History of Christmas

[celedhring]

This comes from the OT forum, where we have been wondering about the exact origins of the Christmas festivity. We more or less know that it comes from pagan grounds (winter festival). But would love to know when was the current date determined (note that if we are counting the years since the birth of Christ, shouldn't Christmas be at the 1st of Jan?). Also, other christian religions celebrate it in other dates (Orthodoxs in January, IIRC), so would love to known the reason.

 

[unmerged(547)]

Yikes, you did move it here afterall

I always assumed that the Gregorians set the date when the change from the Julian Calendar was done. Of course, I could be wrong.

 

[unmerged(4745)]

Jul vs. Christmas

The midwinter feast have been fired in Scandinavia since the first humans begun to have cermonies to get the sun back.

This Midvinterblot was later taken over by the christian church when the Norse people was christanised between 9th and 11th century.

The christmas as fired on the continent is something else.

 

[Crazy_Ivan80]

The date on which Christmas falls was determined dring the Roman Empire, probably during the 4th century AD. It replaced the Roman Feast of Sol Invictus or the Winter Solstice.

The reason why western Christian and Orthodox Christian dates are different is becuase of the calender we use, IIRC. We use the Gregorian Calendar, they use they Julian (from Caesar) Calendar.