THE FIRST MYTH OF CHRISTMAS - Christ was Born of a Virgin

This was an impossibility in those days, but the. myth was nevertheless a common one. Zoroaster, Mithras, Perseus, Horus and Krishna were all alleged to have been born of ‘virgin’. It was taken as a sign of purity.

THE SECOND MYTH OF CHRISTMAS - Christ was born on 25th December

Quite wrong of course. The error was first made by Dionysius; Exiguus in 525 AD, probably to fit in with the Roman date for the sun’s official birthday. Jesus of Nazareth if he existed at all which is by no mean certain, was probably not born in the cold rainy season, when shepherds did not 'watch their flocks by night’.

THE THIRD MYTH OF CHRISTMAS - Christ was born 2001 years ago

This error can also be traced to Dionysius Exiguus, who calculated that Christ was born 753 years after the supposed date of the foundation of Rome by Romulus. We know that Herod died in 4 BC. Therefore the Jesus of the Gospels must have been born before that date.

THE FOURTH MYTH OF CHRISTMAS - Christ was descended from David

According to Matthew, this was 28 generations back; according to Luke it was 41. Both give a list of names but, apart from Joseph, only two names are identical in both lists. In any case, we now know that the first 10 Books of the Old Testament are almost certainly fiction, written 1,000 years or more after the events they purport to describe. The David depicted in the Bible probably never even existed.

THE FIFTH MYTH OF CHRISTMAS - Christ was God incarnate

A ridiculous claim, which even the Christ of the Gospels did not make. The early Christians didn’t believe this nonsense either, but the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD decided to replace the myth of the Jewish Messiah by an even more fantastic myth and so declared the incarnation as official.

THE SIXTH MYTH OF CHRISTMAS - Christ offered salvation to all

The Gospel Christ is quite explicit that the rich would not be saved. "Woe unto ye that are rich, for ye have received your consolation". The rich would have no more chance of getting to heaven than a camel would of going through the eye of a needle.

THE SEVENTH MYTH OF CHRISTMAS - Christ preached peace and goodwill

The Christ of the Gospels is rather contradictory here. On the one hand, he exhorts the poor to turn the other cheek, while at the same time he says he has brought 'not peace, but a sword'. There would also be eternal punishment in hell, complete with 'wailing and gnashing of teeth, for those who refused to follow his teachings - "He that believeth not shall be damned".

THE EIGHTH MYTH OF CHRISTMAS - Christians invented Christmas

Quite wrong, of course: Christians hijacked a pagan festival and tried to turn it into their own. It was originally a celebration of the return of the sun god on earth. The ancient Romans, for example, exchanged gifts at Saturnalia.

THE NINTH MYTH OF CHRISTMAS - The original Father Christmas was Christian

Woden was the god of magic and healing and he rode across the sky on Sleipnir, his eight-legged horse. At midwinter, Woden came to earth and-down the smoke-hole in the form of Father Christmas to dispense goodwill, peace, plenty and presents. Christians stole this myth when they turned a 4th century Turkish bishop called Nicholas into a saint The Americans corrupted his name into 'Santa Claus'.

THE TENTH MYTH OF CHRISTMAS - Christmas gifts are about love

This is only partly true. As Levi-Strauss has observed, gifts can be connected just as much with power relations. Men may give presents to women to establish power over them; the same applies to Christmas presents for children.

THE ELEVENTH MYTH OF CHRISTMAS - Christmas is a religious festival

Despite the pious platitudes about babes in mangers, wise men bearing gifts and 'peace on earth', Christmas is essentially an orgy of animal slaughter, conspicuous consumption, alcoholism, hangovers and, for many, increased loneliness. For the vast majority of people, the 'meaning' of Christmas is far removed from 'the official version’.

THE TWELTH MYTH OF CHRISTMAS - Most people believe the Christmas myths

The vast majority in Christendom know in their heart of hearts that the above are myths, but they play along with the whole charade, thus ensuring that Christmas is an orgy of hypocrisy on a grand scale.