in the flesh, or the dying at the cross, or the resurrection, of the Lord Jesus Christ. Anyone who feels in his or her personal way of devotion and worshipping that it is appropriate to celebrate / memorize these days in any form and in the Spirit of the Faith, please do so. This page is merely meant to show that the obligation to celebrate these days on the given dates and in the given form with the well known attributes is based on false doctrines, developed to become events that are so closely linked to and based on pagan festivities that one could wonder if celebrating these events is not Satan's way of pushing mankind unknowingly towards that one unpardonable sin: idolatry blasphemy of the Spirit. At the end of this page a series of websites will be mentioned that had content that contributed to the information we used on this page. Some are Christian, some are not. Many have so much content that it just was impossible to combine everything here on this page, so have a look for yourself.
The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years and many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals(parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamian celebration of New Years. The Mesopotamians believed in many Gods, and as their chief God - Marduk. Each year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monsters of chaos. To assist Marduk in his struggle the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year. This was Zagmuk, the New Year's festival that lasted for 12 days, which we now celebrate as Christmas.
The Mesopotamian king would return to the temple of Marduk and swear his faithfulness to the God. The traditions called for the king to die at the end of the year and to return with Marduk to battle at his side. To spare their king, the Mesopotamians used the idea of a "mock" king. A criminal was chosen and dressed in royal clothes. He was given all the respect and privileges of a real king. At the end of the celebration the "mock" king was stripped of the royal clothes and slain, sparing the life of the real king.
Christmas and the Nordic Yule both celebrate the birth of God's son and also these holidays have many of the same customs. Of course, as with anything there are differences. For example, as written by the Anglo-Saxon chronicler Bede, the first night of the fest was entitled "Mothernights" and dedicated to Frigga and the disir (fore-mothers). This implies that the celebration of the goddess was every bit as important as the celebration of the return of the god.
However, the similarities are so strong that Martin Luther and John Calvin both hated the celebration and spoke out strongly against Yule is the holiday dedicated to the birth of the Sun god, who is the son of the god who died the year before. For those who followed the old Germanic ways, Yule is the most important holiday of the year, possibly the time when the deities are closest to Midgard (which sounds like central garden, the middle world where humans live). The Germanic gods are referred to as the "Yule Beings," and Odin himself is titled, "Jolnir," or "Yule-One." Like the Celtic feats of Samhain, the time when the dead are free to pay visits and when magic beings such as elves and trolls are thought to run free.
December was actually a very busy month in the Northern Hemisphere. The shortest day / longest night, the cold middle of winter, the lack of sunshine caused fear and unhappiness for thousands of years already and the only way to forgo these troubled times was to get together and party. Make noise and light. Celebrating some godly reason one way or another. And apart from that, the end of December was a perfect time for celebration in most areas of Europe for practical reasons. At that time of year, most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter. So, for many, it was the only time of year when they had a supply of fresh meat. In addition, most wine and beer, made during the year, was finally fermented and ready for drinking.
In Rome, where winters were not as harsh as those in the far north, Saturnalia – a holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture – was celebrated. Beginning in the week leading up to the winter solstice and continuing for a full month, Saturnalia was a hedonistic time, when food and drink were plentiful and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down. For a month, slaves would become masters. Peasants were in command of the city. Business and schools were closed so that everyone could join in the fun. There were street celebrations and feasting. Homes were decorated with greenery and strands of lights abound. Also popular was the exchange of small gifts thought to bring luck on the recipient. Doesn’t that ring a bell?
Also around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition, members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra's birthday was the most sacred day of the year.
Theologians and historians have not been able to define the date of birth of the Lord. Based on numerous methods dates like 20 May, 25 March, 22 February, 5 January are all mentioned, including to other references looking at October. There is not even agreement on the year and although the vast majority agrees on Jesus’ age being 33 at His death, some evidence is given that He was only 28. The Italian scholar Faenza said in 1785, "There is no month of the year to which respectable authorities have not assigned to Christ Jesus birth."
