The foundation of many religious stories is astrotheology - stories and symbolism marking astronomical phenomena. Christianity placed "Christ" in the position of the Sun god in those stories. Some believe Jesus was a mystery school initiate who was being guided to play out the Sun/Son of God role during his ministry to fit the astrotheological stories, while others believe there was no valid historicity to the stories or actual historical person at the root of the religion since they see it only as astrotheology.

: In Babylonian-Akkadian texts, there was a Festival to Ea (Enki
: in Sumerian) that was celebrated with gifts, feasting,
: evergreen trees and more during the Solstice. Ea/Enki's
: sign was a both a goat and a fish, the zodiac sign of
: Capricorn being birthed into Pisces (the fish) . .
: Likewise, the Babylonian ruler, Nimrod, had a similar
: festival. The people would bring him gifts to leave under
: his 'evergreen' tree. All at the Solstice.

: NightSky

: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

: On Dec. 21, the northern hemisphere celebrates the winter
: solstice, the shortest day of the year, or the longest
: night. While it's the darkest time of the year, the day
: also marks a turning point. From here on out, the sun
: shines a little longer each day, and we begin the slow
: march toward spring.

: For the ancient Romans, the winter solstice was marked by the
: Saturnalia festival, a week-long celebration where
: traditional roles were upended amid feasting and drinking.
: Masters waited on servants, gambling was temporarily legal,
: and the social hierarchy was upended.

: In Iran, the solstice was marked by the Yalda night, when
: families gathered to eat, drink and recite poetry with each
: other. Foods colored red represented the rising sun and the
: return of life. The Yule celebration, from which the modern
: Christmas celebration emerged, was observed in Europe by
: the Germanic people, and involved hearty foods, drinking,
: decorations and usually some variation of an elf or old man
: bearing gifts.

: Stonehenge

: One of the most recognizable monuments in the world,
: Stonehenge, has been found to mark the arrival of both the
: winter and summer solstices. On the winter solstice, the
: stones are perfectly aligned with the setting sun, and a
: crowd of thousands gathers to witness the occasion.

: Thousands gather at Stonehenge for winter solstice
: https://t.co/RxdV8FXTkXpic.twitter.com/oJtE4hJXJX

: — Reuters UK (@ReutersUK) December 21, 2016

: Pagans, for whom the both the solstice and Stonehenge hold
: special ritual significance, tend to be well represented.

: Temple of Karnak

: During sunrise at the winter solstice, the sun shines directly
: through the gap in the walls seen at the center.

: Located in Egypt amidst a vast complex of ruins, the shrine to
: the sun god is illuminated during the winter solstice. On
: this day, the rising sun shines between two pillars,
: casting a bright beam of light through the complex. The
: Egyptians were keen observers of the sky, and many of their
: monuments, including the pyramids, are aligned with the sun
: or the stars. For them, the winter solstice was a
: celebration of the god Horus, a deity of the sky, sun and
: moon.

: Newgrange

: A vast circular monument in Ireland, Newgrange predates
: Stonehenge. The structure measures some 250 feet across and
: is around 40 feet high, and was likely used as a tomb.
: Built around 3200 B.C., the monument features a single
: narrow passageway leading into its center for about 60
: feet, with several small chambers at the end.

: Hundreds of people gathered at the Newgrange Neolithic passage
: tomb in Co Meath to celebrate the winter solstice
: pic.twitter.com/4p6DP5z8Q6

: — RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 21, 2016

: During the winter solstice, the sun shines down the length of
: the passage and into a chamber through a special hole built
: into the roof just above the main entrance. The event lasts
: for less than 20 minutes and is so popular that visitors
: must enter a lottery for the privilege of attending.

: Goseck Circle

: This series of concentric ditches was constructed in Germany
: some 7,000 years ago during the Neolithic period. It
: measures about 250 feet across and once contained a ring of
: logs with gates used to measure the movement of the sun. On
: both the winter and summer solstices, the gates lined up
: perfectly with both the setting and rising sun, as seen
: from the middle of the enclosure. Archaeologists believe
: that the structure functioned as a primitive kind of
: calendar, allowing its ancient builders to track the course
: of the sun and the moon. Other, similar rings can be found
: throughout Europe.

: Machu Picchu

: The Inca are renowned for their astronomical skill, and they
: based a complex series of annual rituals on the movements
: of the sun, moon and planets. Their attention to the sky is
: embedded into the architecture, and archaeologists have
: found structures related to both solstices in Inca cities.
: In Machu Picchu, an out-of-the-way cave reveals a subtle
: surprise for 20 days surrounding the December solstice
: (which occurred during their summer) — it is only during
: this time that light is allowed to enter through a small
: hole in the wall and illuminate the cave. The rocks
: surrounding the hole are shaped like a condor, a bird that
: represented the gods to the Inca, and the timing coincides
: with the month of Capac Raymi, when boys of noble birth
: would be initiated to manhood.

: Zagmuk

: Zagmuk, which literally means "beginning of the
: year", is a Mesopotamian festival celebrating the New
: Year. The feast fell in December and lasted about 12
: days.(The 12 Days of Christmas) It celebrates the triumph
: of Marduk, the patron deity of Babylon, over the forces of
: Chaos, symbolized in later times by Tiamat. The battle
: between Marduk and Chaos lasts 12 days, as does the
: festival of Zagmuk. In Uruk the festival was associated
: with the god An, the Sumerian god of the night sky and
: Father to Enlil and Enki. In some variations, Marduk is
: slain by Tiamat on the winter solstice and resurrected on
: the vernal equinox.

