Are Christmas Traditions Paganistic?
One of many arguments against the celebration of Christmas as it has been done for years, is the claim that many of the traditions found in the celebration of it were brought over into Christianity from pagan practices. These include the yule log, the tree, special feasts or meals, and mistletoe. How can we justify these things? Isn’t it just like celebrating Halloween? Here are some historical facts about our traditions. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible says: Gradually a number of prevailing practices of the nations into which Christianity came were assimilated and were combined with the religious ceremonies surrounding Christmas. The assimilation of such practices generally represented efforts by Christians to transform or absorb otherwise pagan practices. The Feast of Saturnalia in early Rome, for example, was celebrated for 7 days from the 17th to the 24th of December and was marked by a spirit of merriment, gift giving to children and other forms of entertainment.
