Christmas is Not Pagan
Christmas trees are not pagan. The reason the tradition of Christmas trees developed is Christmas trees, back when they were real trees, had practical uses. You could burn the wood if things got too cold prior to central heating, and you could eat or drink the needles if you needed vitamin C prior to modern methods of food preservation such as refrigeration. Trees are not pagan, nature is not pagan, literally everyone who lived in nature in the past as well as many people today who live in nature or work with nature know that there are practical uses for nature that aren’t just worshipping nature.
Of course Christmas trees will seem like talismans if magic is defined as “anything I can’t understand,” but that’s the most inoffensive and non-sacreligious definition of magic ever, that’s the kind of magic that’s in all the Christmas movies, many of which are religious. Christmas ornaments that are shaped like balls are symbolic of the perfection of the Judeo-Christian God (sphere shape symbolizing perfection,) which is completely inapplicable to Zeus, Pan, and Saturn. These same arguments would also apply to wreaths etc. Christmas is not pagan, it just involves nature because nature is important to everyone who lives on the planet Earth and will probably become even more important once people move off the planet Earth and have to make their own nature.
Regarding the date of Christmas, while the Bible itself doesn’t say exactly when Jesus was born, it’s likely based on the Bible alone it was during the time of modern Christmas celebrations. Of course they didn’t use our modern calendar back then, but at the same time, the Gregorian calendar was very clearly made by Gregorian monks, who are very Christian. The date for Christmas was chosen because it was after all the pagan celebrations, not during them. There are all the pagan gods, and after them comes Jesus. Christmas also represents the Second Coming!
It’s not Christmas yet, it’s still Advent, but Merry early Christmas!
A McKuen Musings Advent - by Michaela McKuen (substack.com)
I've spent more time with trees than most. Their hearts beat, like most humans Michaela but slower. Once a day, and they say rather than us farming them for a winter open house staging and celebration of birth by cutting one of their young down, maybe we listen to them and just take some trimmings for the terpineol and cali christmas berry for the icariside compounds. The whole tree though? For crying out 🐬's !!
Trees come from the Norse pagan winter holiday of Yule. So does Santa, who is a mix of Odin and Dutch traditions surrounding Saint Nicholas. Christmas also borrows elements from the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia, and the date of December 25 was inspired by the cult of Mithras.
Christmas comes from pagan festivities surrounding the winter solstice, and many of today's traditions (Santa, the reindeer, holiday shopping, movies, music, etc.) are largely secular and American in origin. Either way, the "reason for the season" has very little to do with the blood sacrifice of a first-century Jew. Fun article though, very seasonal and thought-provoking.