Biblische Debatten: Haben Christen Weihnachten von Heiden gestohlen?

What evidence is there that Christmas has pagan origins? It is true that many cultures celebrated midwinter festivals around the time of the winter solstice, long before the birth of Christ. The Roman festival of Saturnalia, for instance, was held in late December and involved gift-giving and merrymaking (Roberts, 1996). Some scholars have argued that early Christians deliberately chose December 25th to coincide with these existing celebrations. But we must also consider that the date of Christmas may have been…