The Winter Solstice & Christmas
The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, when the sun reaches its lowest point on the horizon. ("Solstice" literally means "sun stop.") In ancient times, pagans celebrated this day as a "rebirth" of the sun or a sun god, and the beginning of a new year.

In some cultures, the Winter Solstice was also a time to celebrate the birth or rebirth of a savior man-god (who was often connected with the sun). He was usually believed to be the offspring of a god father and a goddess or human mother, who was often a virgin.

Tammuz of Babylon, Attis of Phrygia, Horus of Egypt, Mithra of Persia, Krishna of India, Heracles of Greece and, last of all, Jesus of Nazareth are just some of the ancient man-gods whose births were celebrated on the Winter Solstice.

In 46 B.C.E., Julius Caesar adopted the Julian calendar. The Winter Solstice and the beginning of the new year fell on December 25th. Caesar declared this date the "Birthday of the Unconquered Sun." (Later, Christians called it the "Birthday of the Unconquered Son.")

The ancient Roman festival of the Saturnalia (honoring Saturn, the god of agriculture) lasted from December 17th to December 24th. The event concluded with a great feast, the Brumalia, held on December 25th.

Pagan celebrations of the Winter Solstice included social gatherings, lights, singing, gifts, feasts, yule logs, mistletoe, holly, and decorated trees. These festivities were later adopted by many Christians.

The Christian Bible acknowledges that decorating trees is a pagan idea. Jeremiah 10.2-4 states: "Learn not the way of the heathen... For the customs of the people are in vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest... They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not." It seems it is not proper for a Christian to have a Christmas tree!

The 1911 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia admits: "Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church... the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt."


OSIRIS / HORUS / ISIS

About 3000 B.C.E., Egyptians began worshipping the god Osiris, who was associated with the sun. He was portrayed as a trinity: a heavenly god, an earthly god, and a falcon. (Later, Christians depicted their trinity as God, Jesus, and a Holy Spirit dove).

The king of Egypt claimed to be the earthly god. He acted as a link between humanity and the heavenly god. It was believed the earthly god king became the heavenly god after death.

Later, the heavenly god, Osiris, was said to have fathered (through Isis, a virgin) an earthly god son, Horus, who was actually a rebirth of Osiris.

According to legend, this birth of Osiris/Horus was announced by Three Wise Men, symbolized by three stars in Orion's Belt pointing to Osiris' star in the east. Angelic voices hailed his arrival. His birth was often depicted in a manger, with Isis as the Madonna standing over him, and was said to have occurred on the Winter Solstice.

Belief in Osiris, Horus, and Isis became popular in the Roman Empire, until believers began to be persecuted under Christianity.


MITHRA

About 2000 B.C.E., Persians began worshipping the man-god Mithra, who was supposedly born from a god father and a human virgin mother.

Mithra's birth was said to have occurred in a cave or stable, and was witnessed by shepherds who brought him gifts. Later, his followers celebrated this event with a ceremony at midnight on the eve of the Winter Solstice.

Mithra was viewed as a Redeemer. He was believed to have performed miracles, such as raising the dead, healing the sick, making the blind see and the lame walk, and casting out devils.

According to legend, Mithra celebrated a Last Supper with his twelve disciples before he ascended to heaven. In memory of this, his worship-pers partook of a sacramental meal of bread marked with a cross.

In subsequent years, a stone image symbolizing Mithra was buried in a tomb. It was then withdrawn and he was said to live again. Followers of Mithra believed a person had to be baptized in order to ascend into the heavens after death. Mithra is supposed to return at the end of time to judge the human race.

In 67 B.C.E., Mithraism was introduced into the Roman Republic. Later, Mithraism stood as a powerful rival to the newly emerging Christianity. In fact, by 307 C.E., Mithra was officially designated the "Protector of the Roman Empire." However, by 358 C.E., followers of Mithra began to be persecuted under Christianity.

In addition to being a man-god savior, Mithra was connected to the sun god. Later, Christians began referring to their own man-god savior, Jesus, as the "Light of the World" and the "Sun of Righteousness." Christians moved their Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday (sun-day).

The Seventh-Day Adventists, however, are an example of one modern Christian group which has kept its Sabbath on Saturday.


KRISHNA

The Hindu man-god Krishna was believed to have been born c. 1200 B.C.E. He was said to be an incarnation of the god Vishnu, born of a human mother, Devaki. Krishna's birth was celebrated on the Winter Solstice.

According to legend, Krishna's birth was announced by a star and angelic voices. Shepherds and wise men hailed him as the Redeemer and gave him gifts. King Kansa tried to kill Krishna by ordering the death of all male infants born on the same night as Krishna. A heavenly voice warned his earthly foster father (a carpenter) to flee with his family.

Krishna was said to have taught moral lessons, forgiven sins, performed miracles, and defeated demons. It was believed that the Lord and Savior Krishna atoned for the world's sins by pouring out his blood while lying on a cross-shaped temple rock.

However, some Indian art depicts Krishna hanging from a cross and being pierced by an arrow. It was also believed Krishna rose from death and ascended to heaven.


JESUS, CHRISTIANITY AND CHRISTMAS

There are many parallels between these and other pre-Christian savior man-gods and Jesus. Indeed, so much of Jesus' legend has been plagiarized that a few scholars doubt whether he ever actually existed! Others claim that if he existed, his life is obscured in myth and we know virtually nothing about him.

Most of the Roman persecution of Christianity occurred from 250 to 313 C.E. In 380, the Roman emperor Theodosius ordered all pagan temples to be destroyed and forced pagans to accept Christianity.

The Roman celebration of the sun god's rebirth was still held on December 25th. However, due to imperfections in the Julian calendar, the actual Winter Solstice had drifted to December 21st.

Pagan sun god celebrations proved too popular for early Christians to overcome. Therefore, they decided to superimpose their story of Jesus (which contained many pagan elements anyway) onto the sun god festi-vals of the Winter Solstice (Christmas) and the Spring Equinox (Easter).

In 354, Bishop Liberius of Rome decreed that the birth of Jesus should be celebrated on the same day as the birth of the sun gods - December 25th. Before this, the Christian church had no official observance of the birth of Jesus.

From 1652 to 1659, Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans in the English Parliament outlawed Christmas because it was not sanctioned in the Bible. Churches were ordered to be closed and shops were ordered to be open on this day. Clergymen were imprisoned for preaching on Christmas, and some parish officers were fined for decorating the church.

From 1659 to 1680, Puritans in the colony of Massachusetts prohibited the observance of Christmas, imposing a five shilling fine on anyone caught celebrating this pagan festival.

It wasn't until 1856 that Georgia became the first state to make Christmas a legal holiday. In 1894, Christmas was included in the first group of federal holidays. Previously, Congress had met, and mail was delivered, on Christmas Day.

The Worldwide Church of God, the Seventh-Day Adventists, and the Jehovah's Witnesses, all Christian religions, do not celebrate Christmas.


THE ATHEIST VIEW

The Winter Solstice is a great time to get together with family and friends, put up some decorations, exchange gifts, and share a meal. Perhaps someday humanity will set aside divisive religious beliefs and unite to celebrate the Winter Solstice as a truly universal, secular holiday. The Winter Solstice reminds us of our common ties to nature and to each other. It is a celebration of life!


edited by August Berkshire.   © 1999-2001 August Berkshire
August Berkshire is the Associate President of Minnesota Atheists and a member of the board of directors of the Atheist Alliance.