Okay...here it goes...some of you are probably going to be offended...take this personally...hell I may even lose a few facebook friends over this post...but so be it...we need to get a few things straight about this whole putting Christ back in Christmas ordeal some of you have been pasting all over the news feed...1.) There isn't one historical shred of evidence...biblical or otherwise linking ...the actual birth of Jesus Christ with the date of December 25th...in fact it was in 274AD that the winter solstice fell on Dec. 25th
and Roman Emperor Aurelian proclaimed the date as “Natalis Solis Invicti,” the festival of the birth of the invincible sun. (Notice the spelling of the word SUN...as in giant ball of glowing gas...not as in male offspring) Pope Julius I specified the 25th of December as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ. In 325AD, Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman emperor, introduced Christmas as an immovable feast on 25 December. In 354AD, Bishop Liberius of Rome officially ordered his members to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25. 2.) Even without the above mentioned historically documented FACTS...most of you touting the "Let's put Christ back in Christmas" theme...proclaiming to be Christian...display an attitude of being offended by people of differing religions using terms for their Holidays instead of 'Merry Christmas'...altho I am not a Christian and will keep my beliefs to myself...I hardly believe the teachings of Christianity endow an individual to belittle the beliefs of people attending a church of another religion...3.) I don't care by what religion you associate yourself with...or by what name you refer to the holiday season...ENJOY this time with your family and friends as you see fit...this country was NOT founded by one religious group or another...it was a conglomeration of individuals from all walks of life who wanted Freedom to choose whichever religion that they saw fit...freedom to speak their mind without retribution...freedom from taxation without representation...the descendants of those individuals still reside within our borders...all of us deserve the right to call the holiday season whatever we want...I'm not asking any one of you to accept my beliefs or what I hafta say here...all I'm saying is this...don't be so concerned with semantics you miss the entire meaning of the spirit of Christmas...the gift of giving...helping those less fortunate...and fellowship with thy neighbors...it has absolutely nothing to do with terminology or holiday inspired catchphrases...I sincerely hope none of you take this personally or as an offensive post but look at it as an enlightenment of information...if you truly wanna 'Keep Christ in Christmas'...I wholeheartedly implore you to do so...by embracing your personal religious beliefs while simultaneously allowing your fellow man the respect and freedom to follow the religion of their choice without recourse...so...with that being said...to all my family...and friends...regardless of your religious views...I would like to wish each and everyone of you the absolute best holiday season!!!
and Roman Emperor Aurelian proclaimed the date as “Natalis Solis Invicti,” the festival of the birth of the invincible sun. (Notice the spelling of the word SUN...as in giant ball of glowing gas...not as in male offspring) Pope Julius I specified the 25th of December as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ. In 325AD, Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman emperor, introduced Christmas as an immovable feast on 25 December. In 354AD, Bishop Liberius of Rome officially ordered his members to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25. 2.) Even without the above mentioned historically documented FACTS...most of you touting the "Let's put Christ back in Christmas" theme...proclaiming to be Christian...display an attitude of being offended by people of differing religions using terms for their Holidays instead of 'Merry Christmas'...altho I am not a Christian and will keep my beliefs to myself...I hardly believe the teachings of Christianity endow an individual to belittle the beliefs of people attending a church of another religion...3.) I don't care by what religion you associate yourself with...or by what name you refer to the holiday season...ENJOY this time with your family and friends as you see fit...this country was NOT founded by one religious group or another...it was a conglomeration of individuals from all walks of life who wanted Freedom to choose whichever religion that they saw fit...freedom to speak their mind without retribution...freedom from taxation without representation...the descendants of those individuals still reside within our borders...all of us deserve the right to call the holiday season whatever we want...I'm not asking any one of you to accept my beliefs or what I hafta say here...all I'm saying is this...don't be so concerned with semantics you miss the entire meaning of the spirit of Christmas...the gift of giving...helping those less fortunate...and fellowship with thy neighbors...it has absolutely nothing to do with terminology or holiday inspired catchphrases...I sincerely hope none of you take this personally or as an offensive post but look at it as an enlightenment of information...if you truly wanna 'Keep Christ in Christmas'...I wholeheartedly implore you to do so...by embracing your personal religious beliefs while simultaneously allowing your fellow man the respect and freedom to follow the religion of their choice without recourse...so...with that being said...to all my family...and friends...regardless of your religious views...I would like to wish each and everyone of you the absolute best holiday season!!!
That was the post I placed on facebook...a few things to note...Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emporer of Rome...was in fact raised as a Pagan...it wasn't until after his rise to power that HE determined all the people he ruled over should worship a male diety...and it was at this time that HE introduced Christianity as the only acceptable religion for all of Rome and the lands she conquered...according to most scholars who have done far more research on the topic than I will ever have time to devote...actually put the birth of Christ somewhere around 4 B.C. between the months of March and June...so before we go reigniting the Crusades...take a moment to reflect on what the spirit of the Holiday Season means to you...and again...Happy Holidays!!!