Pentecostal Jews in the first to the fourth century ignored X-mas, because on December 25th also Iran worshipped its mystery goddess, Mithra. Thus Chanukah the "feast of lights" Yule log, the candles, the Holly, even the Christmas tree are pagan traditions with no direct connection to the birth of Jesus. Notwithstanding all this confusion and these contradictions Catholic pope Liberius (352-66) made December 25th the official date of Christmas. This was done in a period full of Catholic turmoil, with war messengers coming and going and the emperor banning this pope in 357 for a number of years. Also Natalis Invicti, a Roman Catholic cult of sun worshippers, in the 3rd. century A.D., were the first to celebrate December 25th as Christ Jesus birthday.
It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival. First called the Feast of the Nativity, the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century. By the end of the eighth century, the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia. By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced, but gave up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated. By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the most part, replaced pagan religion. On Christmas, believers attended church, then celebrated raucously in a drunken, unrestrained carnival-like atmosphere similar to today's Mardi Gras with behavior that would be shocking today with rowdiness and urban gang violence and Christmas-season riots. In 1640 A.D. London mobs abuse merchants who remain open on Christmas day.
When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday. The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.
In 1712 Cotton Mather said it was time spent in reveling, dicing, carding, and in all licentious liberty --- by mad mirth, by long eating, by hard drinking, by lewd gaming, by rude reveling. In 1725 Reverend Henry Bourne called the way most people behaved during the Christmas season "a scandal to religion and an encouraging of wickedness." In 1728 merchants were drumming up business for jewelry, swords, guns, cards, this sounds like today. One evil seasonal practice was "mumming" the singing of Christmas carols with begging for money.
Yearly the Devil plays upon human sentimentally by making X-mas music sweet, comical, and palatable, and entertaining to children and adults. It also involved "a changing of clothes between men and women" that ended in fornication, etc.
In 1822 public schools were open; courts were in session, even in 1952 if people came to work late on Christmas day they were fired. It was a day of excessive eating and drinking, aggressive begging (getting presents,) etc. In 1830 Santa Clause was the popular Christmas figure, not Jesus, department stores dressed up windows to attract people to spend money.
After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America's new constitution. Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870. Americans re-invented Christmas, and changed it from a raucous carnival holiday into a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia. But what about the 1800s peaked American interest in the holiday?
The early 19th century was a period of class conflict and turmoil. During this time, unemployment was high and gang rioting by the disenchanted classes often occurred during the Christmas season. In 1828, the New York city council instituted the city's first police force in response to a Christmas riot. This catalyzed certain members of the upper classes to begin to change the way Christmas was celebrated in America.
The main influence came from two famous writers. In 1819, best-selling author Washington Irving wrote “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent.”, a series of stories about the celebration of Christmas in an English manor house. Also around this time, English author Charles Dickens created “A Christmas Carol”. The story's message – the importance of charity and good will towards all humankind – struck a powerful chord in the United States and England and showed members of Victorian society the benefits of celebrating the holiday. In the next 100 years, Americans built a Christmas tradition all their own that included pieces of many other customs, including decorating trees, sending holiday cards, and gift-giving. Although most families quickly bought in to the idea that they were celebrating Christmas how it had been done for centuries.
At that stage, Americans had really re-invented a holiday to fill the cultural needs of a growing nation. But if Christmas is the birthday of Jesus why do people buy and give each other gifts, do they claim to be Jesus? God did not ordain a special day in which to celebrate the birthday of his son, our Lord Christ Jesus and his followers should actually daily celebrate his new birth, his resurrection.
X-mas, or the "birthday of Christ Jesus" never has been listed among the earliest of Pentecostal Church festivals. Some of what is portrayed at X-mas may be good, but when mixed with ancient pagan customs it poisons mans intellect. Satan continually uses the spotless name of Christ Jesus as a smoke screen, in his annual presentation of the X-mas holiday.
