Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Mithraism in comparison with other belief systems" in English language version.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)One should bear in mind that the Mithraic New Year began on Natalis Invicti, the birthday of their invincible god, i.e., December 25th, when the new light ... appears from the vault of heaven.
The Holy Birth: Mithras was born on December 25th, the day of the winter solstice on the old calendar. ... The date was a very deliberate reference to the solar year, since we know from graffiti that Mithras bore the secret name Meitras, which in Greek numerology has a value of 365.
December 25th ... was also the birthday of the Indo-European deity Mithra, a god of light and loyalty whose cult was at the time growing popular among Roman soldiers.
The ecclesiastical calendar retains numerous remnants of pre-Christian festivals – notably Christmas, which blends elements including both the feast of the Saturnalia and the birthday of Mithra[s].
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)In the Julian calendar, December 25 marked the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, after which the days begin to lengthen….
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