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The first myth of Christmas my true love told to me ...
The 'pagan' Christmas tree. The original context of the Tannenbaum was firmly Christian, in 1500s Germany. No one's ever traced a sensible historical link from any pagan sacred tree to 16th cent. Christmas trees.
The 'pagan' Christmas tree. The original context of the Tannenbaum was firmly Christian, in 1500s Germany. No one's ever traced a sensible historical link from any pagan sacred tree to 16th cent. Christmas trees.
The second myth of Christmas my true love told to me ...
St Boniface didn't invent the Christmas tree in 723. Willibald's story is simply that Boniface chopped down an oak sacred to Jupiter. There's no way to draw a link to the 16th century decorated trees, 800 years later.
St Boniface didn't invent the Christmas tree in 723. Willibald's story is simply that Boniface chopped down an oak sacred to Jupiter. There's no way to draw a link to the 16th century decorated trees, 800 years later.
The third myth of Christmas my true love told to me ...
Three 'wise men'. The Bible calls them μάγοι. That isn't a word for a Chaldaean astronomer, but for a teacher in a Greek mystic cult. Just like today, people often liked to think of anything mystical as eastern in origin.
Three 'wise men'. The Bible calls them μάγοι. That isn't a word for a Chaldaean astronomer, but for a teacher in a Greek mystic cult. Just like today, people often liked to think of anything mystical as eastern in origin.
The fourth myth of Christmas my true love told to me ...
The Yule log isn't a pagan custom. It started out in the 1100s as a Christmas log, for a Christian priest, in Christian Westphalia. When it first appears in English, in Robert Herrick, he calls it a Christmas log too.
The Yule log isn't a pagan custom. It started out in the 1100s as a Christmas log, for a Christian priest, in Christian Westphalia. When it first appears in English, in Robert Herrick, he calls it a Christmas log too.
The fifth myth of Christmas my true love told to me ...
Christmas isn't based on Yule. Yule first appears in Gothic in the 400s, then in north Germanic sources from the 700s onwards. Christmas began in the Mediterranean, attested in the 300s, with roots going back to the 150s.
Christmas isn't based on Yule. Yule first appears in Gothic in the 400s, then in north Germanic sources from the 700s onwards. Christmas began in the Mediterranean, attested in the 300s, with roots going back to the 150s.
The sixth myth of Christmas my true love told to me ...
Christmas isn't based on Saturnalia. 'Same month' doesn't somehow mean they're the same thing. Ancient Christians celebrated both Saturnalia and Christmas, on separate dates, until at least the 400s.
Christmas isn't based on Saturnalia. 'Same month' doesn't somehow mean they're the same thing. Ancient Christians celebrated both Saturnalia and Christmas, on separate dates, until at least the 400s.
The seventh myth of Christmas my true love told to me ...
Christmas isn't based on a 25 Dec. Sol Invictus festival. Christmas was pan-Mediterranean, Sol Invictus only in Rome. Both appear for the first time in the same document - first and last time, in Sol Invictus' case.
Christmas isn't based on a 25 Dec. Sol Invictus festival. Christmas was pan-Mediterranean, Sol Invictus only in Rome. Both appear for the first time in the same document - first and last time, in Sol Invictus' case.
The eighth myth of Christmas my true love told to me ...
Christmas isn't based on the birthday of Mithras or Horus. They didn't have birthdays. Mithras emerged from a rock. The Horus/Osiris thing was dreamed up by Reinhold Merkelbach in the 1960s, very nearly out of thin air.
Christmas isn't based on the birthday of Mithras or Horus. They didn't have birthdays. Mithras emerged from a rock. The Horus/Osiris thing was dreamed up by Reinhold Merkelbach in the 1960s, very nearly out of thin air.
The eighth myth of Christmas my true love told to me ...
Christmas isn't based on the Ptolemaic Kikellia festival. That was a real solstice festival, but a very obscure one - it appears in only two ancient sources ever - and the solstice adequately explains the date of both.
Christmas isn't based on the Ptolemaic Kikellia festival. That was a real solstice festival, but a very obscure one - it appears in only two ancient sources ever - and the solstice adequately explains the date of both.
The ninth myth of Christmas my true love told to me ...
The link between Christmas and the solstice isn't a pagan thing. Pagan solstice festivals aren't a dime a dozen. Some pagans had them, sure, but for the Romans the oldest solstice festival was ... Christmas.
The link between Christmas and the solstice isn't a pagan thing. Pagan solstice festivals aren't a dime a dozen. Some pagans had them, sure, but for the Romans the oldest solstice festival was ... Christmas.
The tenth myth of Christmas my true love told to me ...
For us, solstice is on 21/22 Dec. But the traditional Roman date was 25 Dec. The last time the real solstice fell on that date (Julian) was in the 200s BCE: it was almost certainly set by the astronomer Eudoxus of Cnidus.
For us, solstice is on 21/22 Dec. But the traditional Roman date was 25 Dec. The last time the real solstice fell on that date (Julian) was in the 200s BCE: it was almost certainly set by the astronomer Eudoxus of Cnidus.
The eleventh myth of Christmas my true love told to me ...
Santa's flying reindeer aren't based on Odin's horse Sleipnir. Sleipnir only ever flew once, in a 12th century (Christian) Danish source. Santa's reindeer never flew until 1823, in '’Twas the night before Christmas’.
Santa's flying reindeer aren't based on Odin's horse Sleipnir. Sleipnir only ever flew once, in a 12th century (Christian) Danish source. Santa's reindeer never flew until 1823, in '’Twas the night before Christmas’.
The twelfth myth of Christmas my true love told to me ...
'Xmas' is a Christian abbreviation. The 'X' stands for Χριστός 'Christ'. If you're OK with http://arXiv.org using Χ in its name, you're fine with Xmas. (Only it doesn't! Try searching for 'Χ' on arXiv's homepage.)
'Xmas' is a Christian abbreviation. The 'X' stands for Χριστός 'Christ'. If you're OK with http://arXiv.org using Χ in its name, you're fine with Xmas. (Only it doesn't! Try searching for 'Χ' on arXiv's homepage.)
