Happy Holidays

Though December 25 is the day Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, the date itself and the custom of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ evolved from Pagan traditions of celebrating the winter solstice.

Despite the spread of Christianity, midwinter festivals did not become Christmas for hundreds of years. The Bible gives no reference to when Jesus was born and the first Bible was written by two men and published in 1384 after the death of Christ.

Christmas, as we Americans know it today, was first celebrated in the 4th Century.

In England under Oliver Cromwell banned, and in New England it was illegal to celebrate Christmas.

By the 16th-century, Protestant Christian reformer Martin Luther, added the first lighted candles to the Pagan Christmas tree. So when Christianity became the official religion in Italy, Romans celebrated Winter Solstice with gift giving, candle lighting, singing and decorating houses.

How the Christmas tree came into play, we have the Pagans to thank. According to Pagan history, evergreen trees signaled the return of life and light as the winter solstice meant the days were starting to get longer and the sun starts coming back, otherwise known as December 25th.

In celebration of spring and summer months of light, bringing life back to plant life on Mother Earth, Pagans hung apples and red balls on the trees, and mistletoes hung is a symbol of healing from the sacred oak tree. This was such a powerful symbol of Paganism that churches actually banned such practices for 25 years.

The War on Christmas dates back to the Puritans in the mid-17th century. Puritans knew that to control the people, they must ban all Pagan traditions. As a result, Christmas was actually banned in America for 20 years before our founders decided the only way for America to thrive as a nation was to separate church and state. This resulted in Thomas Jefferson writing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prevents the government from making laws which regulate an establishment of religion, prohibit the free exercise of religion. 

This Clause protects Pagans, Atheists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Agnostics, Protestants, etc from government interference in favor of any particular religion.

For those of you who celebrate the birth of Jesus, or those like myself who celebrate another wonderful and propserous year known as Winter Solstice, such free exercise for or against any particular religion is truly what makes America the greatest nation on Mother Earth.

Corrupt acts to benefit a small few, covered up by government officials, is what makes America weak and vulnerable to foreign interference.

 

“The very reason for the First Amendment is to make the people of this country free to think, speak, write and worship as they wish, not as the Government commands. ” The Honorable Justice Hugo Black