......The Origin of Christmas....

[هشيم]

The Origin of Christmas


Is really Christmas Christ's mass? Was Jesus born on 25th of December? According to some historical records, Christmas was first celebrated on January 6 based on the old Julian calendar. The Orthodox Christians still celebrate their Christmas on January 6. Obviously even the Christians do not agree over the date of the birth of Christ. Some Christians believe that the birth of Christ took place in late summer or early fall and some say it was during the spring.

In the Luke 2:8 we read: "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night."
December is the rainy season in Palestine and the weather is cold. The shepherds do not keep their flock in the fields during December but since mid October they are kept in the fold.

The origin of this festivity is presumed to be Mithraic and about 4000 years old. Mithra was the god of light in ancient Iran. The symbol of Mithra is Sun. Iranians used this symbol in their flag for at least the last 2500 years. The period of 17th to 24th of December was the duration of this feast. The 21st of December, which is the solstice of winter, is still celebrated in Iran. It is called “Yalda” and it represents the victory of light over darkness, which symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. Mithraism was brought to Europe by Greek soldiers after the defeat of the Persians by Alexander and by the forth century AD it was the predominant religion of Europe and the main rival to Christianity. The worship of Mithra spread throughout Asia to Europe where he was called Deus Sol Invictus Mithras. Romans adopted this festivity to celebrate the god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god during the winter solstice. The winter holiday became known as Saturnalia and began the week prior to December 25th. The festival was characterized by gift-giving, feasting, singing and the priests of Saturn called dendrophori, carried wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession.
Noting that days start becoming longer after the winter solstice, the ancients gave birth to the myth that the sun-god rises from his death after three days. This belief of the death and resurrection of god was later incorporated into Christianity. Mass is the public celebration of Eucharist, the sacrament and the central act of worship in many Christian churches, which was instituted at the Last Supper and in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed in remembrance of Jesus's death. The word "Mass" in Christmas means death and the ritual of the Mass involves the death of Christ, and his consequent resurrection.

Prior to the dominance of Christianity the Romans celebrated this festivity during the 25th of December to 6th of January. Mithraism gained favor by the Emperor Commodus and Julian and in 307 Diocletian built a temple on the Danube River dedicated to Mithra. Mithraism spread throughout Europe from Rome to the province of Numidia in North Africa up to England and Scotland.

But after the conversion of emperor Constantine in 313 A.D. Christianity was spread throughout the empire and Mithraism, as St. Jerome reports, was forcefully subdued especially in Rome and in Alexandria. In the forth century, Pope Leo destroyed the temple of Mithra (376 A.D.). Despite that the Mithraic festivity of the birth of the Sun continued, as it was a convenient time to be merry in the middle of the winter. Even today many celebrate the Christmas although they are not Christians. It was not till the year 530 AD that the church commissioned the Monk Dionysius Exiguus to proclaim this popular festivity as the birth of Christ. Constantine converted to Christianity but he kept celebrating this pagan festivity and transformed it into the "Christian" holiday of Christmas.

The use of evergreen tree in Christmas festivities comes from Germany where it was used in worship and celebration of the yule god as well as in observance of the resurrected sun god.

The evergreen represented life and also was regarded as a phallic symbol in fertility worship. It was believed that the red holly was a symbol of the menstrual blood of the queen of heaven, Diana. The white berries of mistletoe were considered to be the droplets of the semen of the sun god. Branches of holy and mistletoe were hung in doorways of temples and homes and it was believed that kissing beneath them will make the spirits of the god and goddess to enter one's body and make them fertile.

The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge explains:
"How much the date of the festival depended upon the pagan Brumalia (December 25th) following the Saturnalia (December 17th-24th), and celebrating the shortest day of the year and the 'new sun'...cannot be accurately determined. The pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence...The pagan festival with it's riot and merrymaking was so popular that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit and in manner. Christian preachers of the West and the Near East protested against the unseemly frivolity with which Christ's birthday was celebrated, while Christians of Mesopotamia accused their western brethren of idolatry and sun worship for adopting as Christian this pagan festival"

St Augustine says " we hold this (Christmas) day Holy, not like the pagans because of the Birth of the Sun, but because of the birth of him who made it (Christmas) day Holy, not like the pagans because of the Birth of the Sun, but because of the birth of him who made it"
This clearly shows that this festivity was dedicated to the Birth of the Sun that was adopted by the Christians.

