Does christmas have pagan roots

Answer 1

• The opposite is true, though root of Christianity was not known as Christianity.

• I wont say that any one religion "branched off" from another but many of the world religions today often share very many of the same traits and ritual practices.

(Wrong answere was here)

Answer 2

Not only Christams, but even Easter is Pagan.

Christmas tree is pagan Yule Tree. Pagans call it Yule, one of the eight seasonalcelebrations. Yule comes on 21st or 22nd of December. It iscelebratedas the birth of a new Sun (God) after the winter. The Sun God dies on Samhain (Halloween) and born again on the Yule. It is acelebrationof light. That is why candles are lit on the Yule tree.

Christmas tree was banned in theEuropefor a long time. And pagans who converted to Christianity insisted on preserving their pagan traditions of lighting a tree. Finally the Church had to allow Christmas tree, since the Husband of the Queen of England wished to have a Christmas tree.

Answer 3

Nearly every major faith has assimilated certain pagan beliefs, adapting them to fit in with the new faith. Christianity is no exception. Of course, the greatest single influence on the development of Christianity is not paganism but Judaism (in its early days, Christianity was considered a heretical version of Judaism). But Christianity took in a number of beliefs that came from Egyptian and other pagan mythologies: the belief in a dying and rising god; having a spring holiday to honor renewal (originally a fertility festival to honor Ishtar or Eoster, it later became known as Easter); and the belief that December 25 (a pagan festival called Saturnalia-- the birthday of the Sun) should become the birthday of Jesus (the Birthday of the Son).

But it is an oversimplification to say Christianity is "fashioned after" paganism, however. Much that is central to Christianity revolves around the teachings of Jesus, as later explained by Paul and the apostles, and Jesus was not a pagan-- he was a Jew and an ethical monotheist. And while certain holidays did come from pagan religions, many tenets of Christianity come from the words and deeds of Jesus and the early leaders of the church.

Answer 4

Nope! Christianity started out just as that. It first met in the Synagogs in the evenings. Read the book of Acts. Rabbi Jesus informed all of us that he was NOT here to start a new religion, but to fix the Jewish one. Also requiring us ALL to keep obeying ALL of the 613 Commandments that GOD gave to Moses! Out of the 2,000 Christian religions in the USA today, only one of them, Messianic Judaism, seem to be obeying this today. To many of todays "Christian" religions are more pagan in style and beliefs. Look at the old Catholic churches, they have the fake sun-god carved in their walls!

Answer 5

No, Christianity came from Judaism. The Jews believed in a coming Messiah that would save them, Christians believe this coming Messiah was Jesus Christ.

Many Pagan teachings and practices were merged with Christianity over the centuries that the populace of the Roman Empire was converting from Paganism to Christianity. Some Roman Emperors had a hand in these conversions, in what many people believe was an attempt to gain political favor and support from the people of both faiths.

Answer 6

No, Christianity is basically Judaism fulfilled. If you go into a syngogue you will see what basically looks like a traditional Catholic Church with a sanctuary, the Bishop's chair over to the side and where the tabernacle is in a Church, a shrine for the Sacred Scriptures with a red light burning before it, just as in a Catholic Church.

Pagan originated as a term for a non-Jew, it has, in modern times, been extended to a non-Jew or a non-Christian. Christianity still recites the entire Psalter each week (or month) when the priest is praying His Breviary, and the Old Testament is read at every Mass each day.

Plus, all the moral commandments of the Torah (the first five books of The Bible) are not only still in force, but they are actually stricter since the coming of Our Blessed Lord who extended them, the only commandments of the 613 in the Torah which are no longer observed are the ceremonial ones, such as keeping Kosher, circumcision, etc. as these were there to prefigure the Messiah, and with His arrival would now be a sin to observe.

Answer 7

Not especially; however many christian festivals and beliefs have subsequently been adopted from pagan belief systems.