Is it Christian Bashing to say that Christians "stole" Pagan holidays?

Yeah, we got some fundies on the Pagan side of the fence too. I agree with you, and it irritates me endlessly because people like that kind of make the rest of us look like nutjobs. (and thank you Mabus for proving my point here)

And actually, I don't think that they "stole" anything. While it is true that many Christian holidays have very very Pagan undertones, i.e.

Easter = Ostara, both celebrations of rebirth, both using bunnies and eggs (we see them as fertility symbols)

Christmas = Winter solstice, both celebrations of the birth of the Son/Sun (and to Pagans they are much the same thing) Celebrations of light, and relief.

to name a few, it only make sense, I've never understood why Pagans get up at arms about it, personally I just delight in the secret Pagan symbolism. Why bother to raise a fuss? Christians are just as entitled to their parties as we are!

Live and let live I say.

I'm Pagan married to a Deist and our families are Christian. In my house we celebrate Yule... I do more of the religious stuff than my hub or my 19 yr old son does. But the food and stories, etc... are all done together. On Christmas Eve (Yule is 12 days long), we go to my parents house where we celebrate Christmas. Though they are Christians, they aren't overly religious/fundies... and usually stick a pretty secular "party" with the normal Christmas stories, the food, the CHOCOLATE!!! oops, sorry... I have never pushed my beliefs on anyone. Even while observing/celebrating Pagan holidays, I only go so far as the rest of the family is willing to go and the rest I do alone (ritual, etc...) Though, that really isn't much of a problem in my house, since my son is also Pagan and my husband enjoys learning about these things... he just doesn't participate. =) It would be hard to explain that to a 5 yr old. I didn't have to do any deep explanations till my kid was almost 11. So I can't give any advice on that as I'm not sure how to explain it to a 5 yr old. No, you can't request excused absence for Wiccan Holildays. There's really only one "Christian" Holiday kids get off and that falls within their Winter Break. That's just something you will have to work around or maybe consider homeschool.

Nope the Christian church saw all the people following the Pagan belief, and saw that they had these celebrations at different times of the year, So they made there own to coincided with them, giving them different names, in the end not only taking the holiday and what it originally stood for, but as an attempt to convert followers.

Most of our holidays have "pagan origins." This was quite intentional as the leaders of the Church at various times wanted to transform pre-Christian holidays to a Christian purpose. Rather than trying to outlaw a "pagan" festival, why not simply change the meaning of the celebration? Seems sensible to me.

When you think about it, almost everything we do in church or as part of our Christian life has "pagan" origins. Prayer, public worship, the reading of scripture, the building of churches, the election of church officers, taking up an offering, the appointing or ordination of clergy, preaching, missionary activity among the poor. You name it; it has pagan roots. If we were to abandon everything that has pagan roots, there would be nothing left.

I think it is ridiculous.... and childish.... and embarrassing... and inaccurate.

Holidays evolved. Even the holidays most Neo-Pagans celebrate today were not the ancient festivals of Pagans past... they were Christianized and we borrowed a lot back and pieced a lot together.

Also I am a firm believer that holidays are what you make of them.

Many people in our Pagan faith are as clueless to the origins of their belief's and practices and to history as they accuse Christians of being. Many Pagans accuse Christians of things that Christians never did.

Personally I'm hoping that will be the next wave of the Pagan revival... to embrace truth and stop spreading very common misconceptions and flick some chips off shoulders.

Well, the Catholics based all of the Catholic holidays around pagan holidays because Catholicism is a syncretic pagan religion. It pays no mind to the actual dates when these events happened in Christianity. They attempt to base their pseudo-Christian holidays on the sun calendar. The events that are most important to Christianity are most accurately represented by the Hebrew Lunar calendar. But, the destructive propaganda of the Catholic machine has done everything possible to remove Christianity from it's true Hebrew origins.

Degrading anyone for incorporating other practices or beliefs in to their beliefs is harassment.

Christians no more "stole" anything from pagans than modern pagans "steel" from other beliefs and religions.

The early church incorporated pagan practices into their holidays to make their celebrations more palatable to early pagans. They didn't hold a gun to their heads, or force them to convert to Christianity. Those early pagans choose to share their celebrations and follow the Church. So we can't blame the Catholic church for successfully making their holidays acceptable to others.

By the way Voodoo isn't a pagan practice. It is a melding of Haitian paganism with Christianity. That christian part, makes Voodoo a non-pagan practice.

It's not theft it's evolution

Shamanism became more organized with larger population centers

As early civilizations expanded they added the local deities of new lands to their pantheon

Many of these polytheistic faiths had a king/queen/mother/father/high god that ruled over the others who were usually its children

The concept of one ruling god eventually became the one and only god

Monotheism is more exclusive by its nature

Sun worship became Atunism became Judaism became Christianity became Islam became Baha'i......

And each of those split into sects that disagreed with each other

Monotheism continued some of the practices and most of the holidays of polytheism because that's where they came from

As DNA can trace most of us back to a little African so can Anthropology trace religion back to a mushroom chomping shaman in the Russian Steppes

Most Pagans will admit that they have intergraded other religions into their practices. What chaps most Pagan and others of the Craft world is that Christians act as if they invented the traditions and don't give credit where credit is due. They act all "holier than thou" about who started what, when, how and why.

I don't think a religion or anything for that matter can steal a date in time. Christians have made pagan holidays into christian meaning. But pagans can and still do celebrate as it is still a holiday for them.

i think its propaganda in the negative

when it comes to christmas, from watching the history channel, christmas was "adopted" as "a" holiday "day" to celibrate the birth of christ.

everything that a christian believes in, is about the nativity and the gospel of christ having its origin in Jesus' birth.

what ive heard about pagan celibrations on the same dates is that there was SO much wickedness that a true christian could not think of celibrating at all, without disobedience.

so i believe it was a GREAT deed to change the day of emphasis from drunkeness and carnal celibrations to spiritual worship and honor.

I will defend any TRUE christian and even the weakest among us, if they Show forth works of repentance and works of righteousness, and so i think Jesus would have mercy on the believer as well. regardless of religious affiliation. especially, also, if anyone Has Love One to another even of different religions