If you must celebrate family gatherings, do it on a day other than December 25th, and without Christ Jesus and the X-mas tree as its focal point. Because the X-mas fallacy is so ingrown in American society, it is now impossible to eradicate it. In 1627, the Puritan Prynne wrote many tracts, much like the one you are now reading. Religious men hated his tracts and jailed him. Nominal preachers cut off his ears, branded both his cheeks with the letters S and L, then branded his forehead, and slit his nose. After release from prison he refused to pay taxes, and the stubs of his ears were shaved off. Jailed again, he wrote a tract against worldly preachers named, "Lords of Lucifer." Will you and your family suffer a little for the truth of God's word, neighbor, by rejecting X-mas?
Easter too has adapted many ancient pagan symbols and customs in its observance. I read someone stating:”The egg is one of the most notable symbols of Easter, but, as someone who was raised Catholic and who was never told exactly why we colored eggs at Easter, or why there was a bunny who delivered candy to us, or why it was traditional to buy new clothes to wear for church on Easter Sunday, I always wondered about this holiday.”
Most people know Easter as the most important festival of the Christian Church, commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Prior to A.D. 325, Easter was variously celebrated on different days of the week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, the Council of Nicaea was convened by Emperor Constantine. It issued the Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. However, a caveat must be introduced here. The "full moon" in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon, which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular lunation, where day 1 corresponds to the ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always occur on the same date as the astronomical full moon. The ecclesiastical "vernal equinox" is always on March 21. Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25.
The Friday before Easter Sunday is called Good Friday and is observed by Christians as a commemoration of Christ's crucifixion. The Thursday before Good Friday is called Maundy Thursday and Christians observe it as a commemoration of the Last Supper. In Sweden the whole Easter period, Good Friday (Långfredagen), Easter Saturday (Påskafton), Easter Sunday (Påskdagen) and Easter Monday (Annandag Påsk), is a public holiday, while Maundy Thursday (Skärtorsdagen) is a half-day. In Germany only Good Friday is added whilst in Belgium and in the Netherlands Easter Monday (Tweede Paasdag) makes sure a long weekend can be celebrated.
The controversy around Easter has two angles. First the link to the original pagan holidays celebrated in that period and secondly the contradiction with the Holy Scripture. I will first go into the Pagan origins of Easter and after that show where Christians (mainly Catholics) twisted the truth about the crucifixion and resurrection to keep Easter manageable.
Christmas still had a Christ-like name. Not so for Easter for which in the English language even a pagan name is pasted into the vocabulary. Although it is called Easter, the related English adjective is paschal, a word cognate with the words for Easter in other languages, such as Påsk (Swedish), páskar (Icelandic), Pasen (Dutch) and Pâques (French)? These words go back to Pesah, the Hebrew name of the eight-day Jewish festival also known as Passover in English, commemorating the passing over or sparing of the Israelites in Egypt.
But what does east really mean? East is the direction along a parallel towards the sunrise, making the word east synonymous with the rising of the sun. This synonymy can be confirmed by many words in non-Germanic Indo-European languages which are cognate with English east, all of which are synonymous with sunrise. A few examples of such words (I could give many more) are Greek Ηώς [Eos] (dawn), Sanskrit usās (dawn, morning), and Latin aurora (dawn), comparable to Latin oriens (rising) from which we derive orient, another word for east. This synonymy can even be found in many Indo-European words not cognate with English east, for example in Polish, in which there is only one word, wschód, for both east and sunrise and in various Germanic, Austro-Hungarian words for dawn that share the root for the word "aurora" which means " to shine".. The synonymy of east with sunrise is proven conclusively, and makes it unlikely that Easter was originally anything other than a celebration of sunrise. But since Easter was only celebrated once a year, it must have celebrated more than just any rising of the sun - something that occurs every day of the year (© 2003 Kola Krauze, below a link to his original article is provided)
The festival of Eastre was celebrated by the Pagans on the vernal equinox, the first day of spring. The Goddess was said to take the form of a Hare, so effigies of these animals were made to worship her, the origin of the good old Easter Bunny. The Goddess Eastre, the Teutonic Goddess of Fertility is in her aspect of mother to be. Her symbol is the egg, symbolizing fertility in nature and rebirth from the long winter months and the symbol of rebirth since ancient times. The Egyptians and Greeks would bury eggs in the tombs of the dead as a sign of resurrection, and the egg was especially important in the Pagan Eastre festival as a symbol of nature being reborn over again. Therefore, real eggs would be decorated and given as gifts on this day. The Goddess is fertile, rich with promise and potential life. (It is from the word "oestre" that we get the word "oestrogen" / "estrogen" - the female hormone). To the Saxons she was Ostara, in myth she is said to have amused children by turning her bird into a rabbit, the rabbit then laid colored eggs much to the delight of the children.
