The December 25th celebration of Christmas was instituted by the Catholic Church. Christmas originated from a pagan festival that celebrated the winter solstice. The winter solstice marked the first day the sun seemed to intensify. So from the winter solstice onward, as the nights became shorter and the day longer, pagans would have grand ceremonies in honor of the sun god. The worship of the sun was customary in ancient Rome. The Catholic Church adopted Emperor Constantine’s suggestion that pagan customs be Christianized, to allow ease of conversion to pagan converts, i.e., making them feel “at home†as Christians. Pagans regarded Christ as the great sun of the human spirit, so they chose December 25th to celebrate Jesus’ birth.
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