I don't belong to either religion but here is an intersting article: The Pagan Roots of Modern Holidays Many Pagan traditions are still seen today. Many of the holidays we celebrate today are considered Christian, but the origins of many modern-day holidays are older than Christianity. Easter The Christian holiday of Easter commemorates the crucifixion of Christ, and his rise from the dead into heaven. Then where do all the symbolism of bunnies, and eggs come from? It's more than coincedence that the early Pagans had a holiday to mark the Spring Equinox, called Ostara, usually celebrated around March 21st. With the return of spring, came the birthing of the farm animals for the year. Which is why we see bunnies, chicks, eggs and little lambs as symbols for this holiday. Part of the Ostara mythology involved the return of various deities from the underworld (symbolic of the end of winter). So it's not surprising that this holiday got enmeshed with the Christian story of the ressurection of Christ. Christmas Even non-Pagans use the term "Yule" around the Christmas holidays. Yule is celebrated on the Winter Solstice (December 22nd), on the shortest day of the year. Since the days get longer from this point in the year, Yule is a celebration of the returning sun and the rebirth of the God who died at Hallowe'en. As with Easter, the Christian story of the birth of Jesus fits nicely with the Pagan mythology of a God reborn. Traditions such as wreaths and Yule logs are remnants of the original beliefs. Gifts were exchanged at Yule long before the Wise Men offered their gifts to the baby Jesus. Groundhog Day Well, it's not specifically Christian or celebrated as intensely as the two holidays just mentioned, Groundhog Day is still part of the modern-day year. Candlemas (or Imbolc) is celebrated on February 2nd. Because spring is just starting to show itself at this time of year, there were various superstitions about predicting the weather, and how long it would be until the end of winter. The original idea was to watch for a hedgehog, but as people immigrated to North America, the tradition changed to a ground hog to suit local wildlife. Hallowe'en Ok, everyone knows that Hallowe'en is a Pagan holiday, but there are many misconceptions surrounding what the holiday really means. Pagans call the day Samhain (SOW-en or sow-EEN). The old God dies on this day, and the Goddess mourns him until his rebirth at Yule. We use this day to honour and remember our loved ones who have passed on. In an effort to diffuse the interest in this heathen holiday, the Church created All Saint's Day (November 1) as a holy day to recognize all the Catholic saints. But it wasn't a powerful enough idea to wipe out the traditional Hallowe'en celebrattions. Ironically, many Christians do not approve of the celebration of Hallowe'en because of its Pagan origins, not realizing that almost all of the holidays they observe had Pagan beginnings. Why are major Christian holidays layered on older Pagan festivals? The central reason is that as Christianity was struggling for acceptance in Europe, the country-folk would not give up their age-old traditions. By blending the old with the new, it was easier for the Church to convert the locals.
You can thank Constantine the Great for the large pagan influence in christian holidays today, and christianity in general. Some have questioned if he was really christian, considering he had pagan images printed on coins and erected a statue with the face of Mithra, the sun god. http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/bios/b2constantine.htm "Although Constantine was one of the greatest influences in promoting the Christian faith, he is also credited with infiltrating it with pagan practices, and bringing idols into the church. While Christianity was growing in popularity, sun worship or Mithraism remained strong in the empire. Sun worshipers were converted to Christianity because of their surface similarities, practices, and analogies such as “the sun of righteousness” which were later implemented into the church. Mithra, the sun god was celebrated in the solar paganism and their day of rest and worship was on the day of the sun. Constantine issued laws conflicting with the fourth commandment, changing the day of worship from Sabbath to Sunday to coincide with the sun worship day of rest. Constantine’s motives for promoting the pagan influences on Christianity are not certain. His mutual compensation was possibly for political purposes of gaining favor or out of ignorance of the laws of the Bible. One mystery is The Arch of Constantine, built to honor his triumph in the name of God. The monument displays no symbolic relevance to God, but does have images of Mithra." http://biblicalholidays.com/Excerpts/What%20happened.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_I_of_the_Roman_Empire#Constantine_and_Christianity
Its' too bad with such similarities, Pagans and Christians do not celebrate it's ties instead of arguing who is right. Just my humble opinion.
As I understand it, christian beliefs that are derived from paganism include the equality of Jesus and the holy ghost as being equal with God the Father, the belief that Jesus was born of a virgin.
Which pagans and Christians are arguing who is right? Christians arent celebrating the same holiday, though it may be on the same day, its a different holiday today. The only reasons they are on the day to begin with is because it is the dying remnants of cultures that Christianity killed. Oh yeah lets all hold hands and celebrate that together. "Golly Gee Mr. Christian, you religion ruined my ancestors culture and caused them to abandon their gods and ways, I really wanna celebrate your holiday with you, cause we have that in common." Wow! what fun, people the world over should celebrate how Christians ruined their country and culture!
