Agastasa1X t1_j1nete4 wrote on December 25, 2022 at 9:08 PM

Reply to comment by Igmu_TL in TIL about Saturnalia - a Roman Holiday held between 17 - 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere. by TurboBennett

This is a cynical interpretation of how Christmas originated. Like it designed by a committee that pre-planned everything with malicious intent. More likelihood, there were just some practices that hold that were holdovers from a pre Christian past but now being used to honor the Christian God. Christmas traditions vary region to region. It was something just happened from the ground up and organically.

genericdude777 t1_j1nlmmd wrote on December 25, 2022 at 10:03 PM

The Council of Nicea determined the Acts of John to be apocryphal. However, in these stories was a tale of John calling upon God, and successfully causing the destruction of a temple to Artemis. This, along with the well known stories of St. Patrick expelling “snakes” from Ireland; as well as religious fundamentalists compunction for violence, lends credence to the idea of deliberate erasure or appropriation of cultural traditions.