Worshipping sun

I wasn't surprised by the news that Oxford will substitute Christmas with Winter Light Fest. It is a move that historically has been used by famous people: just to say one name, Aurelian, the Roman emperor. Yes: the pagan festival of the 'Birth of the Unconquered Sun' instituted by the Roman Emperor Aurelian on December 25 in the year 274 was almost certainly an attempt to create a pagan alternative to a date that was already of some significance to Roman Christians. Thus the 'pagan origins of Christmas' is a myth without historical substance.

It's the usual upside-down.  The Christians are accused to steal the holidays of other religions when often is the other way round. Christmas is celebrated on 25th December because that day is nine moths after the 25th March, traditional date of Cruxifiction for early christians. A Judaic tradition was that the prophets of Israel died on the same dates as their birth or conception. If Jesus died on 25th March then it was also the date of Annunciation. This the source of the calculation, sustained anyway also by some archeological evidence.
While is certain that Christmas was already celebrated at the beginning of III century, there aren't proofs that Sun's festival was ever held in Rome before that time. The two roman temples to the sun held feasts in different months. Early christendom didn't care about Isis, Mithra, Apollon, Jove or other sun deities. In the christian way the sun is just God's creation, made for man's sake, it isn't a revengeful god to be prayed. And if Christ can be seen as the Sun of Justice, redemption for all humanity, this is just a symbol, nothing more.

About the same thing can be told about Halloween, that is the Eve of All Saints. The feast in honor of all the saints in heaven was moved to November 1 by Pope Gregory III (d. 741), the dedication day of All Saints Chapel in St. Peter's at Rome. Later, in the 840s, Pope Gregory IV commanded that All Saints be observed everywhere. This wasn't evidently made to obscure a remote celtic feast.

What remains is the ignorance and the grudge against Christianity (that is their own civilization and tradition) shown by that english sun worshippers.

Let's hope that they will not resort to human sacrifices, at least for now.  

Original post here