Christ or Mithras?

There are many elements in the Christian belief system that coincide with earlier or contemporary pagan religions. Mithras is one of the most obvious. Points of similarity in the stories are:

* Virgin birth
* Twelve followers
* Killing and resurrection
* Miracles
* Birthdate on December 25
* Morality
* Mankind's savior
* Known as the Light of the world

Another coincidence is the fact that early christians were pacifists and anarchists before the establishment of the Roman form of Christianity. They refused to enter the military, or any kind of government work. Mithras was the chosen religion of the Roman Soldiers of the time. Within 60 years of the Nicean Council almost every soldier and civil servant was a Catholic.
If Mithras was born on December 25th, when was Christ Born?

No one really knows exactly when Jesus was born. It definitely was not in the winter. Don't you think the shepherds watching their flocks by night would have been more apt to find shelter? December in Judea is cold and wet! Winter was more significant in that it coincided with the Pagan/Mithras Solstace/Sun God celebrations. The intermeshing of the two festivals was an attempt by the church fathers to transform the pagan celebrations into christian celebrations. The Church finally succeeded in taking the merriment, the greenery, the lights, and the gifts from saturn and given them to the babe of Bethlehem. The days between December 25 and January 6 (the days between the Saturnalia and the Kalends of January) were caught up into one "holy" season, with the birth of the divine Child at the beginning and the coming of the Magi at the end. The days between Christmas and Epiphany became known as the Twelve Nights of Christmas.