Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice now usually starts on December 21 or December 22 each year. During the time of Jesus Christ the Winter Solstice may have been considered to be on December 25.  The difference in dates from then until now may be due to the changes in the calendar which were needed due to the fact that the year is not exactly 365.25 days long.

The Winter Solstice is the time when the Sun is 'born' or 'reborn'.

Seems to have come from Latin words meaning the sun stands still.  The sun appears to stand still for about 3 days.  At the winter solstice the Sun seems to be dead and not changing the position where it rises into the sky.  This likely explains why Jesus Christ, the Son of God (or perhaps Sun of God), was dead and buried for three days, then reborn as a baby.

It is the time of year when the Sun starts be be visible longer each day thus making the night shorter.  The triumph of light over darkness.

The exact time of the Winter Solstice varies slightly by location.  It is the exact time when the Sun is viewed at its lowest angle of elevation above the horizon, in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Winter Solstice is also known a Longest Night and is the start of Yule.

It is interesting that Jesus Christ, the 'Son of God', is said to have been 'born' on what was the Winter Solstice during his time on Earth, just as Sol, the Sun God, is said to be 'born' or 'reborn' on exactly the same date.  Since the Sun was worshipped long before Jesus Christ ('Son of God' or perhaps "Sun of God'), it seems that the early Christians chose this date to be the date of His birth so that it could be celebrated at the same time as the 'birth' of the Sun.  Can Christianity therefore simply be considered as a slight modification of Sun Worship?

ANCIENT GREECE: The winter solstice ritual was called Lenaea, the Festival of the Wild Women. In very ancient times, a man representing the harvest god Dionysos was torn to pieces and eaten by a gang of women on this day. Later in the ritual, Dionysos would be reborn as a baby. By classical times, the human sacrifice had been replaced by the killing of a goat. The women's role had changed to that of funeral mourners and observers of the birth. http://www.religioustolerance.org/winter_solstice.htm

Also see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice