First Dec. 25 Xmas tied to pagan shrine - Yahoo! News: "In 325, he convened the Council of Nicaea, which fixed the dates of important Christian festivals. It opted to mark Christmas, then celebrated at varying dates, on Dec. 25 to coincide with the Roman festival celebrating the birth of the sun god, Andrea Carandini, a professor of archaeology at Rome's La Sapienza University, told reporters Friday.
The Basilica of St. Anastasia was built as soon as a year after the Nicaean Council. It probably was where Christmas was first marked on Dec. 25, part of broader efforts to link pagan practices to Christian celebrations in the early days of the new religion, Carandini said.
'The church was built to Christianize these pagan places of worship,' he said. 'It was normal to put a church near these places to try to 'save' them.'"
The Basilica of St. Anastasia was built as soon as a year after the Nicaean Council. It probably was where Christmas was first marked on Dec. 25, part of broader efforts to link pagan practices to Christian celebrations in the early days of the new religion, Carandini said.
'The church was built to Christianize these pagan places of worship,' he said. 'It was normal to put a church near these places to try to 'save' them.'"
Comments