"Mungo Bulge" <NO.SPAM@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:exB2XO2BGHA.1180@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> Theologians, whether Protestant or Roman Catholic, and secular
> historians, do not dispute how, and why, the December 25 date was
> arbitrarily chosen by the Roman church in the fourth century (i.e.
> "Christmas" did not begin to be observed until hundreds of years after
> Christ's birth) for no other reason than to attempt to supercede (even
> though a number of the same activities from the pagan festival were
> adopted into the traditional Christmas observance that is seen today,
> including yule logs, mistletoe, and the Christmas tree itself) a
> centuries-old Roman pagan holiday, Sol Invictus ("the invincible sun")
> that was held on that date to celebrate "the return of the sun" (i.e.
> longer daylight) after the passing of the Winter Solstice on December
> 21.
>

The way I understood it, it was a emperor edict to choose one particular day
to celebrate the birthday of various religious gods in the Roman Empire.
Apparently, this Roman emperor was tired of too many religious holidays and
chose December 25. And this included the birthday of the christian's son of
god, Jesus Christ.

Have you noticed that Sol Invictus day occured after the third day of the
winter soltice? Could this be the basis of the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, that is, was Easter based from the Sol Invictus day?

As an altar boy during Vatican I, the name of Jesus Christ was always
pronounced in the Latin mass as "jeh-soo" and not "yeh-soo." I think the
correct spelling in Latin was "Gesu" and not "Jesu."

So, Happy Sol Invictus Day to everybody!


Orinello