Christianity and Paganism

Articles about the historical relationships between Christianity and paganism and about attempts to undermine historic Christianity and historic Christian practices with false assertions about pagan origins.

This page and the articles are works in progress.


Redeeming Christian Holy Days and Traditions

Holidays and Traditions Related to the date of Christmas

I am in the process of updating articles and splitting them into individual topics that are a bit more manageable to read.

Annunciation/Christmas Cycle-Originally Tied to Passover

-- Annunciation-March 25 --resources
-- Nativity of St. John the Baptist-June 24 (Annunciation + 3 months)
      Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
-- Visitation-July 2
-- St. Martin's Lent (November 11-December 24)
-- Advent
-- -- Dec. 17-23 Great "O" Antiphons
-- -- Cynewulf
-- -- O Sapientia: December 17th
-- -- O Adonai: December 18th
-- -- O Radix Jesse: December 19th
-- -- O Clavis David: December 20th
-- -- O Oriens: December 21
-- -- O Rex Gentium: December 22
-- -- O Emmanuel: December 23
-- St. Lucia's Day-December 13
-- The Righteous Die on their Birthday
-- Christmas-December 25 (Annunciation + 9 months)
-- Holy Innocents-December 28
-- Circumcision-January 1 (Christmas +8)
-- Holy Family-January 2
-- Epiphany January 6 (Christmas + 12)
-- Plough Monday--First Monday After Epiphany
-- Candlemas/Presentation-February 2nd (Christmas + 40)

Some Pagan days claimed as sources for the Christmas cycle 
--  Sol Invictus 
--  Juvenalia [Old article Juvenalia]
--  Saturnalia [Old article Saturnalia]
--  --  -- resources
--  --  Nativity Scenes-Sigillaria 

--  Brumalia
--  -- Brumalia in the Roman Republic - Pre-Julian Latin Sources
--  -- Brumalia in the Roman Empire -- working document/research
-- --  Précis: Mazza, Roberta 2005 “Dalla Bruma ai Brumalia. Modelli di cristianizzazione tra Roma e Costantinopoli.”
-- --  Précis: Harl, Marguerite 1981 “La dénonciation des festivités profanes dans le discours épiscopal et monastique, en Orient chrétien, à la fin du IVe siècle”
--  Older documents with Brumalia research
--  -- resources
--  -- Ancient Sources: Statistics and Concordance
-- --  Ancient Sources: Pre 46 BC, Republican Calendar 
-- --  Ancient Sources: post 46 BC Julian Calendar Reforms
--  The Christians Stole the Date December 25th from Birthdates of Pagan Gods
--  Misuse of the Church Fathers regarding paganism

-- Germanic Paganism and Yule
-- -- Alexander Tille's 1899 Christmas and Yule
-- -- -- Introduction
-- -- -- Chapters 1 "The Germanic Year" and 2 "The Beginning of the Anglo-Germanic Year"
-- -- -- Chapter 3 "The Feast of Martinmas"
-- -- -- Chapter 4 "Martinmas, and the Tri-Partition of the Year"
-- -- -- Chapter 5 "Martinmas, and the Dual Division of the Year"
-- -- -- Chapter 6 "Martinmas and Michaelmas"
-- -- -- Chapter 7 "Solstices and Equinoxes"
-- -- -- Chapter 8 "The Calends of January"
-- -- -- Chapter 9 "Tabula Fortunae"
-- -- -- Chapter 10 "The Nativity of Christ"
-- -- -- Chapter 11 "Beda, De Mensibus Anglorum"
-- -- -- Chapter 12 "Nativity, Christes Maess, and Christmas"
-- -- -- Chapter 13 "The Scandinavian Year"
-- -- -- Chapter 14 "Scandinavian Offering Tides"
-- -- -- Chapter 15 "Scandinavian Yule"
-- -- -- Chapter 16 "Results"


Some Traditions Associated With Christmas Purportedly Pagan

-- Gift Giving-Strenae - resources
-- Christmas Carols
-- Constantine and Christmas

-- History of Religions School Stuff
-- Christ Myth Theory -- [covering the following]
-- -- Jesus and Pagan child gods
-- -- resources on Akkadian words for "child"
-- -- Dionysus
-- -- Horus [virgin birth from Isis]
-- -- Mithra
-- -- Baldur
-- -- Quetzalcoatl


-- Greenery
-- -- Trees
-- -- Holly and Ivy
-- -- Mistletoe

-- Father Christmas
-- Santa
-- Krampus

-- Twelve-Days
-- Yule/Norse/Yule Log
-- Wild Hunt


Holy Days and Traditions Related to the date of Easter

-- Ash Wednesday, Ashes, and Lent
-- (older article on  Ash Wednesday)

-- Great Week-Passion Week-and Holy Week
-- Palmorum
-- Maundy Thursday
-- Good Friday

--  Easter  - Resources
-- -- False goddess Eostre, Eggs, Bunny
-- -- Oestra
-- -- Nowruz, Persian New Year and Easter Eggs
-- -- Hare/Bunny
-- -- -- A brief note on the misuse of Bodleian Library Manuscript Bodl. 264 Folio 21


-- Rogate
-- Rogation Days
-- Pentecost
-- Trinity

Holy Days and Traditions Based on Calendar Date

-- February 14th,  Valentine's Day - resources
-- March 19th, St. Joseph
-- April 30th Walpurgis Night - resources
-- -- And May Day

-- June 29th, Sts. Peter and Paul
-- August 15th, St. Mary
-- September 29th, St. Michael and All Angels

-- October 31-November 1
-- -- A Short Summary Article with Links to some of the following
-- --Halloween Document History
     Covers Documented history of Samhain and All Saints' Day observances
-- --Samhain and The Mound of Hostages, Tara, Ireland
-- --Halloween Reformation 
     Covers Luther's posting of the 95 Theses on Oct 31, 2517
-- -- Samhain, Hallowe'en, and the Celts: A Timeline of Evidence
-- -- (Halloween Resources pt 1) outdated document.
-- -- All Saints' Day  A short history of Halloween. Needs updating and better sources.
-- November 11th, St. Martin's Day


Other Topics and Movements

Calendars
-- Origins and Kinds
---Geminus of Rhodes' Notes on the Egyptian Calendar

-- Origins of Liturgical Year

General Traditions
-- Seasonal Alms Begging
-- Seasonal Fire Traditions
-- Misrule and Lord Of Misrule [Historic]
-- Mumming
-----Guising
-----Dances
-- Greenery
-- -- Various Holy Days
-- -- Green Man

-- Radical Reformed Protestantism
-- -- Puritans
-- -- Millerism
-- -- Campbelite
-- -- Modern Radical Reformed

-- Wicca and Neopaganism
-- -- origins of modern Witchraft and Paganism
-- -- The Burning Times
-- -- The Wheel of the Year: The Neopagan/Wiccan Calendar
-- -- Pan-Celtism
-- -- Misrule and Lord of Misrule [Wiccan & Neopagan]

-- The French Revolution and the Church
-- -- Modern historical revisionism against the Church
-- -- Populist revisionism (History Channel)
-- -- The Atheist/Academic Reducing/Rejection of Christianity

-- Paganism v Christ: Claims of Historical Origin and How To Test Them
       A set of slides to accompany a lecture about Apologetics in general and Historical Apologetics in particular.


General Research and Resources Page