Comment on Where do British Christmas traditions really come from?
Flax_vert@feddit.uk 1 day agoAccording to some scholars, the emperor Aurelian instituted in AD 274 the festival Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (‘birthday of the Invincible Sun’) on 25 December
christianhistoryinstitute.org/…/ff-christmas
Sextus Julius Africanus (160–240), an early third-century Christian historian, is among the first to refer to Jesus’s conception on March 25 and thus, by simple math, his birth nine months later on December 25.
piccolo@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Totally pure conciendence he choose march 25th as the day of conception. (Spring equinox) which meant jesus would be born around winter solstice. Despite the evidence in the bible would strongly disagree with a winter birth. There may not be direct influence, but previous traditions most certainly influenced Christian traditions.
Flax_vert@feddit.uk 1 day ago
The Early Christians weren’t keen to imitate the idolatrous romans who were persecuting them at the time. It really is a long stretch.
The only reason is that the shepherds were out tending a flock at night. It turns out the temperature in Palestine was actually suitable enough to do this in December, and it was early lambing season. So it’s still a possibility, although emphasis on “possibility”.
piccolo@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
They also didnt celebrate jesus birth at that time, instead of focusing on death (and rising). It wasnt until around Constantine when Christians started celebrating his birth.
Flax_vert@feddit.uk 19 hours ago
It wasn’t until Constantine that Christians could practice more openly. Also, after Constantine is the first recording of Christmas being celebrated, it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t celebrated beforehand. Interestingly enough, our source for that - the Roman almanac in 336 - is older than the earliest source for sol invictus being on the 25th of December in the Chronography of 354. If anything, it could have very well been the pagans changing their dates to compete with Christians, which is what happened in Scandinavia when Yule was moved to the 25th of December to coincide with Christmas.