#When did saturnalia start series#

The Saturnalia were the feast of Saturn or Kronos, in representation of the golden days of his reign, when all labor ceased, prisoners were set free, slaves went about in gentlemen’s clothes and in the hat (the mark of a freeman), and all classes gave themselves up to mirth and rejoicing.

#When did saturnalia start series#

The Christmas festival was probably the Christian transformation or regeneration of a series of kindred heathen festivals-the Saturnalia, Sigillaria, Juvenalia, and Brumalia-which were kept in Rome in the month of December. We find it first in Rome, in the time of the bishop Liberius. Christmas, the Date of a Pagan FestivalĪnother book explains that Christmas originated in the three major festivals held in the city of ancient Rome in December. Indeed, there is no record of Christmas anywhere in the Bible. This means that none of the members of the early Church, including the apostles, celebrated Christmas. The church accepted the birthday of a pagan god, which had nothing to do with the birthday of Jesus. In 354, the church in Rome began to celebrate Christmas. the birthday of the unconquered sun (natalis solis invicti), which at the winter solstice begins again to show an increase of light.”Įncyclopaedia Britannica, 2010, under the word, “Christmas” This was the date of a pagan festival in Rome. Celebration of Christmas began in the church in Rome. The birthday of the sun god came into the church, and was celebrated as the birthday of Jesus. Tim Dowley, The History of Christianity (A Lion Handbook), Lion Publishing, 1994 From sun-worship, for example, came the celebration of Christ’s birth on the twenty-fifth of December, the birthday of the Sun.” “The Christian church took over many pagan ideas and images. One of them was to celebrate the birthday of the sun god on December 25. In this situation, the church, which was secularized with many benefits from the Roman Empire, lost its purity and accepted pagan ideas and images. After acknowledging Christianity, he identified the sun god of Mithraism with God of Christianity, trying to combine the two religions.

The Church in Rome Accepted the Birthday of the Sun GodĮmperor Constantine, who legalized Christianity in 313, liked Mithra, the unconquered sun god. In 274, December 25 was proclaimed as the birthday of the unconquered sun and the national holiday of the Roman Empire, and a grand celebration was held. After Emperor Aurelian (reigned AD 270 to AD 275) defeated the enemy in Emesa, the hometown of the sun-god Mithra, the people said that Mithra abandoned his people and gave victory to Rome. After Pompey’s (106 BC–48 BC) expedition to the East, Mithra was raised to the position of a tutelary deity of the Roman Empire. Mithra was revered by soldiers, known as Sol Invictus in Latin, which means Unconquered Sun. The sun god Mithra’s birthday was December 25, the day of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year on the ancient Roman calendar. Mithraism was a religion that believed in the sun god Mithra. December 25, Birthday of the Sun GodĪround the 1st century B.C., Mithraism, which was derived from Zoroastrianism in Persia, spread to Rome and was established as the religion of Rome. Let’s take a look at its origin and historical meaning. Today, Christmas is celebrated as a global festival beyond country or religion. Many churches celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Jesus every year, but there was no Christmas at the time of the early Church because Christmas started in the 4th century, hundreds of years later. The term Christmas is a combination of Christ and mass, which means Christ’s mass.

Christmas, the Date of a Pagan Festival.

The Church in Rome Accepted the Birthday of the Sun God.