English Heritage Retracts Erroneous Claims Linking Christmas to Pagan Celebrations
English Heritage recently acknowledged its mistake in claiming that Christmas originated from a Roman pagan festival dedicated to the sun god. The organization initially suggested that the celebration on December 25 was a transformation of the Roman festival for Sol Invictus after the Roman Empire’s conversion to Christianity.
However, historical evidence points to a different conclusion. Early Christians believed Jesus was conceived on March 25, leading to a December 25 birth date by counting nine months forward. This calculation dates back to at least 204 AD, referenced in the works of Hippolytus of Rome.
The contentious post from English Heritage on X claimed, “Why do we celebrate Christmas on 25 December? It was celebrated by the Romans as the birth of the sun god, Sol Invictus. After the Roman Empire converted to Christianity, it was changed into a Christian holy day, and parts of the winter festivals were brought together.” This assertion was at odds with evidence indicating the Sol Invictus festival on December 25 only appeared in the late 3rd century, almost a century after Christians first began celebrating Christ’s birth on that date.
Further complicating matters, English Heritage inaccurately tweeted that Christianity became the Roman Empire’s official religion in 325 CE, when it actually occurred in 380 AD. The organization promptly removed both tweets and admitted their error, with a spokesperson stating, “We quickly realised we got this wrong and deleted the posts,” as reported by The Telegraph.
Historians took to X to correct the narrative, with Dominion author Tom Holland expressing his frustration succinctly: “Please make it stop.” There are also concerns about a possible underlying motive behind these claims. Catholic author Gavin Ashenden remarked on the situation, emphasizing that English Heritage’s role is to safeguard the nation’s Christian heritage. “And the national memory it curates is entirely Christian. Christianity built the culture that English Heritage exists to preserve: cathedrals, calendars, moral grammar, laws, language, customs, festivals, and music,” he said.
This article was originally written by www.christiantoday.com
