Yes. It was stolen from the Yule Tree decorating tradition of the pagan peoples.
Christmas can be described as a celebration both of the birth of Jesus Christ, and of the winter solstice. It replaces the previous Roman celebration of the Saturnalia.
The Christmas celebration, like most Christian holy days, was scheduled to usurp a Pagan celebration. In this case, the winter solstice which happens on the new moon phase each December.
the native americans do
Holly was used as ornamental foliage during the Roman celebration of Saturnalia, the holiday which Christmas was modeled after. Additionally, it was used by Celts in their Summer and Winter Solstice festivities.
The winter solstice is a festival celebrated near the time of Christmas -- December 21st this year (2012). The winter solstice celebration goes back to before Christianity and is probably the reason the time for Christmas was chosen, since it's clear from the story of his birth Jesus was actually born in a mild season.
Christmas replaced a number of regional celebrations, all of which took place on or near the winter solstice, and all of which celebrated the rebirth of a local sun god. None. It's a myth that Christmas replaced an older celebration. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas celebrations or feasts began in the 2nd or 3rd century.
a celebration of the winter solstice. by joe E
A lot of Christians celebrate holidays around winter solstice. This would mainly be Christmas. Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year.
Before Christianity the Christmas period was a pagan ritual festival dedicated to the winter solstice It was a time of celebration of the spring to come. There was much feasting, animals which could not be sustained through winter were slaughtered and eaten.
It could be the Roman festival of Saternalia or the Northern European celebration of the Winter Solstice, also commonly referred to as Yule.
The shortest day of the year is the winter solstice which occurs on December 21st. The winter solstice is when the pagan holiday Yule is celebrated. The celebration is the birth of the holly king and is celebrated in a similar fashion as Christmas.
Traditionally, Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Although Jesus wasn't actually born on December 25th, the date was chosen as it coincided with the pagan celebration of the Winter Solstice, and Christ's mass was the Christian's alternative celebration. However, in more recent times Christmas has become very commercialized and with multiculturalism becoming more an more, Christ is very quickly disappearing from Christmas. "Merry Christmas" is becoming "Season's Greetings", and Christmas is becoming Xmas as a celebration of Christ's birth becomes a celebration of self indulgence and spending time with family.