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The origin of Christmas. Christmas is from Christes Maesse, which means Christ Mass (Ency. Brit. Micro, vol. 2 pg. 903).
This reference work states: "...during the 4th century the celebration of Christ's birth on December 25 was gradually adopted by most Eastern churches.
In Jerusalem, opposition to Christmas lasted longer..." December 17-24th was the period of Saturnalia, a well-known festival in pagan Rome.
December 25th was the birthday of Mithra, the Iranian god of light.
The most reliable history tells us regarding this day: "...was adopted by the church as Christmas to counteract the effects of these festivals" (Vol. 7, pg. 202).