History
convincingly shows that December 25 was popularized as the date for Christmas,
not because Christ was born on that day (which is untrue) but because it was
already popular in Pagan religious celebrations as the birthday of the Sun God.
December 21st is the Winter Solstice, when we have the shortest day and the
longest night. It is the day of great significance to the ancient traditions of
the world, in ancient Bharata and in the rest of the world. Ancient sky
watchers (whose ancient tradition of sky watching later gave rise to astronomy
and astrology much popular in the modern world) constantly observed the changes
happening in the celestial bodies, such as the phases of moon, the motion of
sun, moon, planets, comets and stars across the sky as well as the phases in
the solar output. Often these changes and astronomical events were celebrated
by these ancient people (which the Christian clergy contemptuously called the
‘pagans’ and the ‘heathens’) with a lot of fanfare, fun and joy with men, women
and children coming out of their homes and joining in the festivities.
Now let us see what does “Pagan” means. Pagan in
Christianity means, the religions which are fake, primitive or not of true God.
Jesus is the only true God of the Universe (ICSE Moral Science Book – It was stressed
upon by one of my Hindu teachers in school).
For homogeneity
we will use Pagan when referring to non-Christian traditions.
Winter Solstice and its relevance in Indian
traditions:
Many know
that in India we celebrate the movement of Sun God into the various zodiacs
like Makar Sankranti, Mesha Sankranti, Dhanu Sankranti. We have 12 zodiacs for
12 months and the Sun’s movement to each zodiac is auspicious from the Ancient
Rig Vedic times (Atleast 20000 years).
Makar
Sankranti, celebrated generally around January 14-15 has been gradually
shifting over the years due to the rotation of the earth. Several festivals
like Holi, Diwali is celebrated on a fixed date because unlike other festivals
— which are determined by specific phase and position of the moon against the
background of distant stars —Makar Sankranti is determined purely by the
position of the sun against the background of the zodiacal constellations. Makar
Sankranti is supposed to signal the entry of the sun into the Makar Rasi or the
zodiacal constellation of Capricorn. Although Makar Sankranti is related to the
Uttarayana or the beginning of the northward movement of the sun, the dates of
these two events have been drifting apart. It is quite likely that sometime in
the past Makar Sankranti had started as a winter solstice festival. If we look
at the position of the sun against the background of the zodiacal
constellations around 600-400 BC, we find the sun entered Capricorn exactly as
winter solstice set in.
Winter
Solstice, Vernal Equinox, Summer Solstice and Autumnal Equinox are the four
events related to the motion of the Sun. Today they occur respectively on
December 21, March 20, June 20 and September 22, occasionally shifting to the
next day once in a few years due to approximations in the time calculations. In
Summer Solstice, we have the longest day and shortest night. In both the equinoxes,
we have both day and night equal in duration. The Mayan sky watchers called
them (two solstices and two equinoxes) together as the four corners of the sky.
The ancients knew that sky is the visual representation of a calendar. The
ancient Bharatiya Vedic tradition in the concept of Nakshatra(Nakt:night,
Shatra:field) meaning the (stellar) field or map of the night (sky) and
Kalachakra (the wheel of time, i.e. the clock). Sky watchers of Bharata too
identified the sky much earlier than the Mayans of Meso-America, as the visual
manifestation of the calendar, conceived it as a giant clock (wheel of time)
and called it Kalachakra with the sun itself as its one and only clock-handle
(single handedly doing the task of the hour-handle, minute-handle and
second-handle of a modern day analog clock).
The sky was then divided into segments like in the modern day analog
clocks with divisions numbering 12, 24, 360 and 720. We can see such images in
the ancient Saraswati Valley Civilization in India.
These three
modes of time calculation (durinal, yearly and precessional) are described in
the Rig Veda as the three modes of using the Kalachakra.
RV_1,164.02a sapta yuñjanti ratham ekacakram eko aśvo
vahati saptanāmā |
RV_1,164.02c trinābhi cakram ajaram anarvaṃ yatremā
viśvā bhuvanādhi tasthuḥ ||
Seven
{sapta} are yoked {yuñjanti} to the Chariot {ratham} with a single-wheel
{ekacakram} and a single horse {eko aśvo} with seven people (seven names)
{saptanāmā} inside it. The wheel has three navels {trinābhi}. It is ageless
{ajaram} and un-decaying {anarvam}. On it are staying {tasthuh} all the beings
of the world {viśvā bhuvanādhi}.