[هشيم]

Jesus as the Reincarnation of Mithra


The Vatican was built upon the grounds previously devoted to the worship of Mithra (600 B.C.). The Orthodox Christian hierarchy is nearly identical to the Mithraic version. Virtually all of the elements of Orthodox Christian rituals, from miter, wafer, water baptism, alter, and doxology, were adopted from the Mithra and earlier pagan mystery religions. The religion of Mithra preceded Christianity by roughly six hundred years. Mithraic worship at one time covered a large portion of the ancient world. It flourished as late as the second century. The Messianic idea originated in ancient Persia and this is where the Jewish and Christian concepts of a Savior came from. Mithra, as the sun god of ancient Persia, had the following karmic similarities with Jesus:



1. Mithra was born on December 25th as an offspring of the Sun. Next to the gods Ormuzd and Ahrimanes, Mithra held the highest rank among the gods of ancient Persia. He was represented as a beautiful youth and a Mediator. Reverend J. W. Lake states: "Mithras is spiritual light contending with spiritual darkness, and through his labors the kingdom of darkness shall be lit with heaven's own light; the Eternal will receive all things back into his favor, the world will be redeemed to God. The impure are to be purified, and the evil made good, through the mediation of Mithras, the reconciler of Ormuzd and Ahriman. Mithras is the Good, his name is Love. In relation to the Eternal he is the source of grace, in relation to man he is the life-giver and mediator" (Plato, Philo, and Paul, p. 15).


2. He was considered a great traveling teacher and masters. He had twelve companions as Jesus had twelve disciples. Mithras also performed miracles.


3. Mithra was called "the good shepherd, "the way, the truth and the light, redeemer, savior, Messiah." He was identified with both the lion and the lamb.


4. The International Encyclopedia states: "Mithras seems to have owed his prominence to the belief that he was the source of life, and could also redeem the souls of the dead into the better world ... The ceremonies included a sort of baptism to remove sins, anointing, and a sacred meal of bread and water, while a consecrated wine, believed to possess wonderful power, played a prominent part."


5. Chambers Encyclopedia says: "The most important of his many festivals was his birthday, celebrated on the 25th of December, the day subsequently fixed -- against all evidence -- as the birthday of Christ. The worship of Mithras early found its way into Rome, and the mysteries of Mithras, which fell in the spring equinox, were famous even among the many Roman festivals. The ceremonies observed in the initiation to these mysteries -- symbolical of the struggle between Ahriman and Ormuzd (the Good and the Evil) -- were of the most extraordinary and to a certain degree even dangerous character. Baptism and the partaking of a mystical liquid, consisting of flour and water, to be drunk with the utterance of sacred formulas, were among the inauguration acts."


6. Prof. Franz Cumont, of the University of Ghent, writes as follows concerning the religion of Mithra and the religion of Christ: "The sectaries of the Persian god, like the Christians', purified themselves by baptism, received by a species of confirmation the power necessary to combat the spirit of evil; and expected from a Lord's supper salvation of body and soul. Like the latter, they also held Sunday sacred, and celebrated the birth of the Sun on the 25th of December.... They both preached a categorical system of ethics, regarded asceticism as meritorious and counted among their principal virtues abstinence and continence, renunciation and self-control. Their conceptions of the world and of the destiny of man were similar. They both admitted the existence of a Heaven inhabited by beatified ones, situated in the upper regions, and of a Hell, peopled by demons, situated in the bowels of the Earth. They both placed a flood at the beginning of history; they both assigned as the source of their condition, a primitive revelation; they both, finally, believed in the immortality of the soul, in a last judgment, and in a resurrection of the dead, consequent upon a final conflagration of the universe" (The Mysteries of Mithras, pp. 190, 191).


