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Taking the Christ out of Christmas |
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Written by Xiuhcoatl
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Dec 24, 2005 at 06:42 PM |
Mexicas and the Global History of the Celebration of the Winter SolsticeTaking the Christ out of Christmas!Written by Xiuhcoatl of Aztlan Rising
Introduction
To the Mexica people and all others;
The holiday known to us as Christmas is celebrated throughout the Christian world. But what most people do not know is that Christmas is an almost entirely pagan holiday. All that needs to be done to revert back to the customs of our ancestors is to take the Christ out of Christmas! For us Mexicans, that is to celebrate the Mexica (Nahuatl) “God” of War and the Sun, the great Aztec Huitzilopochtli.
The Birth of the Sun God (Not Son of God)
If Jesus Christ existed, he was not born during the month of December. From the bible it can be established that when Christ was born it was not in winter, as it states that shepherds were tending to their sheep. Robert Myers in the book Celebrations asserts:
“The Biblical narrative of the birth of Jesus contains no indication of the date that the event occurred. However, Luke’s report that the shepherds were ‘abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night’ suggests that Jesus may have been born in summer or early fall. Since December is extremely cold and rainy in Judea, it is likely the shepherds would have sought shelter for their flocks at night.”
The true origin of Christmas lies not in the birth of Jesus Christ, but the re-birth of the Sun, the Winter Solstice.
Sometime after the year 350 A.D. Christmas became a commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Pope Julius I announced that Jesus’ birth would be celebrated on December 25, to replace the pagan holidays that already existed. The celebration is actually relating to the rebirth of the Sun God, not the birth of the Son of God. The Winter Solstice has been celebrated around the world by pagan peoples for thousands of years. It is the time of year when the days are their shortest and the nights are their longest. Because of the behavior of the Sun during the winter solstice, many groups of people around the world believed that the Sun would not return and that everyone and everything would freeze.
Pagan Traditions
During this frightening time, the evergreen trees endured. The tradition of the Christmas tree actually began thousands of years before Jesus was supposedly born. The star that sits atop the Christmas tree is representative of the resurrection of the Sun. The use of the Christmas tree is an entirely pagan tradition, as are holly, wreath, mistletoe, the act of caroling, the exchanging of gifts, and nearly every other Christmas tradition.
Ancient Egyptians did not have evergreen trees in the area so they decorated their homes with palm trees, which symbolized resurrection, during the winter solstice. The first evergreen tree to be adorned for the winter solstice was by the Greeks in worship of their god Adonia. Adonia was known for resurrecting the serpent Aessulapius.
The ancient Babylonians celebrated the feast of the Son of Isis on December 25, at which they partied, ate, drank, and exchanged gifts.
The Romans celebrated Saturnalia from December seventeenth to the twenty-third, but sometimes the celebration lasted longer, until several days after December 25. The entire winter season was known as “Dies Natalis Invicti Solis” the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. The celebration represented the triumph of life over death. The Christmas tradition of caroling derived from this holiday. The mummers of Rome would travel door to door, in costumes, singing and entertaining their neighbors. The Romans would light lamps, bring in clippings of shrubs and evergreens and laurel wreaths to decorate their homes in celebration of the Saturnalia. They decorated their trees with pieces of metal and with replicas of the fertility God Bacchus.
Yule was celebrated in northern Europe long before these people were introduced to Christianity. Yule can be translated to “wheel,” which is the pagan northern European symbol for sun. During Yule they paid tribute to the Sun God, Mithras, and his rebirth. A candle was lit to ensure Mithras would return the next year. Yule logs were burned to honor the sun. The mistletoe, which was considered sacred, was first used during Yule as a fertility ritual. The tradition of the Christmas tree was also practiced by the northern Europeans long before the birth of Jesus. They brought evergreens into their homes as a reminder of the beauty of nature and so that their crops would grow again. The Druids would ornament their trees with fruit and candles in honor of Woden. The evergreen was also considered a good luck charm, representative of fertility, at weddings. The Druids considered the tree a religious symbol, at which they held their sacred ceremonies. Before the Northern Europeans, the Middle Easterners would cut down trees, place them inside their homes and decorate them.
