Christianity is particularly fascinating for its ability to absorb local culture and custom, while retain its core goals and beliefs. Examples of this impressive aptitude can be found the world over, and it might well explain how Christianity has spread so far and wide in the short time it has been an organized religion.
Perhaps the most celebrated example of this phenomenon is Christmas. The whole holiday is steeped in ancient Roman and Germanic tradition. In order to understand how and when Christmas came to be celebrated, we must look at two Roman holidays: Saturnalia and Dies Natalis Solis Invicti.
Saturnalia was a week-long celebration of Saturn, the Roman god of the harvest (equivalent to the Greek god Cronus) and father to Jupiter, the supreme deity of the Roman pantheon. Running from December 17 to the 23rd this long holiday included several traditions that carried over to Christmas, including gift-giving, a recess from school, feasting and caroling (though, in a slight change of pace, the Romans often caroled in the nude). The whole holiday week was characterized by a general sense of social equality and merriment. Slaves were temporarily allowed many privileges of freedmen, and it was not unusual for the masters to prepare their servants a banquet in honor of the occasion.
Now when it comes to the fixing of the date December 25th as the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth we must examine the tradition surrounding Sol Invictus, represented in Rome by the god Mithra.Ernest Renan, French philosopher and historian of early Christianity, wrote, “If Christianity had been checked in its growth by some deadly disease, the world would have become Mithraic.” While some may argue this point, it is difficult to ignore the several powerful similarities between the two religions. Both religions include a virgin birth. Followers of Mithra (a patron deity of soldiers) were called Soldiers of Mithra, much as some followers of Jesus are referred to as Soldiers of Christ.
