Pagan roots of modern holidays

Adoption of Christianity in Europe was accompanied not only by displacement of pagan cults, but also by borrowing some of their elements. So in order to make it easier for people to transfer from one religion to another, Christian church often saved pagan holidays, however, giving them a new meaning. That's why it is no wonder that some modern holidays that we've got used to consider Christian or even secular have in fact deep pagan roots.

Christmas (24th of December, 7th of January)

For a long time it was forbidden to celebrate religious holidays in this country. That's why a big part of holiday attributes, for example, a custom to decorate a Christmas tree and adorn its top with a star moved to New Year. But if you turn attention to the history of Christmas as a holiday, it will turn out that a large part of Christmas traditions trace their roots to paganism.

So the tradition to decorate the Christmas tree came from pre-Christian times. Ancient Egyptians decorated palms for holidays. And ancient Germans celebrated the winter solstice (22nd of December) hanging on a fir-tree, which was a symbol of firmness, eternity and sacrifices to gods, decorations and food. On that day people also gave presents to each other.

In some Slavic countries there is still a Christmas tradition of caroling. Young people go from house to house and sing Christmas songs, receiving money, presents and treat for this. This tradition traces back to pagan celebration of Kolyada or koleda — the birthday of a same-name deity. That ancient holiday was connected with the winter solstice and the change of the seasons. During Kolyada it was customary to sing songs of praise to rich hosts, predicting them a plenteous harvest and wishing them prosperity. For such songs people were praised with loafs and pies, and there was a belief that for those who were tight-fisted the year would be unlucky.

Even the date of Christmas was initially chosen in accordance with pagan traditions. In early Christian texts there is no exact notice of the Christ's birth date, and 25th of December was noticed for the first time only in 221 in a chronicle of one of the first Christian historians Sextus Julius Africanus. In 354 it was decided to coincide celebration of Christmas with the winter solstice. That day many pagan cultures celebrated the birth of gods: in Greece it was the god of wine Dionysus, in Egypt — dying and renascent god of the Afterlife Osiris, in Rome of the beginning of the Common Era — Mitra, the divinity of the sun. Miraism was popular in the Roman Empire of that time, that's why in order to weaken its positions and to get the support from people it was decided to settle Christmas on the same day with «the birthday of the unconquered sun».

The final decision about setting 25th of December as Christmas date was accepted only in 431 during Third Ecumenical Council. So the Christmas coincided with the times of Roman Saturnalias and displaced them.

Saint Valentine's Day (14th of February)

Valentine was a bishop of Terni at the times when in the territory of the Roman Empire Christians were persecuted. On 14th February 269 AD he was executed for his evangelistic activities; in 496 Pope Gelasius I canonized Valentine and 14th of February was announced St. Valentine's Day.

Till that moment 14th of January coincided with another holiday — pagan Lupercalia. This holiday of fertility and free love took place at the place where, according to legends, the wolf bred future founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. The word ‘Lupercalia' derives from Latin ‘lupa' — ‘wolf', also a homonym to the word ‘meretrix'. One of Lupercalia's traditions was some kind of lottery. The girls wrote their names on notes and threw them to the urn and men picked out the notes with their future sweethearts' names.

These holidays were so popular that remained even after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Pope Gelasius I tried to fight with this tradition, but his attempts to replace Lupercalia with St. Velentine's Day were only partly successful: two holidays ran one into one day, that became, however, more decent than pagan orgies. The saint's name started to be associated with a patron of enamoured people. The legend that Valentine was secretly engaging Christian soldiers and their loves, breaking the prohibition of Roman Emperor Claudius II, who believed that single people would better fight for the motherland.
It is interesting that the tradition to celebrate St. Valentine's Day as the holiday of all lovers is popular but not church. Moreover since 1969 Saint Valentine as other Roman saints information about whom is controversial and doubtful was excluded from the liturgical calendar of Catholic Church.

