DeWayne Johnson

In a world filled with customs, most of us never examine why we believe or do what we do, nor do we seek to understand the origins of such constructs. Instead, we tend to accept traditions without question. As a result, we grow into accepting customs simply because of the surrounding dogma and tradition.

The celebration of Christmas was originally developed in reaction to the Roman Saturnalia, a pagan festival honoring the Roman god Saturn, marking the winter solstice (return of the sun). Christmas eventually served as a means of replacing worship of the sun with worship of a son.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the first evidence of the winter feast comes from Egypt. Ancient Egyptians celebrated the birth of Horus on Dec. 25. He was the “Son of God,” born of the virgin Isis. To celebrate, Egyptians gave gifts, feasted and placed palm branches in their homes.

Christmas seems to have a curious resemblance to the Egyptian celebration, doesn’t it?

Interestingly, the first historical accounts of Europeans in Egypt, and Egyptian influence, did not occur until thousands of years after the Ancient Egyptian dynasties had established these beliefs and practices.

The Encyclopedia Americana cites that it wasn’t until the 4th century Council of Nicea that a celebration was established in Europe by the Roman Emperor Constantine in memory of what was decided as Christ’s birth in order to coincide with the Saturnalia winter festival celebrating the birth of the sun god.

A 1984 article in the Toronto Star by Alan Edmonds states that “clever ecclesiastical politicians had adopted the Pagan mid-winter festival as the alleged birthdate of Jesus and thrown in a few other Pagan goodies to make their takeover more palatable.”

Consider the following origins that also provide sources for and pre-date today’s customary religious and holiday practices:

• The winter festival Saturnalia was a time of merrymaking and exchanging of gifts.

• Prior to the Council of Nicea, Dec. 25 was regarded as the birthdate of the Persian god Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness and the Light of the World.

• Romans decorated homes with greenery and lights, and gifts were given to the children and the poor.

• Norse and Germanic people used evergreen trees and Yule during the winter to honor their god, Odin, who roamed the skies at night deciding who lived or died.

• Pagans brought winter holly into homes, offering them as refuge for fairies, and exchanged them as tokens of friendship and fertility.

• The druidical custom of kissing under the mistletoe (a parasite that lives on oak trees) occurred at the beginning of Saturnalia in the spirit of orgies and fertility.

These original customs and practices existed centuries long before the establishment of what we call the reason for the season. Therefore, historical evidence strongly suggests that Egyptians and Pagans are the real reason for the season.

Where there is light, there is clarity and hope for the future. The same goes for truth.

DeWayne Johnson (dewayne.johnson@iamabridgebuilder.us) is co-founder and executive consultant at BridgeBuilder Education & Investments, LLC.