The urban legend that many Christians think is true is that early Christians appropriated the pagan, Roman Feast Of Saturnalia of Dec. 25 and converted it into the Christian holy day.
Nope. Saturnalia was not established by the Roman emperor until AD 274, when the date of Jesus' birth had already been set (though not widely celebrated) for three-quarter century.
It is the Western church that celebrates Christmas on Dec. 25. The Eastern church does so on Jan. 6, the date of Epiphany in the West. But curiously, the reason the West celebrates Christmas on Dec. 25 is the same reason the East does so on Jan. 6.
And that reason is (most likely) actually the dating of Easter, not Saturnalia.
Read it all here: "How December 25 Became Christmas," by Andrew McGowan.
Second Sunday of Advent
The season of Advent is the four weeks prior to Christmas Day. Advent is not specifically a time to prepare for Christmas, but a period to r...
-
Ukraine has only two choices I am not going to dwell on the now-infamous, televised meeting that Ukraine's President V. Zelensky had wit...
-
OMG! What if Trump orders this before Jan. 20! But that cannot happen, read on to see why - and why Nancy Pelosi's urging of a military ...
-
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give . Luke 12.13-21 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell ...
