by Rachel Jonitis

Created on: July 29, 2009   Last Updated: August 02, 2009

The argument over whether Christmas is a Christian holiday or a Pagan holiday originally had been debated for years and years, and has recently become more popular since teenagers and loners have become more interested in witchcraft and the like. It is well known that a lot is still left over from the days when Paganism was common. For example, our present day calendar bases several of it's month names from Roman Gods. The names of the week are based upon the gods of paganism, and in the English language six of the days are named after the Germanic gods of the anglo-saxons.

Christmas, however, still remains an argument that Christians and others have been arguing over for quite some time now, so what is the truth about Christmas? Most Christians will tell you that Dec. 25th is the day that they celebrate the birth of christ, even though it is widely known that he was in fact born in springtime or sometime early fall, which would make Easter a more likely candidate for his birthday celebration(although easter is a pagan celebration of fertility as well). Christmas actually became Christian in 350 when Pope Julius 1 decided that Christs birth would be celebrated on Dec. 25. This date was decided upon because the Church figured that if the pagan holiday was replaced by a Christian holiday, rather than trying to get rid of it altogether, it would be a lot easier to convert the masses. Christmas trees weren't even being decorated during Christian celebrations until sometime around 1521 in the province of Alsace, Germany. In America, Christmas took a very long time to catch on because the early colonists still considered it a pagan celebration and it was banned by law in Massachusetts in the colonial days. But then where did all of the symbols and meanings behind everything come from?

Christmas as we know it today, was originally called, and is still known today by Pagans as Yule. Yule means "wheel" which is a pagan symbol for the sun. Yule is actually said to be celebrated on Dec. 21, or the Winter Solstice, and it celebrates rebirth, and life triumphing over death. In ancient Rome, the celebration was called Saturnalia and was celebrated many years before the birth of Christ. The whole season was known as Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the birthday of the unconquered sun. Many of our Christmas traditions came from Saturnalia, so called to honor Saturn, the God of Agriculture. Caroling comes from the roman Mummers, who were a group of costumed singers and dancers,

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