Of course this post is a little late, and goes beyond only mormonism, but the Christmas season reminded me of another surprising discovery during my journey out of mormonism. Jesus wasn't the first half-god/half-man to celebrate a birthday on December 25th. There existed in the middle east for some time preceding the birth of Jesus mythical stories of the son of god, born of a virgin on December 25th, who performed miracles, was killed on a cross, was resurrected, among other familiar elements. In my Christian-centric education I had some introduction to the "false" gods these ancient civilizations worshipped, but never did I know how many of the events and characteristics of Jesus appear to directly mirror those of these other gods. There is a hypothesis that the story of Jesus was at least partially based upon these existing myths. Of course, similarities do not prove causation, and different gods shared different attributes in common with Jesus, but when you hear all of these attributes together it can be surprising. A more detailed, albeit messy outline of parallels between these god-men can be found here.
Christmas appears to have stemmed from winter festivals, in part celebrating the birth of these various gods. LDS president Howard Hunter specifically mentions the pagan god Mithra's influence on the holiday.
"The season is steeped in tradition, and its roots stem back in history. The commencement of the holiday lies in pagan worship long before the introduction of Christianity. The god Mithra was worshiped by the ancient Aryans, and this worship gradually spread to India and Persia. Mithra at first was the god of the heavenly light of the bright skies and later in the Roman period was worshiped as the deity of the sun, or the sun god—Sol Invictus Mithra.
In the first century [before] Christ, Pompey carried on conquests along the southern coast of Cilicia, in Asia Minor, and many of the prisoners taken in those military actions were brought captive to Rome. This introduced the pagan worship of Mithra to Rome, for these prisoners spread the religion among the Roman soldiers. The worship became popular, particularly in the ranks of the Roman armies. We find today, in the ruins of the cities of the far-flung Roman Empire, the shrines of Mithra. Mithraism flourished in the Roman world and became the chief competitor of Christianity in the religious beliefs of the people.
A festive season for the worshipers of the sun god took place immediately after the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year—the time when the sun stands still after its annual dip into the Southern Hemisphere. The commencement of its climb from this low point was regarded as the rebirth of Mithra, and the Romans celebrated his birthday on the 25th of December each year. There was great merriment on this holiday—festivals and feastings, gifts given to friends, and the dwelling places decorated with evergreens.
Gradually Christianity gained a victory over Mithraism, which had been its strongest rival, and the festival day celebrating the birth of Mithra was used by the Christians to commemorate the birth of Christ. The pagan worship of the sun, deeply rooted in Roman culture, was replaced by one of the greatest festivals among Christians. Christmas has come down to us as a day of thanksgiving and rejoicing—a day of good cheer and goodwill to men. Although it has an earthly relation and significance, it is divine in content. The ancient Christian celebration has lived continuously through the centuries."
BYU Devotional Address, December 5, 1972
Beyond the sceptics of the hypothesis of Jesus being derived from previous deities who say no such parallels exist, other critics claim any similarities are purely coincidental. Others claim these were merely counterfeit gods sent by Satan to imitate god and lead those that question away from Jesus. Still others claim ancient Christians may have adopted some of the traits of other cultures' deity as embellishments or to aid in converting foreigners, but that it does not diminish the life of Jesus.
Regardless of which side of the arguement is correct, I wish I had had a knowledge of these similarities earlier in my life rather than taking the Jesus story as given. While I knew that Christmas had pagan origins, I never learned the possibility that the story of Jesus underwent a similar evolution. This new knowledge has made me more tolerant of those who say "Happy Holidays" or who write "X-Mas."
Posts
