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by
G. O. Marx
elieve it or not, it took the Christian church at Rome over
300
years to begin
celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ on December
25,
originally a pagan holiday.
Only in A.D.
354,
under the auspices of Liberius, bishop of Rome, did the city on the
Tiber start to observe Christmas. Why did the church abstain from commemorating
Christ's birth for so long a time? Why did the Christian church sanction and begin
celebrating Christ's birth on a pagan holiday? Tbis article gives you the startling answers. For
centuries prior lo the advent of Christianity, Rome indulged in the THJE
worship of many deities, of both sexes. As was common practice in
that polytheistic age, each divinity had a birthday, commemorated
annually by the people. During those days
it
was not customary for
the masses to observe their own birthdays, but rather the day of
birth of their particular deity. At that time, two
celestial lFliR~T
beings stood out as principal objects of veneration - Jupi-
Q
ter, whose birthday fell in September, and Saturn, who was
bonored in December. By the time of Christ, many of the
religious practices surrounding the worship of Jupiter, Sa-
turn, and theCH
lesser divine
luminaries ap–
pealed to the
masses le ss
A~
and less. Although sanctioned by the state, the Roman populace had little desire
to perpetuate the archaic religion of their forefathers. A new era required up-to–
date religious concepts. The search for a new and more exciting religion was on.
Here is what transpired. During the first three centuries of the Roman Empire,
Eastern philosophers and mystics had preached the divine nature of the sun. In
the East, the religion of the sun was most widespread in
o
Syria and Persia. Immigrants brought this religion to the
rru)
o
West. Roman soldiers, in carrying out their military duty
in the eastern realm of the empire, also became ac–
quainted with this sun worship and retained a special
18
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1976
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