Grailhunter
Well-Known Member
Halloween...just another Christian / Pagan holiday?
As many probably know, when Christianity and the Roman Empire "merged" so did our cultures. Today most of our Christian holidays have a Pagan side. Depending on what country you live in, the Pagan side of the holidays are more obvious.
Even the names of the days of the week and months are Pagan. It goes into astronomy were planets are named after Pagan gods. Our symbol for the healing arts, the caduceus (the entwined snakes on a phallus symbol) comes from the witch's craft of healing. Back in the day a pharmacist could be considered a witch, dispensing potions that heal without the intervention of God.
If you search the OT you will not find the word wed or wedding. That is because ancient Hebrew did not have a name for it. Most marriages were about a man "taking a wife" the union. Not that there were no celebrations, it occurred rarely, but nothing like we have today. Marriage ceremonies were big with Pagans and many of our Christian marriage customs come from the Pagans. The Jews in the biblical era adopted their interest in ceremonies from the Persians. The custom of exchanging wedding rings was not Hebrew or Christian, the Romans used wedding rings but the custom can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians.
Public ceremonies that included documentation did not occur until the Middle Ages and mostly involved the upper class and that was mostly about property, wealth, and power.
It comes to the point that it is hard to separate Christian cultures from the Pagan customs of society. In the Renascence period the church persecuted people of science so one could say anything technical could be considered non-Christian.
As many probably know, when Christianity and the Roman Empire "merged" so did our cultures. Today most of our Christian holidays have a Pagan side. Depending on what country you live in, the Pagan side of the holidays are more obvious.
Even the names of the days of the week and months are Pagan. It goes into astronomy were planets are named after Pagan gods. Our symbol for the healing arts, the caduceus (the entwined snakes on a phallus symbol) comes from the witch's craft of healing. Back in the day a pharmacist could be considered a witch, dispensing potions that heal without the intervention of God.
If you search the OT you will not find the word wed or wedding. That is because ancient Hebrew did not have a name for it. Most marriages were about a man "taking a wife" the union. Not that there were no celebrations, it occurred rarely, but nothing like we have today. Marriage ceremonies were big with Pagans and many of our Christian marriage customs come from the Pagans. The Jews in the biblical era adopted their interest in ceremonies from the Persians. The custom of exchanging wedding rings was not Hebrew or Christian, the Romans used wedding rings but the custom can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians.
Public ceremonies that included documentation did not occur until the Middle Ages and mostly involved the upper class and that was mostly about property, wealth, and power.
It comes to the point that it is hard to separate Christian cultures from the Pagan customs of society. In the Renascence period the church persecuted people of science so one could say anything technical could be considered non-Christian.
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