The writings of Philo of Alexandria (born about 20 BC, and therefore both contemporaneous with Jesus and earlier than the gospels) shows that ideas of virgin birth were common in the pagan world around the time that Christ lived.94 And of course, Christmas itself eventually settled on the day that many pagan religions celebrated the birth of the sun god, because this was the winter solstice, when the days began to lengthen. Here, again, is J. G. Frazer: ‘The pagans in Syria and Egypt represented the new-born sun by the image of an infant which on the winter solstice was exhibited to
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