Where do you suppose Christmas originated?

you are correct in much that you say, I have been saying that here well before the “Christmas” season. There is one area where I think you are mistaken, that is, the origins of the name “Christmas“:

“And, in keeping with their penchant for mixing and matching heathen and Christian names and concepts, that holiday came to be known as the Christ-mass. The English word “mass” is derived from the Latin “masse,” which is derived from the Greek “maza,” which were small, round barley cakes baked to honor Semirimus as the “queen of heaven.” That name was carried into the Catholic worship service, with its veneration of Mary as “queen of Heaven.” So, when the Mass was performed to honor her child, it was designated the yearly “Christ-mass.””

(http://www.salvationbygrace.org/default.aspx)

I know about the date of Saturnalia and frankly IMHO since the pagans had a different feast with each season it would be hard not to find a date that is not near a pagan feast. The date of Christ’s birth is not stated in the bible only that it happened. The orthodox catholic church (my term for the unified early church) had the following choices- 1. Not mark the date- since the incarnation is important to orthodox theology this was not an option. 2. pick a date based on the habits of mideastern Shepperds this could cause some problems. If it is to close to other feasts 3. put it some random date as part of a liturgical cycle where the feast of the Resurrection (pascha easter) in the spring followed by the feast of Pentecost could be placed some sunday near the Jewish passover and the feast of the nativity and baptism of christ would be place some were far enough that the birth of Christ would be the focus of one part of the year and hisdeath and resurection another. The original Christian new year was september 1 which is near Rosh hashanah

Peoples of ancient European civilizations observed how the sun appeared to stand still in mid-winter near the southern horizon before slowly regaining height in the sky. This winter solstice (a word derived from Latin words for “sun” and “stand still”) was, according to the Julian calendar, originally dated December 25. These same people found it easy to draw an analogy between the sun and God as the Source and Sustainer of life. In 274 C.E., the Roman emperor declared Sol invictus (unconquered sun) the principal patron of the empire, and this on December 25, thus honoring Mithras, god of light.

About the emergence of Christendom as a new imperial religion, Murray writes: “After much uncertainty, victory would go to [Mithraism’s] main rival, Christianity. But around the year 300 this rival still had to be diplomatic. It was then that the church decided to create a feast for Christ’s birth (Latin: nativitas). (No such feast is included in lists of feasts from the third century, and the new feast is first recorded in a document of 336.)” What date was chosen for this celebration? December 25, the result of “a shrewd and practical decision on the part of the early church fathers,” according to the book Discovering Christmas Customs and Folklore. Why so?

Mid-winter was already well-established as a season of merrymaking with the seven-day Roman agricultural festival of fire and light, Saturnalia. Then there was Calends, a three-day feast to celebrate the appointment of Roman administrative officials who served for one year from the first, or calends, of January. Thus, with Saturnalia, Calends, and the Mithraic birthday of the unconquered sun falling within so short a period each year, December 25 became the chosen date for the celebration of “Christ’s Mass” in an appeal to pagan peoples to convert to the Roman Empire’s new state religion.

As time went by, the heathen Germanic mid-winter feast, Yule, reinforced the customs of banqueting and merrymaking, as well as the giving of gifts. Tapers (or, candles), logs, evergreen decorations, and trees became prominent in Christmas celebrations.

Not just Christmas but also Easter, what do bunnies and eggs have to do with the death of Jesus? What do trees and mistletoe have to do with the birth of Jesus? Heck Christmas Day was decided by the council on Nicea by Constantine, who refused to convert to his religion he created until his deathbed. To early Christians the birth of Jesus meant absolutely nothing because it was his death that mattered. They just needed some way to get the Pagans, which means Country folks, to convert over that’s why they made many of pagan gods into Saints.

The word “Christmas” is most correctly translated as “The Anointed One (Messiah) goes forth”.

Christmas actually originated much closer to the end of the 5th century, when the world had descended into darkness as a result of the fall of Rome, and people everywhere were wondering if all the remnants of western civilization (and Christianity) might also soon disappear.

The Catholic Chuch decided it would be good to officially remember the true story of how God arranged things to send his son into the world to save us, and the original story had nothing to do with the three wise men.

Here it is … the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, According to the Flesh (from the Roman Martyrology – 600 AD)

And it’s BEAUTIFUL!

The twenty-fifth day of December.

In the five thousand one hundred and ninety-ninth year of the creation of the world

from the time when God in the beginning created the heavens and the earth;

the two thousand nine hundred and fifty-seventh year after the flood;

the two thousand and fifteenth year from the birth of Abraham;

the one thousand five hundred and tenth year from Moses

and the going forth of the people of Israel from Egypt;

the one thousand and thirty-second year from David’s being anointed king;

in the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel;

in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad;

the seven hundred and fifty-second year from the foundation of the city of Rome;

the forty second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus;

the whole world being at peace,

in the sixth age of the world,

Jesus Christ the eternal God and Son of the eternal Father,

desiring to sanctify the world by his most merciful coming,

being conceived by the Holy Spirit,

and nine months having passed since his conception,

was born in Bethlehem of Judea of the Virgin Mary,

being made flesh.

Lighten up, Scrooge!

Have you just discovered that most of your Christianity is of pagan origin? From the cross, virgin born savior, blood sacrifice, celebrations during the winter and spring that are taken directly from pagan holidays, communion, the Golden Rule, flood myths…… it’s ALL pagan, darling.

You tell em girl!!! Keep your Jesus out of my pagan holidays!!!!

Seriously, I find it highly ironic that the Bible actually talks about the tree being the way of the heathen – and yet Christians embrace it as their own…

In paganism. But you will have a hard time convincing people of that.

What kind of question is that? Christianity has always been around, since God created the world. Since Adam and Eve! Read the book of Genesis.

If your saying which COUNTRY it originated from as funny as it sounds I will say Turkey as saint Nicholas was born in TARSUS in TURKEY which is where I’m from Tarsus, so that must be where it originates from.