Eggs, bunnies, candy, Easter baskets, new clothes, all these "traditions" have their origin in practices which may have little or nothing to do with the Christian holiday. Many cultures have a strong tradition of egg coloring; among Greeks, eggs are traditionally dyed dark red and given as gifts. I also heard of types of egg hunts where the parents hid money inside colorful plastic eggs that could be opened and closed up again; some eggs contained pennies, some quarters and dimes and nickels, and some lucky kids would find a fifty-cent piece or silver dollar!
And the days before Easter? Some Witches believe that fasting at the Equinox is very healthy and magical: it clears away all the toxins stored over winter, when people eat heavier foods to keep warm, and can create an altered state of consciousness for doing Equinox magic. By eliminating all the "poisons" from diets for a few days (including sugar, caffeine, alcohol, red meats, dairy products, refined foods), and eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, not only a few pounds can be shed and the appearance of hair and skin can be improved, but also improve health over the long term. The overall benefit to health from an occasional cleansing fast would help strengthen the immune system, making your body more resistant to illness, and help feel more alert and energetic.
The Lenten Season (Lent) is the forty-six day period just prior to Easter Sunday. It begins on Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") is a celebration, sometimes called "Carnival," practiced around the world, on the Tuesday prior to Ash Wednesday. It was designed as a way to "get it all out" before the sacrifices of Lent began, the 40 (working) day period of the Catholic fasten. New Orleans is the focal point of Mardi Gras celebrations in the U.S. In many countries Carnival has bee extended to a long weekend partying, dressing up, drinking and fornicating starting already on the Friday night before fat Tuesday. By the way, Spring is called Lente in Dutch.
Easter was a good old Pagan festival that, like so many other Pagan feast days, was hijacked by a Christian church trying its best to market itself to the masses. When the Christians arrived on the scene and began moving amongst the Pagan settlements and trying to spread their religion, they soon realized that people simply weren't interested. Being a wily bunch, they often tried to win over the population by fiddling around with their own sacred days until they neatly coincided with a Pagan feast day. Habits coming from pagan traditions and twisted to fit so-called Christian doctrines that because of convenience now even are contradictory. And that brings us to the second controversy about Easter.
Many passages in the scripture refer to the resurrection. But when we look at Easter celebrations it we have to conclude that Easter Sunday in this form cannot commemorate the resurrection. And, that Jesus Christ did not die on Good Friday! Mark 8:31,"And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priest and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again ". Rise again after three days! Jesus did not say "After a day and a half". Jesus said, "After three days". However, if Jesus were crucified and buried late on Good Friday, then one day after would be Saturday evening, two days after would be Sunday evening and three days after would be Monday evening. But Jesus rose long before Monday evening. Either Jesus was not crucified on Good Friday, or he did not fulfill the prophecy. But it did happen and testimony was given of it like in the First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, chapter 15 verses 3-14 [3] For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; [4] and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
Jesus resurrected the third day, or as in other prophecies and scriptures, after three days and three nights. Jesus did fulfill his sign exactly. He is the Savior. Then he could not have been crucified on Good Friday!
But that is not all. Look at John 2:19-21,"Jesus answered and said to them, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" speaking of the Temple of his body. Jesus did not say it would occur in a day and a half. Not even in two and one half days, but in three days time: 72 hours. Three times 24 hour days after his death, he would be made alive again as immortal Spirit by resurrection. Jesus meant exactly what he said.
