# The Origins of Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world" ([Christmas - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas)) However, beginning in the 17th century ([[noauthor_2004-tb]], [[Horvat2010-se]]) there is a growing tread to refute the holiday as unholy, a day that should not be celebrated by Christians. The most stated reason is that Christmas found it's origins in Paganism and that December 25th is not the correct date of Christs birth. Those that hold this claim often take several aspects of Christmas such as decorating, carols, gift giving and the holiday itself is taken from various other pagan worship practices. The idea is that the Christian church "Christianize" other holidays in an attempt to get pagans to worship their God. However, most of these claims simply do not hold up in light of the evidence we have from history and it is little more then myth. > [!Success]+ The Date Chosen For Christmas Is Unique > ![[The Date Of December 25th Is Unique]] > [!failure]+ Objections To The Dating of Christmas > > **Can Shepherds Watch Sheep In Winter?** > > One objection raises to the Gospel story being true is that shepherds would not be watching sheep in the winter. This just shows a lack of understanding about the animal. >- [[Sheep In Winter]] > > **Did Pagan Holidays Influence Christmas?** > >Christmas has **NEVER** been a pagan holiday. Attempts to claim it is to show ignorance at history and is just an attempt to take a sacred holiday of joy and celebration from Christians. > > - [[Saturnalia]] > - [[Dies Natalis Sol Invictus]] > - [[Winter Solstice]] > >**Other Deities/Holidays** > >Another piece of misinformation the circulates around anti-Christmas circles is that the date of December 25 is based of other deities and holidays, the two most prevalent being Horus and Mithras. However arguments for them at completely made up. > > - [[Jesus VS. Horus]] Christmas, observed primarily on December 25, commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ and is celebrated globally, although some Christians dispute its sanctity, attributing its origins to paganism. The date was likely determined by early Christians either through an ancient Jewish belief that a holy man's life would span a whole number of years, thus aligning his death and conception dates, or based on the account of Zachariah and the Annunciation of Mary in Luke's Gospel. While Saturnalia, a Roman holiday celebrating the god Saturn, and Dies Natalis Sol Invictus, a festival marking the first day of the spring equinox, are sometimes cited as possible pagan origins, there's little evidence to support these claims. For instance, Saturnalia involved gift-giving, but it is unlikely that Christmas borrowed from this tradition. As for Dies Natalis Sol Invictus, there is no proof that it predated the Christian celebration of Christmas; rather, it seems more plausible that the festival was established to provide a pagan context to a date already significant to Roman Catholics.