Those dam Babylonians! What with the Code of Hammurabi and all of these Pagan traditions. Where would our modern legal system be today without their blasphemy!

To Yamin:

we wish you a merry christ-mass
we wish you a merry christ-mass
we wish you a merry christ-mass
and a happy new year -

oh you'd better not pout
you'd better not cry
you'd better not shout
i'm telling you why,

santa claus is dead!!

The Holy Days

The Church View:
Sunday, the first day of the week, is the day of worship, and you are commanded to attend church on that day. The birth of Jesus is to be celebrated on Christmas Day, and the death of Jesus is to be celebrated on Easter Day.

The Bible View:
Saturday is the seventh day of the week, and mankind is commanded to rest on that day. There is no command to gather at a building for worship on any day any where in scripture. There are specific days in the Old Testament, called festivals, or high Sabbaths, which the members of the nation of Israel are commanded to observe. There are no indications that the members of the first church observed these days. There are no commands to observe either the birth or death of Jesus.
This section contains only the three most prominent church holy day contradictions, Sunday, Christmas, and Easter. The pages needed to describe the number and diversity of celebrations not sanctioned by scripture, but honored by the different Bible based religions, would require another entire book.
The space required to describe the celebrations actually sanctioned in scripture is one sentence. Quite simply, not a single one of the High Sabbaths commanded by God to be observed is honored by the mainstream Christian Church.
The weekly day of worship, Sunday, and the two yearly holidays, Easter and Christmas, observed by the church have no foundation in scripture. They are, in fact, the creations of men and condemned by God.

The Sabbath and Sunday
· The question of the why we are commanded to rest on the Sabbath, but don’t, is very simple. God commanded the seventh day of the week as a day of rest. The church outlawed resting on the seventh day.
· The reason why we gather to worship on Sunday, though there is no scriptural edict to do so, is equally simple. God did not declare any day as a day to meet and worship. The church declared the first day as a day to meet and worship.
· The Bible is very clear about the sanctity of the Sabbath, not as day of worship, but a day of rest.
· Constantine the Great changed the day of rest on March 7, 321 AD by declaring, "All judges and city people and the craftsmen shall rest upon the Venerable Day of the Sun."
· From the Council of Laodicea in Phrygia Pacatiana 364 A.D, Canon XXIX.: "Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ."

These verses are a direct condemnation of the actions taken to outlaw the Sabbath by the early church:
♦ Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
♦ Hebrews 4:4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 5 And in this place again, if they shall enter into my rest. 6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God

Christmas
Christmas is not only a big advertising opportunity today; it was actually created as an advertising campaign. There is no biblical edict to celebrate the birth of Jesus and certainly it is clear that he was not born at the time of the winter solstice. The celebration of the winter solstice has been a part of most ancient cultures throughout history. The celebration of this event is actually an advertising campaign used by early church leaders to lure non-Christians into the church.
· The Mesopotamian culture, thousands of years before the birth of Jesus, had winter solstice that included many of the trappings of Christmas. These included the 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the Yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals, parades with floats, carolers, the holiday feasts, all dedicated to the god Marduk.
· The Persians and the Babylonians celebrated a similar festival called the Sacaea. Part of that celebration included the exchanging of places, the slaves would become the masters and the masters were to obey.
· Scandinavian cultures celebrated the winter solstice including a festival called Yuletide including a feast, which would be served around a fire burning with the Yule log. They also decorated trees with fruit.
· In Scandinavia, during the winter months, the sun would disappear for many days. After thirty-five days, scouts would be sent to the mountaintops to look for the return of the sun. When the first light was seen, the scouts would return with the good news. A great festival would be held, called the Yuletide, and a special feast would be served around a fire burning with the Yule log. Great bonfires would also be lit to celebrate the return of the sun. In some areas people would tie apples to branches of trees to remind themselves that spring and summer would return.
The most direct relation these winter solstice festivals have to what is now called Christmas is the Roman celebration called Saturnalia, which took place on December 25th. The Roman festival marking the "birthday of the unconquered sun, Natalis Solis Invicti"; celebrates the winter solstice, when the days begin to lengthen. The problem for the early church leaders is that Saturnalia was in direct competition with the church, right on their home turf, Rome.
Many campaigns were launched to outlaw and eradicate this pagan practice, but this proved to be a difficult task. The lure of such interesting celebrations to Christians alarmed the church to such a degree that they took a step that forever changed the face of Christian practice. They decided that by integrating the previously forbidden customs into a new celebration honoring the Christian Son of God, they would lure the pagans into the Christian fold.
In 137 AD the Bishop of Rome declared for the first time that the birth of the Christ Child would be celebrated and the Bishop of Rome, Julius I, ordered the date of December 25th as the official day in 350 AD. Saint Boniface substituted a fir tree for the pagan oak in the eighth century as a symbol of faith. Martin Luther fostered the Christmas tree cult by using a candlelit tree as a symbol of Christ's heavenly home
This is one of the many examples of the church adopting ancient traditions to worship God, an example of the practice Jesus specifically condemned:
♦ Mark 7: 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
The Christmas Tree
The single most recognizable symbol of Christmas, the Christmas tree, is not only an ancient winter solstice symbol; the use of it for the purpose of worship is specifically condemned in scripture:
♦ Jeremiah 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. 3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. 5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
Houses decorated with greenery and lights, gifts given to children and the poor, decorating evergreen trees as symbols of survival, fires and lights, symbols of warmth and lasting life, the Yule log and Yule cakes, mistletoe, holly, and virtually every aspect of the modern Christmas celebration are not biblical in origin. They are instead a cleverly contrived collection of ancient winter solstice customs and commercial promotions used to hold church memberships high and gain great profits for Big Business.

