Did Christmas Begin as a Pagan Holiday?
You’ve probably heard the old saw that December 25, Christmas, began as a pagan holiday. The most commonly cited connections are that it began as the Greco-Roman festival of Saturnalia, or else that it began as the Roman feast of the sun (Sol, or Greek Helios) at the winter solstice. The truth is, neither of these is correct. Saturnalia was a Roman festival in honor of the god Saturn. It had origins in the Greek holiday of Kronia, which celebrated the god Kronos. However, Saturnalia was never held on December 25. The......