Solidification of a Date and a Reason to Celebrate
One of the most important components to celebrations in Rome and Persian was Mithra (“Mithras” to the Romans). Interestingly, Mithra was said to have been born of a human virgin (a common way to be born for the subjects of legends in the ancient world) on December 25th in the humble surroundings of a cave and with a wild bull nearby (a detail important to stories about his post-birth occurrences). Persian Zoroastrianism (ancient religion) recalls how Mithras’ birth was witnessed and worshipped by shepherds; how Mithra performed miracles throughout his life (healed the sick, gave sight to blind, raised the dead); and how he had a last supper with 12 companions before he was killed, entombed, and then rose from the dead. Sound familiar Christians?
The similarities between Mithra and Jesus (and Zoroastrianism and Christianity) abound, but historically one did come before the other, possibly suggesting the stories of the second may have been influenced by the legends of the first. The date of origin of Zoroastrianism and Mithra is subject to debate but it is widely accepted that both predate Christianity by a great deal of time. Dates for the beginnings of Zoroastrianism range from 9000 BCE to 600 BCE, with dates closer to the latter most commonly cited. Zoroastrianism spread to the Roman Empire from Persia starting around 68 BCE and continued to increase in popularity through the 3rd century CE. Once Christianity emerged, Zoroastrianism was said to have been one of its major rivals, perhaps due to the similarities between the two and popularity of each.
As Christianity began to spread and increase in its base of followers, the celebration of pagan gods was frowned upon, even forbidden. But that did not stop the continuation of celebrations such as Saturnalia. In an attempt to Christianize the events, some practices of other religions were adopted by the church and given a Christian twist. At first the winter celebrations finessed by the church did not include an observance of the birth of Christ. However, the second Bishop of Rome, Telesphorus, declared in 137 CE that the festivities should include church services to celebrate “The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour” and that Christ’s birthday should be celebrated as a solemn feast. But since the exact birth date of Jesus is hard to pin down (no one knows for sure; the New testament gives no date but evidence would actually point to a spring birth) the Nativity was often held in September, occurring at the same time as the Jewish Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah).
To give a little consistency to the Roman winter festival, Emperor Aurelian declared in the year 247 CE that December 25th would be henceforth considered “Natalis Solis Invicti” (festival of the invincible sun). The date was chosen because it was the day on which the winter solstice fell. As the years passed and the Christian movement grew, church leaders continued to find the pagan worship of multiple gods distasteful and sought ways to diminish the practice. Since no definitive date for the birth of Christ could be determined, Pope Julius I chose the date of December 25th. It was no coincidence that the date he picked fell on the same day considered the most sacred of the year by many pagans. The move is widely accepted as having been an attempt to eclipse the pagan festivals and transform the popular Saturnalia celebration in to a holiday more in line with the views of the church.
In an effort to further solidify the status of Christmas as a December 25th event, Constantine the Great made Christmas an immoveable feast in 325 CE. Constantine was a convert from paganism to Christianity (he is said to have switched in 312 BCE after receiving a vision). He ended the persecution of Christians prevalent in the Roman Empire and (considering himself the “supreme spiritual leader” of both Christians and pagans under his rule) sought to join the pagan traditions that were so popular with Christianity in order to form one monotheistic state religion; hence, the declaration of Christmas as an annual December 25th event. Constantine’s intentions were reinforced in 345 CE when Bishop Liberius of Rome ordered church members to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th.