7. Reverend Charles Biggs stated: "The disciples of Mithra formed an organized church, with a developed hierarchy. They possessed the ideas of Mediation, Atonement, and a Savior, who is human and yet divine, and not only the idea, but a doctrine of the future life. They had a Eucharist, and a Baptism, and other curious analogies might be pointed out between their system and the church of Christ (The Christian Platonists, p. 240).


8. In the catacombs at Rome was preserved a relic of the old Mithraic worship. It was a picture of the infant Mithra seated in the lap of his virgin mother, while on their knees before him were Persian Magi adoring him and offering gifts.


9. He was buried in a tomb and after three days he rose again. His resurrection was celebrated every year.


10. McClintock and Strong wrote: "In modern times Christian writers have been induced to look favorably upon the assertion that some of our ecclesiastical usages (e.g., the institution of the Christmas festival) originated in the cultus of Mithraism. Some writers who refuse to accept the Christian religion as of supernatural origin, have even gone so far as to institute a close comparison with the founder of Christianity; and Dupuis and others, going even beyond this, have not hesitated to pronounce the Gospel simply a branch of Mithraism" (Art. "Mithra").


11. Mithra had his principal festival on what was later to become Easter, at which time he was resurrected. His sacred day was Sunday, "the Lord's Day." The Mithra religion had a Eucharist or "Lord's Supper."


12. The Christian Father Manes, founder of the heretical sect known as Manicheans, believed that Christ and Mithra were one. His teaching, according to Mosheim, was as follows: "Christ is that glorious intelligence which the Persians called Mithras ... His residence is in the sun" (Ecclesiastical History, 3rd century, Part 2, ch. 5).

[هشيم]

It's my turn to author an article that claims to penetrate the dark and obscure recesses of the origin of Santa Claus. How shall we understand the Santa Claus phenomenon? Is it pure paganism foisted upon an unsuspecting populace? Is Santa Satan in disguise (there is after all, the same letters in both names, as some guardians of all that is good remind us). Or is Santa a Christian after all, since he really is St. Nicholas, a Christian bishop of the fourth century? So which is it? Is Santa Claus harmless or hellspawn or something in between? Though knowing his origin can't decide all these questions, it still is an important point of departure.

Actually, the truth of the matter is that the modern Santa Claus is a conglomeration of sources, a legendary being that has evolved over the years. Along the way, pre-Christian legends, the story of St. Nicholas, Dutch immigrants to America, Washington Irving, Clement Moore, Thomas Nast, and the Coca-Cola company, all made their contributions.


It is well known that the name "Santa Claus" comes to us by way of the Dutch "Sinter Klaas," which in turn, was a form of Saint Nicholas. Our modern Santa Claus took his name from the Christian Saint Nicholas so we need to begin with a look at this Christian bishop of the fourth century.


Throughout history Nicholas of Myra (d. 350) has been one of the most beloved saints even apart from the Santa Claus context. In fact, George McKnight claims that both in the eastern and western Church, Nicholas is "the object of extreme veneration, to a degree unequaled in the case of any other saint."1 The first historical record of his veneration is the fact that the emperor Justinian built a church in his honor in Constantinople around the year 540. Nicholas is the patron saint of entire nations, including Greece, Russia, Sicily, and Lorraine, and many cities throughout Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, and Italy. He is also patron saint of children, bakers, merchants, and mariners.


Ironically, very little factual information is actually known about this most popular saint. In the words of Weiser,
there is scarcely any definite historical fact known about him except that he was bishop of Myra in Asia Minor; that he was cast into exile and prison during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian and released by Constantine the Great; that he died in Myra about 350, and in the year 1087 his body was brought by Italian merchants from Myra to the city of Bari in Italy, where his relics are still preserved and venerated in the church of San Nicola.2


The Feast of St. Nicholas on Dec. 6 has been observed with great enthusiasm throughout Medieval Europe over the centuries. This enthusiasm was due to the many legends that had grown up around Nicholas: that he had distributed gifts to the poor at night through their windows, had fasted while a baby, had helped dowerless maidens, saved a city from famine, had aided a ship in distress, etc.3

Because of the gift-giving legends associated with Nicholas, it was held (especially in Belgium and Holland) that on the Eve the Feast of Nicholas, the bishop himself would come from heaven and visit children in their homes, giving gifts to those who had been good. Nicholas, decked out in full ecclesiastical garb (bishop's vestments, with miter and crozier), would arrive on a flying gray horse (or white donkey, depending on the custom). In some variations of the legend, he was accompanied by Black Peter, an elf whose job was to punish children who had been bad.


