Ok, so the holiday we call Christmas does have the word Christ in it. But, what about all those traditional Christmas customs?
Let's begin with the timing. If one reads the Bibe, it certainly points to a time other than late December as the birth of Jesus. Oddly enough, many pagan rituals predating Jesus' birth take place in this time of year. Late December, specifically, the 25th, seems to be the time of birth for many deities - all predating Jesus.
Now then, what about those trees? Our beautiful Christmas trees, surely they are strictly christian in nature? Sorry, no they are not. The use of evergreen trees is a European pagan tradition. The evergreen symbolized rebirth to these pagans and was used in the celebration of the winter solstice. Which occurs, amazingly enough, in late December. These was referred to as the celebration of Yule, for their "Sun God".
The fat man in a red suit? Well, it seems he may have started out as Odin, the pagan Norse god, a frightful character if ever there was.
None of which means a damned thing. Just don't try to convince me that "Jesus is the reason for the season". Because, it seems he has little to do with it after all.
Happy Holidays, pagans ;-)
