The answer is yes and no. Christians held their own holiday on the same day or close to it as that of ancient holidays relating to the worship of winter, the gods, etc. And then we got Santa and all those things added to the top of the Jesus thing making Christmas at least three layers being stuff before the birth of Christ, the Jesus thing, and then the Santa thing. So, like a sandwich. And then the debate becomes how much of the Santa thing is Pagan or non-Christian or whatever you want to call it. Because it is said Santa was based on Saint Nicholas who was a man who helped people. So, that is good. But Christmas trees predate the birth of Christ. So, I say all of that to say Christmas has many different components all mixed into one oddly flavored soup of pagan and not so pagan stuff.
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Yes, in part 4, I commented on the overall view. Like how it's all one big mess. It's Roman pagan, then is Nordic pagan... it's all over the place and it's all based on assumptions. primary or secondary sources are never mentioned. Just "pop culture" assumptions.
(I'm writing right now, writing comes from babylon, bam! Case closed. It's a bit of a silly example, but I guess it makes it clear, of what the standart seems to be.)
For example the tree. It's true that that one is the most "nuanced argument" but again, Christmas started in the mediterranean, while the tree itself, is more prevalent in northern regions. In Yul they would burn a piece of wood... Some say Luther started it. Some say with was a priest, that cut down a tree, some northern Europeans used to worship, when trying to convert them. After realising with was just a tree, they then decorated it. Some say it started with the priest and later it was adapted by most.
Point being: Luther, Priest or even Yul, the tree was introduced centuries (if not 1500 years) after the celebration of Christmas started.
Other things have been introduced with the years as well. Like sending cards. Not from the original 2000 years ago, and not really a "pagan practise blend" either.
After, looking into it this year, I'm of the opinion that there is no pagan influence on Christmas. Despite having said there was, for many years.
Thank you for your great comment. And the sharing.
Happy new year!!!
Are you saying you're not aware of the Pagan winter holidays which predates the birth of Christ? Did you know Christ was probably born in September and not in December?
You wrote, "After, looking into it this year, I'm of the opinion that there is no pagan influence on Christmas." I would say it depends on what part of Christmas you are talking about. For example, did you know Santa is an anagram for Satan? That is only one example. I can talk all day about many different things.
According to The History Channel, Christmas trees goes back to ancient Egypt and other countries did it too. Some people would believe the sun was a god. They would keep the evergreen in their homes as a reminder that spring was coming after a long cold winter.
Christmas has many parts. And so to determine how pagan Christmas might be, you have to look at each separate part. For example, the candy cane is not pagan at all. The candy cane is a shepherd's cane, the red is the blood of Christ which died for the sins of mankind. White is salvation, being washed, becoming as white as snow.
Christians made Christmas. So, it can be argued that Christmas is not pagan because of that. So, it depends. For example, some people might say Halloween is Pagan. But Christians like to have harvest parties and things like that on that day. So, in a way, Christian made a new holiday on the last day of October. I have been to these parties and they are fun. Some people might say these parties are not Pagan. It is possible to take a Pagan holiday and to rebrand it. And then we could talk about whether or not Easter is Pagan or not.
So, like Halloween, Christmas was rebranded. So, you could say the rebranded version is not pagan and that might be true. But according to The History Channel, the winter solstice has been celebrated since 10,200 BC. Winter Solstice happens between December 20 and December 23 generally speaking, that ball park. So, is Winter Solstice pagan or what is it? Better yet, is Christmas connected to that might be the better question.