Should Christian’s Celebrate Pagan Festivals

[Altfish]

The one Almighty God of the Jews prohibited the worship of other Pagan Gods and also any festivals associated with them.

But, contemporary ‘Christian’s’ openly, and even advocate, taking part in pagan festivals so as to attract non-Christians and younger audience who indulge in the festivities with no regard to its actual Christian meaning for people who live in countries who’s religious belief is that of ‘Christian’.

Pagan Festivals include:

• Christmas (Otherwise known as Self Indulgent day)
• Guy Fawkes (UK) (Also known as Celebrate a Criminal day)
• Thanks Giving …
• Halloween (Celebration of non-existent disembodied spirits)
• Mothering Sunday (Weirdly called ‘Mothers Day’)
• Pointless Day (Weirdly called ‘Fathers day’)
• Animal Day (weirdly known as Celebrate your Pet with fluffy toys and gay body waste coat and treats day)

It’s an open question and no explicit pagan festival is implied in the question so you can add your own.

Christmas was a Pagan Festival that Christians took over. Many Xmas rituals, wreaths, gift-giving, etc. are based on Pagan traditions.
Easter, too, is based on Pagan symbolism

 

[Rival]

Christmas was a Pagan Festival that Christians took over. Many Xmas rituals, wreaths, gift-giving, etc. are based on Pagan traditions.
Easter, too, is based on Pagan symbolism

I really wish this nonsense would die.

It's wrong.

They're not Pagan.

Easter celebrates Christ's resurrection and Christmas celebrates his birth.

It's not from any Pagan festival.

Why do people like saying this? Where does it come from?

 

[Guitar's Cry]

People celebrating Christian feasts with foodstuff left over from Christian fasting would not be pagan in any meaningful sense of the word imo.

I think it would be in the Roman Catholic world of yore. In the modern world, it's dependent on the individual. It's not difficult to associate eggs with fertility and Spring, so modern Pagan celebrations incorporating Easter eggs is absolutely Pagan, while a Church Easter egg hunt is absolutely Christian.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

Why do people like saying this? Where does it come from?

There are a couple of reasons. @Augustus is correct that Protestants used this as an anti-Catholic sentiment. But I also think there's some truth that through assimilation some customs were adapted to a Christian paradigm either because it was a treasured tradition, it has cross-cultural meaning, or it was useful for conversion. For those who want to connect to pre-Christian traditions for seasonal celebrations, sometimes attempting to find possible surviving customs in these modern holidays is the best that can be done. Luckily, secularization has afforded enough ambiguous fodder for this.

 

[Augustus]

Why do people like saying this? Where does it come from?

It comes from the polemics of fundamentalist Protestants. Somewhat ironic seeing as antitheists commonly parrot these as “facts”… “what the gullible Christians don’t realise is…”

People like saying it because it’s emotionally satisfying and people are highly credulous when they hear emotionally satisfying things, so they don’t bother to check facts or think critically about them.

 

[Augustus]

But I also think there's some truth that through assimilation some customs were adapted to a Christian paradigm either because it was a treasured tradition, it has cross-cultural meaning, or it was useful for conversion. For those who want to connect to pre-Christian traditions for seasonal celebrations, sometimes attempting to find possible surviving customs in these modern holidays is the best that can be done. Luckily, secularization has afforded enough ambiguous fodder for this.

Also a fair amount is probably coincidence though.

Seasonal events, flora and fauna don’t belong to any tradition, but it’s likely they will find place in many.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

Also a fair amount is probably coincidence though.

Seasonal events, flora and fauna don’t belong to any tradition, but it’s likely they will find place in many.

I agree, hence my addition of cross-cultural meaning.

 

[exchemist]

So why is it called Easter? It comes from the name of the Germanic pagan spring goddess Ēostre, who was celebrated with feasts during April ("Ēostre's month").

Here we go again….

It isn't called Easter in most countries at all. Pascha , Paques etc all derive from Passover, as the crucifixion and resurrection took place at the time of the Passover commemoration.

It is only a handful of Northern countries, which did not have a Latin or Greek language, who attached the name of their spring festival to it.

 

[Altfish]

I really wish this nonsense would die.

It's wrong.

They're not Pagan.

Easter celebrates Christ's resurrection and Christmas celebrates his birth.

It's not from any Pagan festival.

Why do people like saying this? Where does it come from?

Yes they were. I did not say that they are NOT NOW Christian celebrations.
The early Christians took over the Winter Solstice celebrations and converted them to celebrate JC's birth. JC according to most theologians was NOT born in December.
Many of the rituals of Easter are also of pagan origins. That does not prevent it from now being a CHristian festival.

 

[Rival]

Yes they were. I did not say that they are NOT NOW Christian celebrations.
The early Christians took over the Winter Solstice celebrations and converted them to celebrate JC's birth. JC according to most theologians was NOT born in December.
Many of the rituals of Easter are also of pagan origins. That does not prevent it from now being a CHristian festival.

This isn't true, either, though.

It's, as Augustus said, mostly Protestant polemic. Such as the 'Christmas trees and Easter eggs are Pagan' trope.

It's a myth.

 

[Altfish]

This isn't true, either, though.

It's, as Augustus said, mostly Protestant polemic. Such as the 'Christmas trees and Easter eggs are Pagan' trope.

It's a myth.

Do you have any evidence to back your assertion?

 

[Rival]

Do you have any evidence to back your assertion?

I don't need to prove they're not Pagan, the people who are claiming they are Pagan need to prove it.

Christmas trees have their roots most likely in Mediaeval Mystery Plays and, as already pointed out, Easter Eggs come from the Lenten fast stopping people from eating eggs. Eggs are also symbolic of the Resurrection.