Easter
There is no biblical edict to celebrate the crucifixion or resurrection of Christ on a particular day with worship services. Easter was first created during the First Council of Nicaea, in 325 AD, which was the first ecumenical4 conference of bishops of the Christian Church convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, just 13 years after his "conversion" to Christianity following the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312AD. Constantine declared Easter would replace the Hebrew Passover and be observed the annual Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox. This coincided with the date for the ancient day to honor Eostre, a goddess of spring and renewal.
In his letter after the First Council of Nicaea Constantine stated: "... it appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we should follow the practice of the Jews, who have impiously defiled their hands with enormous sin, and are, therefore, deservedly afflicted with blindness of soul. ... Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd; for we have received from our Saviour a different way." (Eusebius, Life of Constantine)
From a letter to the bishops who were not present at the First Council of Nicaea Constantine stated: "It was, in the first place, declared improper to follow the custom of the Jews in the celebration of this holy festival, because, their hands having been stained with crime, the minds of these wretched men are necessarily blinded. ... Let us, then, have nothing in common with the Jews, who are our adversaries. ... avoiding all contact with that evil way. ... who, after having compassed the death of the Lord, being out of their minds, are guided not by sound reason, but by an unrestrained passion, wherever their innate madness carries them. ... a people so utterly depraved. ... Therefore, this irregularity must be corrected, in order that we may no more have any thing in common with those parricides and the murderers of our Lord. ... no single point in common with the perjury of the Jews." (Theodoret's Ecclesiastical History)
Pope Gregory I, 540 - 604 AD, verified the practice of the conversion from Passover to Easter in a letter to Saint Mellitus, who was then on his way to England to conduct missionary work among the heathen Anglo-Saxons. The Pope suggests that converting heathens is easier if they are allowed to retain the outward forms of their traditional pagan practices and traditions, while recasting those traditions spiritually towards Christianity instead of to their indigenous gods, whom the Pope refers to as "devils". "to the end that, whilst some gratifications are outwardly permitted them, they may the more easily consent to the inward consolations of the grace of God". (Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, "Ecclesiastic History of the English People")
It would have been suicide for the Christian missionaries to celebrate their holy days with observances that did not coincide with celebrations that already existed. To save lives, the missionaries, in a devious clandestine manner, spread their religious message slowly throughout the populations by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do so in a Christian manner. Even the name of the ancient celebration, Eastre was adopted and eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter.
All aspects of the modern celebration of Easter have their origins in ancient fertility rights, including Easter "sunrise services", Easter eggs, Easter bunnies, and the time it is celebrated. Constantine was even responsible for starting the traditional Easter Parade when he ordered every citizen to wear his or her best clothing to observe the Holy Day.
The Easter Egg
The Romans, Gauls, Chinese, Egyptians, and Persians all cherished the egg as a symbol of the universe and the rebirth of the earth. During many rite-of-Spring festivals, the egg represented the long, hard winter was over; the earth burst forth and was reborn just as the egg miraculously burst forth with life. Egyptians and Greeks buried eggs in their tombs to ward off evil; pregnant, young Roman women carried an egg on their persons to foretell the sex of their unborn children. A Roman proverb states, "All life comes from an egg". The myths of several Eastern and Middle Eastern cultures maintain that the earth itself was hatched from a giant egg.
The Easter Bunny
The name Easter is derived from Oestar, or Eostre, a goddess of spring and renewal. The rabbit or hare was the symbol of fertility, new life, and of the moon in ancient Egypt. Also the ancient Egyptians called the hare Wenu, an insignia of the rising of the sun, Ra, and of the resurrecting powers of Osiris. The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that time.
The Vernal Equinox
In the Greek mythology, Demeter and Persephone convey the idea of a goddess returning seasonally from the nether regions to the light of the day. This is in conjunction with the vernal equinox, March 21, when nature is in resurrection after the winter. The festival of Eostre was celebrated at the vernal equinox, when the day and night are of equal duration.

