The Origins of Christmas

To learn about the pagan origns of Christmas See here, and see this 45 minute video here.

Dan Barker's Radio podcast at Freethought is really good...click on "Reason's Greetings". In that podcast he interviews Tom Flynn, author of The Trouble with Christmas. The unexpected highlight in this whole program is listening to an excerpt of Julia Sweeney's award winning monologue called Letting go of God . She is amazing! You've got to hear this. She's both brilliant and funny!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Birth of stupidity

(Have you ever wondered), is the beginning of the video, well how about if you never wondered, I mean how about this, who cares what the origins are? Actually it has to do with what ever I think, and has nothing to do with what or who ever has this in depth study as to the origins of trees in houses, or Halloween even, it doesn’t matter what any one person thinks; it matters what I think; I grew up thinking and believing that Christmas was a celebration of Christ’s birthday, and that’s how I still celebrate that day, am I wrong? not if that’s what I chose to think and that’s what it is to me. I have heard all the arguments, heard all the studies, listen to many Christian teachers and non Christian teachers on such subjects and my conclusion is SO WHAT. it’s a happy time and a good tradition. I teach my children that it is a time to celebrate Christ’s birth and that’s what we do, right or wrong it makes no difference that’s what we do, it all equals out to be a good time.

Halloween for instance its defiantly pagan, but before I knew this as a young child, I would put on what ever costume and go door to door in my neighborhood, meeting folks getting candy and generally having a good time, and when the up tight Christians would scoff, my answer to the critics would be, you do what you want, and I’ll do what I want. Its not a soul damming day, its meeting your neighbor‘s and receiving candy that’s all no more no less . At 51 years old I still go to party’s and dress up its fun and my children also, so I say, sit home like a stick in the mud with all your “knowledge” good for you, that’s my take on it.

My mother a good and strong willed woman past these traditions down to me and after testing them and her beliefs I conclude, there good enough for my children also, and I’m having fun. When it came down to Christian doctrines that was dry and like consuming hay with no water to wash it down, her thoughts were, who cares. If her Christianity didn’t have the power to back up the teaching ,out the door it goes. I’m still amazed at the Christians and ex-Christians who “served” God and never experienced answers to prayer. In our life that was the norm and still is, yes I would be trading in the rubble for something else if I was you all also. Happy Halloween and Merry Christmas, LOL pv63

Anonymous said...

If the origins don't matter and it is whatever you say it is then why do you celebrate it on December 25? Why not just do it on June 21? Or February 3?

What if 100 years from now, Americans (assuming we're still here as such) celebrate the 4th of July, not as Independence Day but as George W. Bush's birthday? Texas (or wherever he was spawned) becomes a holy site where the faithful make pilgrimages and that holiday is something unrecognizable to us? Does it matter then? Never mind that it is factually inaccurate, but everyone accepts it as such. Does it matter?

The point is that Xians hijacked this ancient DRUID pagan festival called Yule because they couldn't stamp it out. The pagans had been there for so long that the new kid on the block, Judeo-Xianity, just couldn't eradicate the natural religion of the people it was killing. So it incorporated many of their festivals and Deities into its own teachings and just claimed that it had always been so.

When you celebrate Xmas, and especially when you say "Merry Christmas" you are honoring the rape of the ancient world and multiple genocides committed in the name of religion.

But I guess none of that matters.