The following fact about the origins of Christmas printed in The Tri-City Herald as a letter to the Editor today gave me much to think about.
It read, in part,
“December 25 originally was the celebrated ‘birthday of the sun god’ and a time of merriment for ‘sun god’ worshippers. Roman Emperor Constantine ‘became a Christian.’ To give political cohesion and stability to his empire of pagan and Christian populations, he merged pagan and Christian practices. Thus, December 25 officially became the birthday of the ‘sun god’ and the son of God.”
Wow. What an eye-opener. It makes me ask how much of my celebration of Christmas is influenced by “sun god” worship (a matter-god), compared to how much time and thought energy is spent on worship of the one true God, infinite Love.
The German Christmas traditions are pagan in origin also. As a former farmer, you must realize that lambs are born in the springtime. The only time shepherds stay all night with their sheep is when new lambs are being born. Obviously not in December! Often one shepherd would guard the gate of a common sheep yard. In the morning the shepherds would come to call out their own sheep. Thus “the sheep know their master’s voice”