It is held by some scholars that the legends of Nicholas as gift-giver drew in part from pagan, preChristian sources. For example, the Teutonic god of the air, Odin, would ride through the air on a gray horse (named Sleipnir) each Autumn - so did Nicholas; Odin had a long white beard - so did Nicholas; a sheaf of grain was left in the field for Odin's horse - children left a wisp of straw in their shoes for Nicholas.4 Others claim that attributes of the Germanic god Thor, the god of thunder, were transferred to Nicholas. Thor was supposedly elderly and heavy with a long white beard; he road through the air in a chariot drawn by two white goats (called Cracker and Gnasher); he dressed in red; his palace was in the "northland;" he was friendly and cheerful; he would come down the chimney into his element, the fire.5 No definitive correlation has ever been found between the "visit of St. Nicholas" and pagan gods such as Odin and Thor. However the similarity is striking and some relationship seems likely.6

After the Reformations of the sixteenth century the Feast of St. Nicholas was abolished in many countries. Throughout northern Germany, for example, the Protestants encouraged veneration of the Christkindl (Christ-child) instead, who, it was said, brought gifts to children on Christmas Eve. As an example of this, a Protestant Pastor of the seventeenth century complains about parents who put presents in their children's beds, telling them that St. Nicholas has brought them. This is a bad custom, he says, "because it points children to the saint, while yet we know that not St. Nicholas but the holy Christ Child gives us all good things for body and soul, and He alone it is whom we ought to call upon."7 Despite this new emphasis, the Nicholas legends prevailed in many places, especially among the Dutch.


Santa Claus in America
When the Dutch established their colony of New Amsterdam in America in the seventeenth century, they brought with them the traditional "visit" from Sinter Klaas (St. Nicholas) on the eve of Dec. 5. Weiser thinks that when the English later took over the colony and renamed it New York, the English children began longing to have a kindly "Sinter Klaas" of their own that would bring them gifts. But because the English Protestants did not observe saints days, the Sinter Klaas visit was moved to Christmas Eve and observed then.8

Author Washington Irving (1789-1853), most famous for "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle," is important for the information he gives us on the Dutch version of Sinter Klaas in the early nineteenth century. Washington's 1809 work "The History of New York (also called the "Knickerbocker History") was a satire on the transplanted customs of the Dutch of New York city. The "History" contained several references to the legend of St. Nicholas as observed by the Dutch. The St. Nicholas described by Irving was an old man in dark robes who arrived on a flying horse on the Eve of St. Nicholas to give gifts to children.

In his Folklore on the American Land,9 Duncan Emrich tells us of the next evidence we have of the American evolution of Santa Claus. It is a little know poem, "The Children's Friend," first published in 1821. The poem went beyond what Irving had written, mentioning for the first time a flying sleigh and a reindeer. The poem begins:

Old Santeclaus with much delight
His reindeer drives this frosty night.
O'er chimney tops, and tracks of snow,
To bring his yearly gifts to you...

There is universal consensus that the person most responsible for shaping the American version of Santa Claus is Dr. Clement Clark Moore, a theology and classics professor at Union Seminary. What did Moore do to earn this honor? He wrote a simple poem for his children in 1822 entitled, "A Visit from St. Nicholas," that begins with the now famous words,

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In the hope that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

There is a legend that Moore wrote this poem on Christmas Eve, 1822, during a carriage ride to his home in Greenwich Village and that the inspiration for the St. Nicholas in his story was the jolly Dutchman driving the carriage. Closer to the truth is the observation of Emrich that Moore was probably inspired by Irving's Knickerbocker History and "The Children's Friend," which he almost certainly would have read. Specifically Irving's description of Dutchmen in his story was Moore's inspiration for St. Nick, claims Emrich. It must also be said that it is possible that Moore was familiar with the stories about Odin or Thor that were mentioned above.