Maslenitsa (also known as Butter Week, Pancake week, or Cheesefare Week). The last week before the Lent

Maslenitsa is one of few pagan holidays that came to us almost without any changes. Many people who participate in celebrations, attracted by rich treat, games, chuting on the ice slides and folk festival, don't even imagine, that in fact they fulfill a number of pagan rituals that must drive out winter and help spring to come into power.

Pagan Maslenitsa started in a week before the day of vernal equinox (22nd of March) and finished seven days after it. In that time people made bonfires and rolled burning wheels, helping the sun to melt the snow and kick away cold. Funny games, knuckle fighting and also flirt and kissing glorified Jarilo — deity of vegetation, fertility and genetic sense. Traditional dish was pan-cakes, which are at the same time commemorational food, connected with the cult of ancestry and a symbol of sun-disk. On the last day of Maslenitsa a straw dressed in women's clothes which symbolizes Marzanna, deity of winter and death, is burnt.

With adoption of Christianity the way of celebrating has changed a little. Maslenitsa was shortened to one week and its date was attached to the beginning of the Lent, so that the traditions of this holiday didn't contradict to the religious' preparation to Easter. The name ‘Maslenitsa' is connected with the fact that in the last week before the Lent one can eat butter, milk products and fish, but meat is forbidden. The Church name of this week is Carnival or Sexagesima Sunday.

Easter (the date depends on the year)

Easter or Anastasis is one of the most important Christian holidays. However some Easter symbols and traditions that we can't imagine the holiday without are not originally Christian, but pagan.

So many peoples believe that the egg represents a symbol of birth, spring and nature renewal. According to popular beliefs vitellus symbolizes spring sun, and the egg itself — setting free from snow fatters and transferring from non-being to existence.

A custom to paint eggs that became a part and parcel of holiday Easter tradition also existed before Rome's adoption of Christianity as an official religion. According to the legend in that day when future Rome Emperor Marcus Aurelius was born, one of his mother's hens laid an egg, marked with red spots. This fact was considered a happy sign. Since the first half of the III^th century AD people started the tradition to congratulate each other sending paste-eggs.

The most popular legend devoted to the connection between painted in red eggs and Christianity says that the first paste-egg was Maria Magdalena's present to Emperor Tiberius. According to this legend, when Maria told Tiberius about the Resurrection, the emperor said that is was as impossible as a red color of eggshell. And after these words the egg he was holding changed its color.

One more symbol of the Resurrection widespread in West Europe and the USA is the Easter bunny. It also has pagan roots and is connected with spring fertility holidays. Many peoples had sexual rituals in these celebrations, they believed that these rituals could rise soul fertility. And the hare has been considered a symbol of men's power and sexual energy since ancient times.

It's notable that in pre-Christian times religions of many peoples, for example, Greeks, Egyptians and Phoenicians included beliefs about dying and reviviscent deities.

Halloween, Allhallow Day (31st of October — 1st of November)

Russian people know this holiday first of all from American movies. It is not suprisingly because this holiday is popular most of all in the USA. However people in other countries like attributes of Halloween as well, that's why the holiday is celebrated in many countries all over the world, including Russia.

The word ‘Halloween' stems from English ‘All Hallow' Even', that means ‘Evening of all saints'. This holliday got such a name as it is celebrated on the eve of Christian Allhallow Day, the day of all saint, recognized by church. But in spite of visible even form the name connection with, Christianity, Halloween has deep pagan roots. It traces back to Celtic holiday Samhain that started in the evening 31st of December and continued for several days.

Ancient Celts divided the year only to two seasons, winter and summer. Every season continued six months and was thought to be the beginning of a new year. The night of the change of seasons was considered special: according to legends, at that time the border between the world of the living and the world of the dead disappeared. Celts believed that at Samhain Night souls of the dead could return to their houses and that's why they presented them some treat. After adoption of Christianity Samhain step by step transformed into Halloween, Allhallow Day and All Souls Day, celebrated on 2nd of November.

Pagan grounds gone through centuries can be seen in the tradition of celebrating Halloween. So children dressed in costumes of skeletons and witches go from yard to yard asking adults to pay off the dead and evil spirits with various treat.

However Halloween costumes today contain any Carnival costumes, including superheroes from comics and movies.