RV_1,164.03a imaṃ ratham adhi ye sapta tasthuḥ
saptacakraṃ sapta vahanty aśvāḥ |
RV_1,164.03c sapta svasāro abhi saṃ navante yatra gavāṃ
nihitā sapta nāma ||
In this
Chariot {ratham}, resides {tasthuh} the seven {sapta}. It has seven-wheels
{saptachakram} and is driven by seven horses {sapta vahanty aśvāḥ}. The Seven
sisters {sapta svasāro} praises the Cow {gavāṃ} and the seven people (seven
names) {sapta nāma}.
RV_1,164.11a dvādaśāraṃ nahi taj jarāya varvarti
cakram pari dyām ṛtasya |
RV_1,164.11c ā putrā agne mithunāso atra sapta śatāni
viṃśatiś ca tasthuḥ ||
By
Universal-Order {ṛtasya} this wheel {cakram} of time having twelve-spokes
{dvādaśāraṃ} revolves {varvarti} in the sky {dyām}, without ever weakening or
aging {nahi taj jarāya}. O Agni {agne}, On it stays, in pairs {mithunāso}, 720
sons {putrā}.
RV_1,164.48a dvādaśa pradhayaś cakram ekaṃ trīṇi
nabhyāni ka u tac ciketa |
RV_1,164.48c tasmin sākaṃ triśatā na śaṅkavo ‘rpitāḥ ṣaṣṭir
na calācalāsaḥ ||
Twelve
{dvādaśa} are the major-spokes {pradhayaś}, and the wheel {cakram} is single
{ekaṃ}; three {trīṇi} are the naves {nabhyā}. Who hath understood it {ka u tac
ciketa}? On it are set together 360 spokes, which cannot be loosened {na
calācalāsaḥ}.
In 72
years, the equinoxes and solstices shift by one degree. In 72 x 360 years (i.e.
in 25,920 years) it completes one revolution. This period is known to modernity
as the precession period where Earth’s spin-axis make one complete revolution.
Modern value for this period is 25,776 years which I have mentioned above. Most
important point to be noted here is that discovery of such subtle motions
requires many centuries of sedentary observation of the sun, which fortunately
was the case in the ancient Saraswati-Yamuna region (now known as Haryana)
where the ancient settlements dates back to as early as 7570 BCE (Birhana- 7570
BCE and Rakhigarhi 4600 BCE).
Mahabharata
mentions this region as the abode of Adityas, the ancient lords of this
territory, which later generations revered as a holy land calling it, Ilaspada,
Kurukshetra, the altar of the Devas, the northern sacrificial altar of the
grandsire, Brahmavarta and so on. The Adityas were originally counted as 7
corresponding with the number 7 in the Rigvedic verses referenced above. This
number later became 9 and then 12 referenced in the Rigvedic verses to
represent the 12 divisions of the sky corresponding to the 12 zodiacs and the
12 months of the year.
Kasyapa was
equivalent to the Vedic sky god Dyaus (Zeus in Greek and Jupiter in Roman).
This symbolism is indicative of the decay of sun’s heat and light during winter
and subsequent resurrection of the sun after winter. But, among the Indo
Europeans, who migrated from the Sarasvati-Yamuna region to the west through
Iran, Armenia, Greece and Rome, the entire tradition of resurrection got
transposed onto the other sun-god viz. Mitra. Thus, in the west of Saraswati,
such as in Iran, Mitra / Mithra became a major Avestan deity in their
Zoroastrian tradition and in Rome, Mithraism became a major religion. This
religion was highly active when Christianity took root in Greece and Rome. In
order to erase Mithraism from Greece and Rome, Christian clergy started to
appropriate various symbolism of Mithraism. The most important part of this appropriation was the concept of
resurrection.
