What is the name of the pagan holiday for Christmas?

Yule
Yule is a pagan holiday that goes back thousands of years, and was celebrated by the Germanic people of Germany and Scandinavia. The word “Yule” is the modern version of the Old Norse Jól and Jólnir – one of the names for the Norse god Odin.

Was December 25th a pagan holiday?

Saturnalia (detail) by Antoine Callet, 1783.It was a public holiday celebrated around December 25th in the family home. … This was Saturnalia, the pagan Roman winter solstice festival.

Why is Christmas not a pagan holiday?

In the early years of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated. In the fourth century, church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday. … By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the most part, replaced pagan religion.

Who is eostre?

Eostre is the Germanic goddess of dawn who is celebrated during the Spring Equinox. On the old Germanic calendar, the equivalent month to April was called “Ōstarmānod” – or Easter-month.

What pagan holiday is Easter?

Well, it turns out Easter actually began as a pagan festival celebrating spring in the Northern Hemisphere, long before the advent of Christianity. “Since pre-historic times, people have celebrated the equinoxes and the solstices as sacred times,” University of Sydney Professor Carole Cusack said.