In any case, in describing St. Nicholas, Moore went beyond anything that had ever been said yet. It was Moore who increased the number of reindeer to eight and gave us their names. It was he who explicitly described Santa going up and down the chimney leaving toys in stockings hung by the fireplace. Moore's St. Nick was "chubby and plumpa right jolly old elf;" he carried a bundle of toys on his back; "he had eyes that twinkled, dimples that were merry, cheeks like roses, a broad face, and a little round belly." It's interesting that Moore's Santa was also a small elf who flew in a "miniature sleigh" pulled by eight "tiny" reindeer.

The poem wasn't published until a year later, and that secretly, without Moore's consent. He didn't think it worthy of publishing. Many others did, however, as it was an overnight sensation. Only 15 years later did he permit it to be included in a volume of collected works.

It was Bavarian illustrator Thomas Nast, that gave us the picture of Santa Claus, now so common. Nast, the "father of American political cartooning," drew more than 2200 cartoons for Harper's Weekly from 1862 through 1886. Many of these were of Santa Claus at Christmas time. Before Nast, St. Nicholas had been pictured as everything from a stern looking bishop to a gnome-like figure in a frock (as he had been pictured in the first edition of Moore's poem). Nast was clearly inspired by Moore's 1823 poem, but he also added additional features to the Santa Claus evolution, such as Santa's home at the North Pole, his workshop filled with elves, and his list of all the good and bad children of the world.

Believe it or not, the Coca-Cola company also contributed to the modern Santa Claus. Beginning in 1931 and for 35 years, Coke ran advertisements that featured a human-size Santa (not elf-size) drinking Coke. These ads contributed much to the modern image of Santa Claus (and the drinking of coke!).


Conclusion
When conclusions are drawn about the origin of Santa Claus, extreme statements should be avoided. This short article has shown that the modern Santa Claus has been shaped by many factors and is a conglomeration of myths and legends. I feel compelled, however, to make several observations.

First, it is absolutely inaccurate to claim that "Santa Claus is a Christian" or that "Santa Claus is St. Nicholas." Though it is true that the historical St. Nicholas was a Christian man, the preceding has shown that the modern Santa Claus has nothing to do with Nicholas of Myra, other than his name. The modern Santa Claus has been greatly influenced by the custom of "the visit of St. Nicholas," in which the saint would show up on the eve of his Feast Day to give gifts to children. But the custom of his "visit" is certainly not based on the historical man; rather it is based on legends attached to him, and it is possibly based on preChristian myths (about Odin, Thor, etc.). It is also a rather silly and misleading argument to state that "Nicholas was generous and Santa Claus is generous, so the same spirit permeates both." Right!

Second, it is also absolutely inaccurate to claim that "Santa Claus is pagan" without any further explanation. We need to be clear what we mean by "pagan." If by "pagan" we mean "non-Christian" then the statement is accurate in the sense that I gave in the paragraph above. However, because "pagan" has such a pejorative sense to it, I prefer to say that "Santa Claus is a fairy tale" along the lines of the tooth fairy - which leads to my next point.

Third, the real problem that Christians should have with Santa Claus is that he has been associated with Christmas. When we survey the history of the evolution of Santa Claus, the critical point occurred, in my opinion, when the St. Nicholas visit was transferred from Dec. 6 to Dec. 25. Christians would have no major problem with a make-believe custom about St. Nicholas bringing gifts on his own day. Christians do (or at least should) have a major problem with moving the St. Nicholas thing to Christmas and, even worse, calling it Christmas!
Put simply, do the Santa Claus thing to your heart's content, but don't call it Christmas! For Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior, nothing more and nothing less. Christians are rightly offended when the Santa Claus fairy tale is called Christmas instead. A good and practical solution would be to move the Santa Claus holiday back to its traditional date of Dec. 6. But of course, it is highly unlikely that this will happen.
Perhaps Christians should celebrate Christ's birth at another time of the year - especially since we do not know the date he was actually born. January 6 is an improvement, but it is still too close to the Santa Claus fest, in my opinion. Again, I won't hold my breath waiting for this to happen!
Ultimately it is impossible, of course, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ without competition from other festivals and observances - no matter what date is picked. This is the reason why I have stated that the main problem is not the competing festivals (e.g., Santa Claus) themselves; the main problem is calling the competing festivals "Christmas." Our message to the world should be, "Santa Claus, in and of itself, can be a fun custom. Just don't call it Christmas!"