Mithra in
the Roman tradition was also hailed as a Virgin born Sun god, on account of him
being resurrected. Christianity finally transposed it to Jesus Christ. The
Winter Solstice Day, which fell on December 25, a few centuries back was then
fixed as the birthday of Jesus Christ, a day, which was originally celebrated
to commemorate the resurrection of the sun god Mithra, which in turn is a
celebration of the increase in the apparent solar output (light and heat) as
observed by us Earthlings, starting with the Winter Solstice. The holy cross,
another Christian symbol is nothing but the ancient cross formed by joining the
two solstices and the two equinoxes. This ancient cross was revered by many
ancient traditions and had nothing to do with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Many of the
traditions associated with Christmas such as the Santa Claus, the Christmas
Star and the Christmas tree have similar ancient origins that predate
Christianity. The Germanic people (a branch of the Indo European people, who
migrated from their ancestral homeland on the banks of Sarasvati) celebrated a
festival called Yule during winter centered on the Winter Solstice. They believed
that during this period supernatural beings (akin to the sky-travelling
Vidyadharas and Bhutas of Indic tradition) travelled across the sky in a
procession led by their leader Woden (Odin in Norse pantheon). It is called the Wild Hunt. Odin / Woden had
a special horse with eight legs. Children would leave their boots upon the
chimney full of carrots to feed this horse. Odin would then leave some gift for
the children near by the boots as a token of gratitude. The Norse God Odin (Woden in Germanic) is
depicted as an old man with a long white beard. Some of the epithets of Odin is
Jólnir, meaning “Yule figure”, and Langbarðr, meaning “long-beard”, in Old
Norse. It is this ancient Norse god Odin (Germanic god Woden), which later
appeared in Christianity as Santa Claus. The horse was then turned into the
reindeer of the Santa. Much like Odin, the Santa too gives gifts to the
children!
The festival of Yule was
celebrated by the ancient Celts and Saxons as the celebration of ‘the wheel of
the year’ or ‘Yula’ akin to Yuga and Yugadi celebrated in India. This wheel of
the year is nothing but a reference to the Rigvedic Kalachakra. The festival
involved burning of wood on the Winter Solstice day for 12 hours to represent
the 12 divisions of the wheel of the year.
The
Christmas tree is another
symbol appropriated from the ancient Canaanite traditions prevalent in Israel
before the advent of Christianity. The ancient Canaanites had a goddess named
Asherah. She was represented as a sacred tree or a sacred pole made of a tree
during worship and it was called the Asherah Pole or the Asherah Tree.
Christmas
star was an ancient symbol used by ancient
sky watchers worldwide and was used by goddesses like Inanna as their sacred
symbol. The most prominent celestial body worshipped after the Sun and the Moon
was planet Venus. In the Vedic tradition, Venus was worshiped as goddess Ushas,
specifically as the morning star, as the star Venus is seen only close to dawn
and dusk due to its proximity to Sun. Most ancient cultures worshipped Venus as
two separate divinities – as morning star and as the evening star without
knowing that both are the same entity – viz. planet Venus. In the Puranic
traditions, Ushas was worshiped by sage Usanasa (Sukra), who was the preceptor
of the Daityas and Danavas (Asuras) and was considered as a friend and enemy of
the preceptor of the Adityas (Devas, the gods) viz. Brihaspati, representing
planet Jupiter, the next brightest object in the sky after Venus.
Thus, it is clear that what is celebrated as
Christmas today, with Santa (Norse God Odin / Germanic God Woden), Christmas
Tree (Canaanite Goddess Asherah), Christmas Star (Sumerian Goddess Inanna /
Akkadian Goddess Ishtar) and many other elements could be traced back to
ancient pre-Christian ancient traditions, from which, the Christian clergy appropriated
their symbols and practices. This appropriation was accomplished through
cultural digestion & inculturation, as Christianity spread through Europe,
obliterated the followers of these ancient traditions and unfortunately
murdering many men, women and children in the process.
This same appropriation is currently happening
in India, and if it is ignored, Indian traditions may end up facing the same
fate as the pre-Christian European traditions.
References:
Jijith Ravi - India Facts
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/makar-sakranti-dates-shifting-over-the-years/story-WYUQxEXCEAC3miuhH949mO.html
http://www.crystalinks.com/wintersolstice.html
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