Oh Miles I wasn't refering to you hon.

This is is addition to what has already been posted of course.

Some have traced the Christmas tree back at least as far as the Prophet Jeremiah who wrote the book Jeremiah in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). Opposition to the Christmas tree was strong in past centuries. The early Christian Church in the third century strictly prohibited the decoration of their houses with evergreen boughs. The decorated Christmas tree only caught on in the mid-19th century. Modern-day opposition continues: some condemn the Christmas tree because they believe it to be a Christian symbol; others condemn it because they believe -- incorrectly -- that the custom of cutting down a tree, erecting it in the home and decorating it is a Pagan custom. 1 For many people today, it is primarily as a secular symbol of hope for the New Year and the future return of warmth to the earth. Its future is assured in spite of opposition.

Objections to the Christmas Tree:

In the past, there have been many objections to Christmas trees:
bullet The Prophet Jeremiah condemned as Pagan the ancient Middle Eastern practice of cutting down trees, bringing them into the home and decorating them. Of course, these were not really Christmas trees, because Jesus was not born until centuries later, and the use of Christmas trees was not introduced for many centuries after his birth. Apparently, in Jeremiah's time the "heathen" would cut down trees, carve or decorate them in the form of a god or goddess, and overlay it with precious metals. Some Christians feel that this Pagan practice was similar enough to our present use of Christmas trees that this passage from Jeremiah can be used to condemn both:

Jeremiah 10:2-4: "Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not." (KJV).

In Europe, Pagans in the past did not cut down evergreen trees, bring them into their homes and decorate them. That would have been far too destructive of nature. But during the Roman celebration of the feast of Saturnalia, Pagans did decorate their houses with clippings of evergreen shrubs. They also decorated living trees with bits of metal and replicas of their God, Bacchus. Tertullian (circa 160 - 230), an early Christian leader and a prolific writer, complained that too many fellow-Christians had copied the Pagan practice of adorning their houses with lamps and with wreathes of laurel at Christmas time.

The English Puritans condemned a number of customs associated with Christmas, such as the use of the Yule log, holly, mistletoe, etc. Oliver Cromwell preached against "the heathen traditions" of Christmas carols, decorated trees and any joyful expression that desecrated "that sacred event." 2,4
bullet In America, the Pilgrim's second governor, William Bradford, a Puritan, tried hard to stamp out all "pagan mockery" at Christmas time. 4 Christmas trees were not used by Puritans in colonial times. However, if they were, they would certainly have been forbidden.

In 1851, Pastor Henry Schwan of Cleveland OH appears to have been the person responsible for decorating the first Christmas tree in an American church. His parishioners condemned the idea as a Pagan practice; some even threatened the pastor with harm. But objections soon dissipated. 2

Even today, the complaints continue:

At Christmas 2000, the city manager of Eugene OR ordered that Christmas trees could not be erected on city properties because he considered them Christian religious symbols. He felt that their presence would violate the principle of church and state. 1 This is just one of countless conflicts that have surfaced at Christmas time over religious and quasi-religious observances.