Christian Opposition to Christmas
Since the adoption of Christmas as a Christian holiday, there has been much opposition by Christian leaders who recognize and condemn its pagan roots.
Jeremiah, a prophet, criticized the use of Christmas trees as pagan:
"Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not." (KJV). Jeremiah 10:2-4
Tertullian (160 - 230), an early Christian leader, complained that too many Christians had adopted the Pagan practice of decorating their homes with lamps and wreathes of laurel during Christmas time.
Oliver Cromwell preached against Christmas caroling, decorating trees, and any joyful expression that dishonored the “sacred event” of Jesus’ birth.
English Puritans condemned several traditions associated with Christmas, such as the use of the holly, the mistletoe, and the Yule log.
In England the celebration of Christmas was banned on the grounds that Christmas was a pagan holiday with no relationship to Jesus Christ or the Bible. People found cooking Christmas dinner or celebrating that holiday in any way were arrested.
In Massachusetts in 1659 Christmas was outlawed by authorities. The ban was lifted 22 years later. Pastor Henry Schwan, in 1851, was the first to decorate a Christmas tree in an American church. The idea was condemned by parishioners as Pagan.
Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Worldwide Church of God do not celebrate Christmas because of its pagan roots.
The Mexican Winter Solstice
During the Nahuatl month of Panquetzaliztli, the Mexicas (Aztecs) celebrated the coming of their “God” of War, the Sun “God”, Huitzilopochtli. The time of celebration corresponds to December in the modern Julian calendar, from about the seventh to the twenty-sixth. Catholic missionaries took advantage of this pagan celebration that coincides with the pagan celebration of Christmas, and they substituted the Nahuatl “Gods” with Christian ones.
Huitzilopochtli (also spelled Uitzilopochtli) is the Mexica “God” of War who is believed to have led the Mexica from Aztlan to Mexico Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City). At this time Huitzilopochtli was only a man, and he was later exalted to the status of a deity. Huitzilopochtli also signifies the Sun, and the Aztecs are the “people of the Sun.” Huitzilopochtli can be translated as “Blue Hummingbird on the Left.” His origins are not unlike that of the Christian Sun-God Jesus, who was born from the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary. Coatlicue, who had already birthed many “Gods”, was miraculously impregnated by a ball of feathers that fell from the sky, and from this miracle Huitzilopochtli was born. According to some sources this occurred during the month of December.
The celebration of Huitzilopochtli was very important to the Mexica tribe. For days they would party, showing their love and respect for the Sun and the deity Huitzilopochtli. Parades were organized to honor his rising in the sky. Dances and feasts were held in the name of Huitzilopochtli. The Mexica channeled their energy to this “God” so that he would return to lighten the sky.
We, as Mexicans, must revert back to the ways of our ancestors. We must refrain from worshipping a European Christian God. We have to stop dishonoring the memory of our ancestors by worshipping this Man-God that is responsible for the destruction of our civilizations. There is absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating the Winter Solstice, but instead of celebrating a foreign God, let us begin to celebrate the patron deity of the Mexica Aztecs, Huitzilopochtli, "God" of the Sun and of War.
NOTE: We must also not forget that the Mayas also celebrated the Winter Solstice. They most likely worshipped the Maize “God”, who is also the Sun “God”, One Hunaphu, during the Winter Solstice.
Sources:
Soustelle, Jacques. Daily Life of the Aztecs on the Eve of Spanish Conquest. Stanford University Press:1961.
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mythology/huitzilopochtli_sun.html
http://de.essortment.com/christmaspagan_rece.htm
http://www.reillypainting.com/bulletin/_data/000024d4.htm
http://users.aol.com/libcfl/xmas.htm
http://askelm.com/doctrine/d911101.htm
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2000/12/15/article_01.htm
http://www.pvmirror.com/artculture/175-posadas-ing.html
http://www.lowcountrynow.com/stories/121901/LOCvecinos.shtml
http://www.religioustolerance.org/xmas_tree.htm
http://edj.net/mc2012/fap2.html
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Last Updated ( Dec 31, 2005 at 04:44 AM )
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Theology 