> > Actually, both Christmas and Easter were originally > > pagan holidays that the Catholic church co-opted and > > re-formated to represent major events in the life of > > Christ (namely is birth and death). > > > > -- Chris J. Whitcomb > > The celebration of Ister, a fertility goddess & the origin of the eggs and > bunnies. I know, I know...(that's why I put the little thingy in there about it).\ Easter: Just about every "pagan" religion had a Spring Solstice holiday, and the eggs and bunny thing came from Latvia or Estonia or Rus or some such north-eastern wilderness. The concept of a resurrected god originated with Osiris in Egypt (of which the holy writings that have survived are remarkably similar to biblical stories of Jesus). Christmas: Saturnalia or Mithras' Day was on December 25, and the Christians decided to make it Christ's birthday during the Roman persecutions so that they could celebrate without getting busted by the religion-cops (lets just call them "Inquisitioners"). St. Patrick's Day: Goodness...St. Patrick was originally pagan himself. Clovers and leprechauns and such...need I go on? St. Valentine's Day: Erato/Cupid plucking at his bow...another no-brainer... Halloween: This one's turned about quite a bit. Originally Samhain, a Celtic celebration of their predisposition towards ancestor worship. Then All Hallowed Eve, the day before the supposed holiest day of the year, when the lives of the saints were celebrated. Then Halloween, an evil, sinister, non-Christian holiday with *gasp-in-shock* PAGAN roots!!! (I'm so glad the Church is there to inform us sinners about this stuff). Did I miss any of the big modern Christian holidays? Oh, and Merry Christ's Mass. ;) Lucifer >:} who's getting dangerously close to sparking yet another religious debate... ---------------------------------------------------------------- GMAST Home Page: http://www.phoenyx.net/gmast/ Tech support questions go to support@phoenyx.net.
