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Jesus Christ might not be the reason why we celebrate Christmas.
Many cultures, even before Jesus Christ was said to be born, held different celebrations to honor the arrival of the Winter Solstice. They used different representations such as evergreen trees (known as Christmas trees), mistletoe, fruits, home decorations, carols and exchange gifts to express gratitude to their gods.
It was a tradition from the ancient Egyptians to revere their sun-god, Ra, with palm leaves and evergreen trees. The early Romans decorate their homes and temples with evergreens to celebrate Saturnalia in honor of Saturn. He is the father of Rome's primary god, Jupiter. It is during this festival when people, adult and children, practiced the exchanging of gifts. In Scandinavia, Yule, another pagan festivity is practiced during the late December to early January depending to the Gregorian calendar. When the Christian calendar was used, the first day of celebration fell on December 25. For the Scandinavians, this marks the death and rebirth of their Sun god. Many symbols like apples, oranges, evergreen boughs and wheat stalks were used to represent their beliefs and praises during the Yuletide.
According to the Persian mythology, Mithra is the god of light and wisdom who conquers the darkness. He was worshiped by Roman soldiers millenniums before the common era. He has eventually become the sun god which was then adapted by the Greeks. Many records presented that his birthday falls on the 25th of December. The early Greeks celebrated the Winter Solstice during December 17-23 and they believed that the 25th is the birth of their unconquerable sun god, Mithra.
It was also from the Greeks that the happy symbol of mistletoe came about. The Greeks and Druids once believed that mistletoe has magical powers and is considered as pagan symbol for life and fertility. The Scandinavians consider mistletoe as the "plant of peace" where in its presence enemies can declare truce.
All of these and other more pagan traditions were then adapted by the Christian evangelism by altering many beliefs to fit their own customs and call the many Winter Solstice celebrations under one label, Christmas.
source:
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/holidaysfestivals/a/solsticeceleb.htm
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/holidaysfestivals/a/solsticeceleb_4.htm
http://www.endtimeprophecy.net/Articles-Non-EPN/mithra-1.html
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/holidaysfestivals/a/solsticeceleb_2.htm
http://www.wicca.com/celtic/akasha/yule.htm
http://www.truthbeknown.com/mithra.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T8Y1-VLjGQ
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Happy Sun God's Day!
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