[pandora]

Sorry but i don't see the point of your article? Santa Claus has nothing to do with the Christian faith. Christians have no problem distinguishing the difference between Santa Claus and "Christmas" and giving thanks to God for our Saviour Jesus Christ. They are separate. Don't worry yourself about it, as neither event concerns muslims.

[فداء الرسول]

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Sorry but i don't see the point of your article? Santa Claus has nothing to do with the Christian faith. Christians have no problem distinguishing the difference between Santa Claus and "Christmas" and giving thanks to God for our Saviour Jesus Christ. They are separate. Don't worry yourself about it, as neither event concerns muslims.

We have the freedom of expression

[pandora]

Yes you have.. :) but why does it worry you so much? Why don't you just concentrate on being the best muslims you can be and leave others to their beliefs? It just looks like you are insecure in your belief when you need to question those of others. I welcome the fact you are Muslim and respect your right to believe as you do and would not say you are wrong, or your prophet is false, or your Holy Book is not true. Because those things are yours and they are dear to you as mine are to me.

Peace and all that. :)

[فداء الرسول]

O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.

[هشيم]

The article is not only about Santa Clause but about the origin of Christ Mass. If you have read all the article you know that all the Christ Mass idea is from other pagan nations. Of course Christian writers, before Muslims, wrote about those facts and discovered it. We as Muslims are obliged to do our job and tell what is going on.

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Santa Claus has nothing to do with the Christian faith

[pandora]

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The article is not only about Santa Clause but about the origin of Christ Mass. If you have read all the article you know that all the Christ Mass idea is from other pagan nations. Of course Christian writers, before Muslims, wrote about those facts and discovered it. We as Muslims are obliged to do our job and tell what is going on.

Yes, but like I said already... We know this information. It is not new stuff to Christians.. Who are you telling? I'm not sure who your target audience is meant to be.

The reason Christianity took over pagan festival dates was in attempt to win pagans away from idol worship to worship of the One True God. Maybe you would like to explain how Mohammed won over the pagans of his own tribe over to Islam and the worship of the same One True God. I see no difference if the outcome is the same.

[هشيم]

Prophet Muhammad (Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) never resorted to "ignorance" and "paganism" to deliver his message (Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and call people to worship one God (Allah).


Roman Emperor Constantine Romanized Christianity to met desires of the people at that time. from One True God to Trinity, to change the date and historical truths, all that happened in Council of Nicaea. All these were not for the sake of worshiping One True God but for the sake of the political advantage to gain the support of church and the people under his authority who were familiar with those pagan ideas. He even fought the former Christians. The historians have right answers to "Why did Constantine declare Christianity legal?", the same thing happens now. Emperor Constantine exploited Christianity for his purposes "staying in power" and some say he did not convert himself!!. Christians to day do the same thing.

Constantine was a lifelong pagan who was baptized against his will on his deathbed.
Constantine made Christianity the official Roman religion solely for political gain.
Christianity is a hybrid religion, the result of Constantine's fusing the pagan cult of Sol Invictus with Christianity.
This blending can be seen in Constantine's changing the Christian day of worship from Saturday to Sunday.
Under Constantine's influence, the Council of Nicea, by a small majority, turned a mortal prophet into the divine Son of God.
Constantine ordered the making of the Bible that would reinforce the Council's decision to make Jesus the divine Son of God, and at the same time ordered the destruction of opposing documents.


Do not say "you copy from anti-christian websites". Get your facts right. Those historical events are recorded and written by Christian writers.

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The reason Christianity took over pagan festival dates was in attempt to win pagans away from idol worship to worship of the One True God. Maybe you would like to explain how Mohammed won over the pagans of his own tribe over to Islam and the worship of the same One True God. I see no difference if the outcome is the same.