Some Fundamentalist Christian groups oppose Christmas trees and even the celebration of Christmas for their members. This includes the Jehovah's Witnesses and, until recently, the Worldwide Church of God. Part of the opposition is because the custom of decorated trees originated in Paganism. They also oppose trees because of a literal interpretation of the quotation from Jeremiah.


Origins of the Christmas Tree:

Pagan traditions: Many Pagan cultures used to cut boughs of evergreen trees in December, move them into the home or temple, and decorate them. Modern-day Pagans still do. This was to recognize the winter solstice -- the time of the year that had the shortest daylight hours, and longest night of the year. This occurs annually sometime between DEC-20 to 23. They noticed that the days were gradually getting shorter; many feared that the sun would eventually disappear forever, and everyone would freeze. But, even though deciduous trees, bushes, and crops died or hibernated for the winter, the evergreen trees remained green. They seemed to have magical powers that enabled them to withstand the rigors of winter.

Not having evergreen trees, the ancient Egyptians considered the palm tree to symbolize resurrection. They decorated their homes with its branches during the winter solstice.

"The first decorating of an evergreen tree began with the heathen Greeks and their worship of their god Adonia, who allegedly was brought back to life by the serpent Aessulapius after having been slain."

The ancient Pagan Romans decorated their "trees with bits of metal and replicas of their god, Bacchus [a fertility god]. They also placed 12 candles on the tree in honor of their sun god" 2 Their mid-winter festival of Saturnalia started on DEC-17 and often lasted until a few days after the Solstice.

In Northern Europe, the ancient Germanic people tied fruit and attached candles to evergreen tree branches, in honor of their god Woden. Trees were viewed as symbolizing eternal life. This is the deity after which Wednesday was named. The trees joined holly, mistletoe, the wassail bowl and the Yule log as symbols of the season. All predated Christianity.

Christmas traditions:

One Christmas tradition was that St. Boniface (675? - 755; a.k.a. Winfred) cut down a deciduous tree in the presence of some newly-baptized Christians. The tree was an oak -- once sacred to the former Pagans. It miraculously split into four pieces, revealing an evergreen tree growing from the center of the oak stump. This symbolized the death of Paganism and the establishment of Christianity.

Another is that Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) was so impressed by a forest scene that he allegedly cut down a small fir tree, took it home, and decorated it with lighted candles. This is probably a myth, because the earliest documented record of a Christmas tree in Germany is dated to almost 60 years after his death.


History of the Christmas Tree:

The Christmas tree tradition dates back to Western Germany in the 16th century. They were called "Paradeisbaum" (paradise trees) and were brought into homes to celebrate the annual Feast of Adam and Eve on DEC-24. 4 They were first brought to America by German immigrants about 1700. Christmas trees became popular among the general population about 1850.

President Franklin Pierce (1804-1869) arranged to have the first Christmas tree in the White House, during the mid-1850's. President Calvin Coolidge (1885-1933) started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the White House lawn in 1923.

Today, the Christmas Tree has become accepted by Christians, by people of other faiths, and for those who do not follow an organized religion. It has become a popular late-December tradition and part of our present-day culture. As Gail Quick, University of South Carolina - Beaufort's dean of university relations, commented on the occasion of a community tree-lighting ceremony.: "This Christmas event every year is the glue that holds this community together - this and the July 4th fireworks. This always makes me feel good. Some of us still believe in Santa Claus."

I've also included some photos for further documentation.

Pagan Origins of "Easter"

The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 AD.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a .k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similar "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [were] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:

Aphrodite from Cyprus
Astarte, from Phoenicia
Demeter, from Mycenae
Hathor from Egypt
Ishtar from Assyria
Kali, from India
Ostara, a Norse Goddess of fertility.

