The Coming of the Sun Meets the Coming of the Son: A Look at Pagan and Christian Christmas Symbols

When most people think of the meaning behind the Christmas holiday, there thoughts immediately goto the Christian belief in the birth of their Savior, Jesus Christ. It might come as a surprise to many to learn that the ways in which we celebrate Christmas and the symbols common to this holiday actually have their origins in Pagan beliefs and celebrations. Some of the meaning behind these Pagan traditions have been adapted to reflect the Christian theme of Christmas while others remain distinctly Pagan or Christian in origin.

December 25th
It is probably no coincidence that the celebration marking the birth of Christ was assigned a date in December, which also happens to be the time of one of the largest Pagan celebrations, the winter solstice, The winter solstice, or Yule, which begins around December 21, has always been a cause for great celebration and thanks among Pagans.

Celebrated on the longest night of the year, Yule marks an end of the darkness of winter and the coming of the sun's light and warmth. Pagan celebrations of Yule have traditionally been marked by great merriment, gift giving & feasting. It is not likely that Christ was born on December 25th.

Though the Bible does not give us any specifics about when Christ was born, the notion that shepherds would be tending their flock in the cold nights of mid-winter was unheard of in Judea, where shepherds typically were not out with their flocks beyond October. When the Church was deciding upon the assignment of a date to celebrate the birth of Christ, they probably took the Pagan festivities of the winter solstice into great consideration.

While there is little documentation about the process of selecting a birth date for Christ, it does make sense that the Church did have an agenda when choosing a date that coincided with Yule - either to piggyback on the already festive mood of the season or to usurp the Pagan tradition and replace it with their own Christian holiday. Either way, the choice of December 25th as the marker for Christ's birth forever entwined the largest celebration