Jesus died some three hours before sunset on the day of the crucifixion (Luke 23:54). When the women came to the tomb early Sunday morning, Jesus had already risen. (Mark 16:6), The Angel said: "He is risen! He is not here". Of course, Jesus had been resurrected the previous evening. Jesus arose from the dead late Saturday afternoon. Three days before Saturday afternoon would place the crucifixion on Wednesday, the preparation day for the feast of unleavened bread. Thursday of that year must have been an annual Sabbath, the first annual Sabbath in the days of unleavened bread. We know that the Sabbath which followed the crucifixion was not necessarily the weekly Sabbath as John was inspired to call it a "high day" (John 19:31), which, according to Jewish usage, means an annual Sabbath that may occur any day during the week.
Mark picks up Johns account by adding that after that Sabbath, which was a high day, the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, the women bought sweet spices to use in anointing the body of Jesus (Mark 16:1). This purchasing of the spices could not have been on Thursday, the annual Sabbath and has been Friday. Having made their purchases, the women prepared these ointments and "Rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment". (Luke 23:56). This was the 7th day Sabbath upon which, near its close, Jesus was raised from the dead. The Bible proves that the resurrection was not on Sunday morning, the crucifixion was not on Friday and there were two separate Sabbaths that week, one annual Sabbath, the other a weekly Sabbath.
Also Mark 16:9. makes clear that the resurrection and departure of Jesus from the grave was not on a Sunday morning. In the original Greek the phrase "early on the first day of the Week" refers to the early part of the day. In those days the new day started at sunset as still is observed in the celebrations of the Jewish Sabbath. When the Bible speaks therefore of the early part of the day it means the evening of the previous day in our current way of counting time. Jesus had risen from the tomb the early evening before Sunday morning. That is, He was already risen Saturday night. That was three days and three nights after his burial and the closing of the tomb. We read in the RSV, which has the correct translation of Luke 23:54,"it was the day of preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. ". That is, it was very late on the preparation for the feast, or first annual Sabbath, and the new high day Sabbath had just begun as Joseph of Arimathea finished the burial.
According to the gospel records, Jesus was crucified on the Passover Day - Abib (or Nisan) 14 - immediately before the feast of unleavened bread. The Jews and Jesus and the apostles agreed as to which day it was and there is no question about the date. The Passover was the 14th day of the first month according to the sacred calendar used by Jesus and Jews. By that calendar we can know precisely that Jesus Christ was crucified in the afternoon of Wednesday, April 25th.
Yes, he was crucified, but, thankfully he was also resurrected three days later just as our Savior said he would be. According to the above in the early evening of Saturday, April 28th.
Most of the above biblical studies come from an article called “Good Friday/Easter Sunday” by Ray Wooten, which can be read at
unitedchristianministries.com . Thanks also to Kim Harrington of Masterbuilder Ministries and to Kola Krauze for permission to copy parts of his article. A link to the complete and original article and his weblog can be found below. Many of the Pagan historical data came from publications from Peg Aloi and from www.witchvox.com and www.pagannews.com.
It could be fairly said that Easter is one festival that was a victory for the Pagans. All down through the ages it has been the symbols of Eastre that have been exchanged as gifts at this time of year, from the fabulous bejeweled Faberge eggs of the Czars to the humble store-bought chocolate egg of today. It is Eastre whom we are worshipping when we give such gifts and Eastre we are worshipping when we bedeck our children in Easter rabbits.
Clearly enough we recommend other ways to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ! On April the 28th perhaps?
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JER 3:6.
Many unspoiled young women,
have lost their reputations
playing the harlot under a X-mas tree,
with it's colored and blinking lights.
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References:
Cyclopedia Of Biblical, Theological And Ecclesiastical Literature
The Encyclopedia Of Religion, Macmillian And Free Press
Strongs Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible
European Pentecostal Perspective, 1963
Observatore Romano, Schuster 1952
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Catholic Encyclopedia
Marginal Prynne, 1963
King James Holy Bible
The Nicene Fathers
Roman Almanac
Ray Wooten, United Christian Ministries
Kim Harrington, Masterbuilder Ministries
Kola Krauze at
www.modernvikings.com(by clicking on the name you are brought to the original article)
Peg Aloi, Books on Witchcraft & Magic
Extract from the "Nationalgeographic.com" by Lara Suziedelis Bogle
Hellquist, Elof 1922: Svensk etymologisk ordbok. Lund 1922
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