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> While Christianity and islam grew by replacing previous practices, Hinduism stitched all into one. I think to a good extent you can say Catholicism grew by a

> While Christianity and islam grew by replacing previous practices, Hinduism stitched all into one. I think to a good extent you can say Catholicism grew by absorbing other religions. It started with Judaism, but then continued to subsume other pagan religions. Christmas itself has pagan roots.

blackoil 5y ago
True but for none to that extent. It is difficult to be not Hindu, if you are part of the region no matter what you believe and practice you are Hindu. There are even atheist branches of the religion. So in European context, think of a religion believing in Norse and Greek gods as well as Christian God simultaneously in a single fabric.
- unmole 5y ago
  Isn't this conflating Hindu with Indian? Yes, Indian tradition has always been syncretic. But etymology aside, Hindu and Indian do not mean the same in modern usage.
- selimthegrim 5y ago
  I think some Sikhs might differ with you there.
throw0101a 5y ago
> Christmas itself has pagan roots. I was under the impression that the "Calculation hypothesis" (Easter + 9 months) was the most likely: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#Calculation_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#Calculation_hypothes...
- wavefunction 5y ago
  The Biblical story has the shepherds out in the fields with their flocks when an angel heralds the birth of Jesus and there is some debate about whether this would have been the case during the Winter. Christmas is definitely based on pagan traditions though, which you can see in the traditions of bringing a tree into the house and decorating it.
  - throw0101a 5y ago
    > The Biblical story has the shepherds […] If you're going for 'historical accuracy', that'd be an argument, but that may not have been much of a consideration 2000 years ago. > Christmas is definitely based on pagan traditions though, which you can see in the traditions of bringing a tree into the house and decorating it. Some early mentions around 700 AD, but didn't really become a big thing until the 1500s and Protestantism it seems. That'd be fairly far removed from co-opting Pagan traditions, which were probably not practiced for a few hundred years at that point: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree#Religious_issues https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree#Religious_issue... Though these are on the secular side of things, as most liturgies don't incorporate them. This was mainly for Europeans, AFAICT. Not sure how many Christians in tropical countries are doing the tree thing. Though with globalization and mass media, Western practices may be more spreading more places in recent years/decades.

blackoil 5y ago

True but for none to that extent. It is difficult to be not Hindu, if you are part of the region no matter what you believe and practice you are Hindu. There are even atheist branches of the religion. So in European context, think of a religion believing in Norse and Greek gods as well as Christian God simultaneously in a single fabric.

unmole 5y ago
Isn't this conflating Hindu with Indian? Yes, Indian tradition has always been syncretic. But etymology aside, Hindu and Indian do not mean the same in modern usage.
selimthegrim 5y ago
I think some Sikhs might differ with you there.

throw0101a 5y ago

> Christmas itself has pagan roots. I was under the impression that the "Calculation hypothesis" (Easter + 9 months) was the most likely: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#Calculation_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#Calculation_hypothes...

wavefunction 5y ago
The Biblical story has the shepherds out in the fields with their flocks when an angel heralds the birth of Jesus and there is some debate about whether this would have been the case during the Winter. Christmas is definitely based on pagan traditions though, which you can see in the traditions of bringing a tree into the house and decorating it.
- throw0101a 5y ago
  > The Biblical story has the shepherds […] If you're going for 'historical accuracy', that'd be an argument, but that may not have been much of a consideration 2000 years ago. > Christmas is definitely based on pagan traditions though, which you can see in the traditions of bringing a tree into the house and decorating it. Some early mentions around 700 AD, but didn't really become a big thing until the 1500s and Protestantism it seems. That'd be fairly far removed from co-opting Pagan traditions, which were probably not practiced for a few hundred years at that point: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree#Religious_issues https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree#Religious_issue... Though these are on the secular side of things, as most liturgies don't incorporate them. This was mainly for Europeans, AFAICT. Not sure how many Christians in tropical countries are doing the tree thing. Though with globalization and mass media, Western practices may be more spreading more places in recent years/decades.