: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagmuk

: The Tammuz Legend (Dumuzzi in Sumerian/Akkadian)

: Tammuz, the son of Nimrod and his queen/mother, Semiramis, was
: identified with the Babylonian Sun God and worshiped
: following the winter solstice. As the days became shorter
: and shorter through the winter, they become the shortest at
: the winter solstice, about December 22-23. Tammuz was
: thought to have died during the winter solstice, and was
: memorialized by burning a log in the fireplace. (The
: Chaldean word for infant is yule. This is the origin of the
: "yule log.") His "rebirth" was
: celebrated by replacing the log with a trimmed tree the
: next morning. Sound familiar? (Jeremiah 10 contains an
: interesting verse which talks about trimming trees, etc.)

: There are numerous other examples. The wassail bowl, the
: mistletoe (a fertility rite), and others are documented in
: such works as Alexander Hislop's, The Two Babylons. When
: Babylon was conquered by subsequent empires, this entire
: religious system was transplanted, first to Pergamos under
: the Persians, and then to Rome. As the pagan Roman
: (Babylonian) religious system was integrated with Christian
: ceremonial observances, many of our current traditions
: surrounding Christmas emerged. And it appears that an
: "ecumenical" integration of all the world's
: religions, including the ancient Babylonian occult forms
: that presently masquerade as the "New Age," is
: destined to be the final religious climax.

: Mithra, god of the sun, was born on December 25, day of the
: winter solstice

: On the night of 24 to 25 December it is celebrated in the West
: the birth of Christ. But it was not always so and today it
: is not in the whole Christian world; until the fourth
: century it was celebrated on January 6 and it continues so
: in the east, among the Orthodox.

: The winter solstice occurs on December 25th; It is the time
: when in the northern hemisphere the days are shorter and
: the nights are longest. But from this moment the day begins
: to grow and "dies natalis solis invicti" “the
: birthday of the unconquered sun", is celebrated on
: this day .

: That invincible sun is the god Mithra, whose worship and
: devotion competed with Christianity with which has certain
: similarities.

: I have dedicated an article to this issue in this blog:
: http://www.antiquitatem.com/en/christ-was-born-before

: I also spent another comment on some aspects of ritual and
: celebration of our Christmas, including the episode called
: "Three Kings".

:
: http://www.antiquitatem.com/en/christmas-birth-of-jesus-mithras

:
: http://www.antiquitatem.com/en/wise-men-tiridates-nero-wizard-epiphany

: Mithraism and Christianity have many similarities and many
: differences. This is demonstrated by some Christian parents
: and polemicists, who curiously give us often many details
: of these secret or semi-secret religions of salvation .
: Otherwise Christianity also takes elements from religion
: and worship of Isis and Osiris, Tammuz, Adonis, Attis,
: Dionysus.

:
: http://www.antiquitatem.com/en/mithraisme-christianity-winter-solstice/

: Egypt

: Ancient Egypt (3100BC-30BC): Like many ancient cultures, the
: Egyptians celebrated the Winter Solstice for 12 days
: starting on December 21st.
: Using Palm Branches for Decoration

: They actually had a special celebration on the 25th December
: for the re-birth of the sun. The Egyptian sun god was
: called Ra. For the three days prior to the 25th, the sun
: (Ra) would barely be visible during the daytime because it
: was at its lowest point in the sky. On the 25th of
: December, the sun would finally rise, leading to the
: Egyptians celebrating the re-birth of the sun god Ra (or as
: it would later be known; the birth of the Sun of God –
: sound familiar?).

: During the Winter Solstice, the Ancient Egyptians celebrated
: by decorating their homes with lush plants such as palm
: leaves and branches. These trees were green all year round
: (much like the evergreen fir tree regularly used for
: modern-day Christmas trees) and were used to show triumph
: over death during the darker days of winter. Decorating
: their homes like this was thought to bring a prosperous
: year.

:
: https://www.imagininghistory.co.uk/post/ancient-origins-of-the-christmas-tree

: Vikings (793AD-1066AD): The Vikings (and other Scandinavian
: & Germanic people of this time) celebrated the Yuletide
: Festival for 12 days starting on December 25th. The
: festival was primarily a celebration of the re-awakening of
: nature brought on by the returning of the sun after the
: Winter Solstice.

: During this time, the Norse god Odin would fly across the sky
: on his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir, delivering gifts to
: children (remind you of anyone?). The children would leave
: their boots by the fireplace (much like we do today with
: stockings) for Odin to pop the presents into.
: Odin on his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir

: Norse people believed that evergreen plants had magical
: properties that would protect them from the evil spirits
: that would come out at the darkest time of year. They hung
: branches of evergreen trees, holly, and mistletoe over
: their doors and windows as protection. During the Yule
: Festival, the Vikings would also decorate a “Yule Tree”
: with small statues of their gods, clothing, and food.

:
: https://www.imagininghistory.co.uk/post/ancient-origins-of-the-christmas-tree