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(1) Saturnalia was celebrated from December 17-23 (ending two days before the 25th). Yule was celebrated from the Winter Solstice on December 20-22, marking the beginning of the winter festivals that went on all the way into January...
(2) And while Sol Invictus may have been celebrated directly on December 25, this did not come about until after 274 A.D.
The Fathers of the Church, however, were connecting the birth of Christ to December 25 before 200 A.D...
The Fathers of the Church, however, were connecting the birth of Christ to December 25 before 200 A.D...
(3) This is evident because of the far more ancient Feast of the Annunciation (when Mary conceived Jesus, taking place exactly nine months earlier on March 25, the typical human gestation period). Christmas wasn't even celebrated as a liturgical feast until 336 A.D...
(4) Any amalgamation was the direct result of the previous Pagan winter festivals being retained by western civilization at the same time they were celebrating their new Christian feast which was chosen to be December 25 (most Christians were previously Pagans at this point...
(5) So no, stop spreading the historical inaccuracy that Christianity appropriated Pagan holidays. They didn't. Not even close!
