Christmas is pagan

[Aquila]

I think we can all agree that many of our cultural "holidays" and traditions originated form ancient paganism. Many of us are so far removed from our pagan origins, these things are just cultural celebrations marking various times to contemplate Christian truths such as the resurrection, the incarnation, love & marriage, spiritual warfare, etc. The decorations and traditions are so far removed from their pagan origins, to us they seem like mere cultural decorations.

I'm glad Christianity did take dominion over these ancient pagan celebrations, redefining them, and redirecting the social consciousness of the nation to Christ.

Most people have their panties in a bunch over "ancient origins". But they don't see the "good" that has come out of our having taken dominion.

With Christmas, you'll notice that while the Catholic Church tried to redefine these holidays to steer the culture towards Christ, drunken revelries, riots, chaos, and all manner of debauchery continued...even as Christians tried to keep to religious observance. For many, celebrations like "Christmas" and "Halloween" were dreaded times of the year all the way up until the 1700's and 1800's. In America, many contemplated outlawing Christmas and Halloween. However, civic leaders decided to embrace them as business interests began capitalizing on them. The idea was to turn these nights of arson, riotous drunken revelries, and murder into a more civilized, family friendly, seasonal festivity. Yes, Capitalism did more to shape our modern family friendly approach to these holidays than the Catholic church ever did in their attempt to conquer them.

One reason to participate in these "holidays" at least to a limited degree is to keep the darker interests who would seize these holidays and return them to being terrible and dreaded times of mayhem at bay. I'd rather deal with trick-or-treaters, handing out candy, Christmas trees, Christmas pageants, Christmas gatherings, presents under the tree, etc. than deal with hiding my family in the basement as drunken revelers set fire to half the town.

I do get weary of some holidays though. I'm real tired of Halloween. I don't really like it, even though our family participates in festivities provided by local churches. Christmas is okay... it's beautiful, romantic, sentimental, and sometimes nostalgic. The materialism aggravates me. Easter gets to be just plain dumb with the bunny, eggs, and candies. Valentine's Day, now... I'll be honest... Valentine's Day is perhaps one of my favorites. I have no issue with civic holidays like the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, etc. I also love Thanksgiving because it's time off work, good food, and family time.

I think if I didn't have kids and I lived alone, I'd be able to ignore the holidays for the most part without any love lost. But for the sake of the family, I do participate in these holidays to varying degrees.

As Christians, if we choose to ignore the cultural holidays that are popular in our culture... what holidays do we celebrate? Do we return to the Jewish festivals? Or do we just treat these days as any other while just ignoring the commotion? And if Christians chose to ignore these holidays and allow them to fully return to the chaos and debauchery they once were... is that better than taking dominion over them and redefining their focus?

I believe we have more dominion and authority than earthly Israel ever had. The NT doesn't seem to establish a firm teaching on days of observance. And it would seem that the NT is so universal in scope, that it would allow Christian communities in nearly any cultural context to take dominion, redefine, observe, or not observe, any given calendar with holidays they might find themselves contending with.

But that's just my take.