Many, perhaps most, Pagan religions in the Mediterranean area had a major seasonal day of religious celebration at or following the Spring Equinox. Cybele, the Phrygian fertility goddess, had a fictional consort who was believed to have been born via a virgin birth. He was Attis, who was believed to have died and been resurrected each year during the period MAR-22 to MAR-25. "About 200 B.C. mystery cults began to appear in Rome just as they had earlier in Greece. Most notable was the Cybele cult centered on Vatican hill ...Associated with the Cybele cult was that of her lover, Attis ([the older Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or Orpheus under a new name). He was a god of ever-reviving vegetation. Born of a virgin, he died and was reborn annually. The festival began as a day of blood on Black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over the resurrection."

Wherever Christian worship of Jesus and Pagan worship of Attis were active in the same geographical area in ancient times, Christians "used to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus on the same date; and pagans and Christians used to quarrel bitterly about which of their gods was the true prototype and which the imitation." Wiccans and other modern-day Neopagans continue to celebrate the Spring Equinox as one of their 8 yearly Sabbats (pagan holy days of celebration).

Pagan Easter Traditions

These have been derived primarily from Pagan traditions at Easter time:

Hot Cross Buns : At the feast of Eostre, the Saxon fertility Goddess, an ox was sacrificed. The ox's horns became a symbol for the feast. They were carved into the ritual bread. Thus originated "hot cross buns". The word "buns" is derived from the Saxon word "boun" which means "sacred ox ." Later, the symbol of a symmetrical cross was used to decorate the buns; the cross represented the moon, the heavenly body associated with the Goddess, and its four quarters.

Easter Rabbit and Eggs: The symbols of the Norse Goddess Ostara were the hare and the egg. Both represented fertility. From these, we have inherited the customs and symbols of the Easter egg and Easter rabbit. Dyed eggs also formed part of the rituals of the Babylonian mystery religions. Eggs "were sacred to many ancient civilizations and formed an integral part of religious ceremonies in Egypt and the Orient. Dyed eggs were hung in Egyptian temples, and the egg was regarded as the emblem of regenerative life proceeding from the mouth of the great Egyptian god."

Easter Lilies: "The so-called 'Easter lily' has long been revered by pagans of various lands as a holy symbol associated with the reproductive organs.

Easter Sunrise Service : This custom can be traced back to the ancient Pagan custom of welcoming the sun God at the vernal equinox - when daytime is about to exceed the length of the nighttime. It was a time to "celebrate the return of life and reproduction to animal and plant life as well."

Easter Candles : These are sometimes lit in churches on the eve of Easter Sunday. Some commentators believe that these can be directly linked to the Pagan customs of lighting bonfires at this time of year to welcome the rebirth/resurrection of the sun God.

This is a little more about the Origin of the Easter Bunny itself.

Have you ever wondered where the celebration of the Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Christ acquired its unusual name and odd symbols of colored eggs and rabbits?

The answer lies in the ingenious way that the Christian church absorbed Pagan practices. After discovering that people were more reluctant to give up their holidays and festivals than their gods, they simply incorporated Pagan practices into Christian festivals. As recounted by the Venerable Bede, an early Christian writer, clever clerics copied Pagan practices and by doing so, made Christianity more palatable to pagan folk reluctant to give up their festivals for somber Christian practices.

In second century Europe, the predominate spring festival was a raucous Saxon fertility celebration in honor of the Saxon Goddess Eastre, whose sacred animal was a hare. The hare is often associated with moon goddesses; the egg and the haer together represent the god and the goddess, respectively.

Pagan fertility festivals at the time of the Spring equinox were common- it was believed that at this time, male and female energies were balanced.

The colored eggs are of another, even more ancient origin. The eggs associated with this and other Vernal festivals have been symbols of rebirth and fertility for so long the precise roots of the tradition are unknown, and may date to the beginning of human civilization. Ancient Romans and Greeks used eggs as symbols of fertility, rebirth, and abundance- eggs were solar symbols, and figured in the festivals of numerous resurrected gods.

Moving forward fifteen hundred years, we find ourselves in Germany, where children await the arrival of Oschter Haws, a rabbit who will lay colored eggs in nests to the delight of children. It was this German tradition that popularized the 'Easter bunny' in America, when introduced into the American cultural fabric by German settlers in Pennsylvania.

