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Since the Western world has its history primarily from the Roman Empire, there seems to have been an evolution of their celebrations for the god Saturn - known as Saturnalia and the new moons, observed December 17-24 and January 1-3. The Romans loved flirting with foreign gods and found the Persian, Mithra, born out of a rock on December 25th most interesting. The unchristian Emperor Aurelian establishe the festival of 'Dies Invicti Solis,' the Day of the Invincible Sun, on December 25th - the traditional Winter Soltice.

It is believed that the Emperor Constantine was a Mithra adherent perhaps even after his conversion to Christianity. He appears instrumental in seeing this older festival carry over into his new faith. The first celebration is circa 336 AD in Rome. Its origins cannot be traced back to either the teachings or practices of the earliest Christians. The introduction of Christmas represented a significant departure from "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 3).

It was the Germans who introduced Christmas custom to America.

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13y ago

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