Christianity and Paganism.. Should we celebrate Halloween, Christmas or Easter
Channel: Apostle Edgar Kapanga
Date: 2021-06-17

Corrupted church or an accommodating one?

#christmas #easter #PaganHolidays

Christmas

We already know how we celebrate on December 25th, but how would ancient Romans have celebrated their pagan version of Christmas?

For an ancient Roman, December 25th was the time to celebrate Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun. The Sun God was venerated under different names all over the enormous territory of the Roman Empire and became the most important god during the 3rd century AD. The emperor Aurelianus built a big temple for the Sun God in Rome and inaugurated it right on December 25th, 274 AD. It is no wonder that the biggest celebration of the Sun God fell on this date at the beginning of winter time: on December 21st in fact, with the winter solstice, the sun “wins” his battle against the darkness and the daylight hours slowly increase. That’s why such a peculiar date, marked by the victory of the light, was busy with the birthdays of many gods: Dionysos, Hercules, Adonis, Mithras and even Tammuz, the ancient Mesopotamian god of fertility.

But December 25th was only the last day of more than a week of celebrations in Rome, known as Saturnalia, leading up to the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, the birthday of the Sun. Starting on December 17th, the Saturnalia involved a lot of banquets and all sorts of parties with family and friends. During this time, all social rules were reversed, just like in the Carnival, but the most significant aspect of the Saturnalia was the traditional exchange of gifts (just like we do nowadays). The most popular gifts for this occasion were little figurines of gods made out of clay, that used to be put on display on an altar at home: this might be at the origin of the Italian tradition of the Nativity.

 

2. New Year’s Day

Also for the Romans, New Year’s Day was a very important date, but the most interesting fact is that originally the Roman year didn’t start on January 1st but in March. This was mainly because March was the month dedicated to Mars, the Roman god of war, which was also believed to be the divine father of Romulus, the founder of Rome. Due to extraordinary circumstances in wartime, in the year 153 BC the consul Quintus Fulvius Nobilior exceptionally moved New Year’s Day to January 1st for the first time in history. However, it was Julius Caesar in 46 BC, with his Julian Calendar, who permanently established the holiday on January 1st. The beginning of the year was dedicated to a very peculiar Roman god: Janus. According to the mythology, Janus was the two-faced god of doors (in fact his name Janus comes from ianua, "door" in Latin), beginnings and passages: that is why the first month of the year, January, was named after him. On New Year’s Day the Romans would go on a procession to the top of the Capitoline Hill, where the priests would sacrifice a white bull to ask protection from the gods for the new year. Moreover, the high priest, the Pontifex Maximus, would offer to Janus a pie made of flour, cereals, cheese, eggs and olive oil, to invoke the god’s benevolence.

The people would then celebrate by feasting together and wearing something red, which was supposed to bring good luck, health and fertility.

 

3. Easter

Easter is a very peculiar Christian holiday, which doesn’t fall on a specific date as all the other festivities, but it is based on the cycle of the moon: in fact, it falls on the first Spring Sunday after the new moon. The Jewish root of the Christian Easter Holiday are widely known: the Christian festivity is in fact connected to the holiday of Passover, which has its foundation in the exodus of the Jews from Egypt.

But many traditions associated with Easter show completely different (and pagan) origins: in fact, the word “Easter” itself comes from the name of Eostre, the Germanic goddess of Spring. The famous Easter Eggs and the Easter bunny, which is supposed to deliver candies to the kids, were originally associated with Eostre, as symbols of rebirth and fertility.

What about the Romans?

The Romans had a Spring holiday around March 15th dedicated to Anna Perenna, a pretty obscure goddess, who was variously identified with the moon or with some Etruscan mother goddess. Most importantly, she was a deity of the circle of the year, given that her holiday would fall right on the first day of the year, according to the original Roman calendar. It was customary to celebrate with meals with family and friends, particularly in the woods sacred to Anna Perenna. On this occasion, the Romans would drink a lot of wine, since it was believed that each cup would lengthen their life by one full year. A traditional way of honoring the goddess, as she was also associated with the idea of fertility and rebirth, was for couples to make love by the river.