By Ockham's Razor there's no need to infer ancient unlikely Pagan influence where we know the more likely, Christian origins.

Protestants liked to blast Catholics with the 'it's Pagan' polemic and probably not in the sense of Pagan as we understand it, but meaning more backwards and rural.

 

[Altfish]

This isn't true, either, though.

It's, as Augustus said, mostly Protestant polemic. Such as the 'Christmas trees and Easter eggs are Pagan' trope.

It's a myth.

Here is some of my evidence ...

The Pagan Origins of Christmas: Saturnalia, Yule, and Other Pre-Christian Traditions

The origins of Christmas can be traced back to the ancient Roman and Norse civilizations. In fact, 25th December was not even Jesus’ date of birth. The early Christians appropriated what was originally a pagan holiday because it was convenient. Before that, the people of ancient Europe had...

historycooperative.org

The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter

Easter is a festival and holiday celebrated by millions of people around the world who honor the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred three days after

www.ancient-origins.net

 

[Altfish]

I don't need to prove they're not Pagan, the people who are claiming they are Pagan need to prove it.

Christmas trees have their roots most likely in Mediaeval Mystery Plays and, as already pointed out, Easter Eggs come from the Lenten fast stopping people from eating eggs. Eggs are also symbolic of the Resurrection.

By Ockham's Razor there's no need to infer ancient unlikely Pagan influence where we know the more likely, Christian origins.

Protestants liked to blast Catholics with the 'it's Pagan' polemic and probably not in the sense of Pagan as we understand it, but meaning more backwards and rural.

See post #93

 

[Rival]

Here is some of my evidence ...

The Pagan Origins of Christmas: Saturnalia, Yule, and Other Pre-Christian Traditions

The origins of Christmas can be traced back to the ancient Roman and Norse civilizations. In fact, 25th December was not even Jesus’ date of birth. The early Christians appropriated what was originally a pagan holiday because it was convenient. Before that, the people of ancient Europe had...

historycooperative.org

The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter

Easter is a festival and holiday celebrated by millions of people around the world who honor the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred three days after

www.ancient-origins.net

Please don't, these are trash.

There are plenty of threads on this; @Riders does one every year.

Is Christmas Pagan?

@Riders ? I'm never really sure these days.

www.religiousforums.com

Is Christmas Pagan?

Also what other God's Godesses and messiah s were born December 25th

www.religiousforums.com

Is Christmas pagan?

Just curious.

www.religiousforums.com

Is Christmas pagan?

Santa’s reindeer have Germanic names such as Rudolf, Blitzkrieg, and Donderhead. Jesus of Nazareth was from Palestine, where they have donkeys, not reindeer. When you consider both facts, the logical conclusion is that celebrating the birth of Jesus is pagan. Further, I would like to add that...

www.religiousforums.com

Is Christmas Pagan?

Santa Clause Christmas trees elves etc..................................is it Pagan?

www.religiousforums.com

Is Christmas Pagan?

Is Christmas Pagan itś that time of the year again. Christmas looks different this year with the covid and all.I heard on the news Internet shoppping is way up,more going to the internet to buy then in person.

www.religiousforums.com

Is Christmas Pagan?

So tis the season to be Pagan.So if your Christian do you celebrate Christmas? My sister is Messianic Christian and she and her family do not celebrate Christmas because of its Pagan origins. Horace and other Gods were born on December 1st, what is Jesus true birthday? What about Santa and...

www.religiousforums.com

Christmas birthdate of Jesus Pagan.......

I know its a bit early for this but what is the real birth date of Jesus? Is the December 25th the birthday of other Pagan Gods and Godesses? What symbols in Jesus birth were Pagan? The stars, the fish , wise men Virgin birth etc........????????? Heres a video

www.religiousforums.com

All the info is here. Reiterating it is a bit pointless.

 

[Soapy]

Even if we accept that origin (which is debatable), its naming in English and German says nothing about its actual origins though given its dating and significance had been established centuries prior to it reaching England.

It's a bit like if Guy Fawkes Day had been introduced in Ghana by colonial Brits and the Ghanains gave it some name in the Twi language. It might be an interesting question for etymologists, but would say nothing about the origins and significance of Guy Fawkes Day.



Celebrate a Protestant victory over "vile Popery" is it not? Its sectarian origins are why it remains particularly popular in certain Northern Irish communities...

The criminal act is that of attempted assassination of a monarch and the parliament of the time.

Blowing people up, and assassinations are criminal acts outside of agreed and declared warfare. Killing a monarch outside of a lawful court is sedition in any situation.

 

[Soapy]

Christmas was a Pagan Festival that Christians took over. Many Xmas rituals, wreaths, gift-giving, etc. are based on Pagan traditions.
Easter, too, is based on Pagan symbolism

The chocolates and eggs are SYMBOLISM which is right for paganism… yes.

Like ‘Xmas’, the CHRISTIAN aspect was quickly destroyed by the pagan in dwelling of the Roman festival that absorbed it. Hence that saying:

• “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the [Pagan] land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.” (Exodus 34:15)

 

[Rival]

The criminal act is that of attempted assassination of a monarch and the parliament of the time.

Blowing people up, and assassinations are criminal acts outside of agreed and declared warfare. Killing a monarch outside of a lawful court is sedition in any situation.

Who is celebrating this though?

 

[Rival]

The chocolates and eggs are SYMBOLISM which is right for paganism… yes.

Uh, we can't use symbolism?

 

[Soapy]

Who is celebrating this though?

Do you live in the UK?