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Originally Posted by scaeagles
Yep - same thing with Christmas. Though I am a practicing Christian, I think it is evident that Jesus was born in the spring, but something else (winter solstice celebrations?) was co-opted as well.
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Basically yes: the Winter Solstice; sometimes referred to as Yule or Yuletide
A fairly decent overview from Wikipedia (yes there are better descriptions, but I am lazy and this was the first thing to come up in my search):
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Yule or Yule-tide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic peoples as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January on a date determined by the lunar Germanic calendar. The festival was placed on December 25 when the Christian (Julian) calendar was adopted. Some historians claim that the celebration is connected to the Wild Hunt or was influenced by Saturnalia, the Roman winter festival. The term "Yule" is still used in the Nordic Countries and to a lesser extent in English speaking countries to refer to Christmas. Customs such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from Yule. In modern times, Yule is observed as a cultural festival and also with religious rites by some Christians and by some Neopagans.
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