Many modern practitioners of Neo-pagan and earth-based religions have embraced these symbols as part of their religious practice, identifying with the life-affirming aspects of the spring holiday. (The Neopagan holiday of Ostara is descended from the Saxon festival.) Ironically, some Christian groups have used the presence of these symbols to denounce the celebration of the Easter holiday, and many churches have recently abandoned the Pagan moniker with more Christian oriented titles like 'Resurrection Sunday.'

Oh Im sorry sharp. I automatically assumed that your data would conflict with my own. Clearly it does not. Taken from your own post.



Essentially what they did was take the older Pagan ritual festivals and "adsorb" them and reassign them as being Christian designated holidays. Pagans today still celebrate the Winter Solstice celebrations known as Yule. We also still observe Ostara or Easter and the Spring Equinox. We just refer to these holidays by their origional names (not the Christian titles later attributed to them). We also recognize their ancient spiritual meanings and intent.

Yamin don't take any of what i am about to say and ask the wrong way and think that it is an attack on what you believe. I respect your personal convictions about these things. I just figured since we were going to dot every i and cross every t that i might pose a few questions. First off since people are supposed to be following every verse in the scriptures to the letter, let us discuss the history of the bible. Since i don't know what version of scriptures in particular you follow I will just go back to the council of Nicae in Rome, you know around the time of emperor Constantine, roughly three hundred years after Christ's cruxcifiction. It was the council that decided what scriptures,texts, or were going to be in the Bible right? Well its a fact of history so we know its true. They also decide what scriptures were not going to be in the Bible. There were a lot of them too. Did you know the book of revelations barely made it into the Bible? I think it was by a margin a just a couple votes.
yeah that's right a bunch of men were actually arguing, debating and voting on what should and should not be in the Bible. Whichbrings me to my question. What makes you so sure that "Yahweh, God, Jehovah, Elohim, the Trinity, whatever name, association, or doctrine pretext you wanna give the divine is going to be so upset that we celebrate time together as families and friends in good spirit that he is going to have us all burn in hell for it? I mean really? How many different versions of the bible do we have now? How many denominations of christianity are there now? I think that if God was that anal about things then christians would have bigger things to worry about other then celebrating the holidays, don't you? just a thought is all.

And Constantine, a Roman Emperor, clearly had no agenda when deciding which books would be included! Ha! I just love bringing that up every time someone says Constantine.

see, I don't always have conflicting views

I even believe there is some truths behind your ancient mythologies as well. An Earth before genesis.

Well they arent really "mythologies" as much as the worship of the Equinoxes and Solstices and clearly those are reality based. However, yes, the actual little stories they tell are invented just like Christianity. For instance, the sun god being reborn at the Winter Solstice. Its a cute story and makes sense as it relates to the gradual lengthening of the days. You have to imagine that people were very pleased with the thought of the coming Spring so they invented all kinds of stories to tell and to explain what was happening from a cosmological standpoint.

What did the Holy Spirit say ?

What did the Holy Spirit say to whom, when, what?

The holy spirit through Christ says

"Behold, I have told you all things"

Is that topic related?

I pray for those who are skeptics that you would research x-mas before you put up a tree to celebrate and lead your families astray.

I think pretty much everyone is convinced the holiday is Pagan in origin. The historical documentation to support that is overwhelming. It was merely absorbed by the Christians. So its safe for you to celebrate. Just have a good time, enjoy. All the Christians did was add Santa and Jesus. They left all the Pagan festivities because they were fun. Its the Winter Solstice.

Same thing occurred with Easter.

The Pagans of today celebrate Yule, the origional festival.

The Christians celebrate Christmas.

Everyone is happy.

The way the holidays of chr-stianity is celebrated is in complete conflict of how Yahweh said to WORSHIP on his HOLY DAYS...Blessings...Miles

Well thats between you and your creator. The Pagans celebrate Yule. What about Easter? Ostara? Will you celebrate that either? Easter eggs? Bunnies?

Pagan or Christian, who really cares? its a day off work and an excuse to get drunk. If people want to make out that it is any more than that it is up to them, but there is little religious meaning to it to the best part of people who celebrate it.