Reader Darek posted an interesting description in the English language version about the Roman holiday Sol Invictus, which I am posting below along with Darek's commentary:
about solvictus in light of a google search
Sol Invictus ("Unconquered Sun") was the official sun god of the later Roman Empire and a patron of soldiers. On 25 December 274 AD the Roman emperor Aurelian made it an official cult alongside the traditional Roman cults.
"Sol Invictus ("The Invincible Sun") was the official sun god of the later Roman Empire and the patron saint of soldiers. On December 25, 274, Roman Emperor Aurelian made him an official cult alongside traditional Roman cults."
Please read carefully these passages from the wikipedia about sol invictus and then a short brief flashback to the persecution of Christians in Rome.
From wikipedia in English
"Aurelian strengthened the position of the Sun god Sol Invictus as the main divinity of the Roman pantheon. His intention was to give to all the peoples of the Empire, civilian or soldiers, easterners or westerners, a single god they could believe in without betraying their own gods. The center of the cult was a new temple, built in 274 and dedicated on December 25[26] of that year in the Campus Agrippae in Rome, with great decorations financed by the spoils of the Palmyrene Empire.
During his short rule, Aurelian seemed to follow the principle of "one faith, one empire", which would not be made official until the Edict of Thessalonica. He appears with the title deus et dominus natus ("God and born ruler") on some of his coins, a style also later adopted by Diocletian. Lactantius argued that Aurelian would have outlawed all the other gods if he had had enough time. He was recorded by Christian historians as having organized persecutions.[27] "
googling
"Aurelian strengthened the position of the Sun god Sol Invictus as the chief divinity of the Roman pantheon. His intention was to give all the peoples of the Empire, civilians or soldiers, inhabitants of the East or West, one god they could believe in without betraying their own gods. The center of worship was a new temple, built in 274 and consecrated on December 25 [26] of that year at the Campus Agrippae in Rome, with magnificent decorations financed by the conquests of the Palmyrene Empire.
During his brief reign, Aurelian seemed to follow the principle of "one faith, one empire", which will not be officially introduced in the edict of Thessalonica. He appears with the title deus et dominus natus ("God and the Born Ruler") on some of his coins, and this style was later adopted by Diocletian. Lactantius argued that Aurelian would have banned all other gods if he had enough time. It has been recorded by Christian historians as organizing persecution."
It will be recalled that before Aurelian there was Valerian who was most cruel to the Christians:
"Emperor Valerian I (253-260 AD) pursued a hard as well as cruel policy against any sign of Christian rebellion, seeking to restore the old Roman rites and religions. As a result, for the greatest threat to the stability of the state considered precisely the "disciples of Jesus", issuing two edicts directly targeting this group. The first, promulgated in 257, ofhe prohibits Christians from gathering in cemeteries and ordered the closing of churches. Another edict in 258 ordered the immediate putting to death The Roman priests were the main targets of the persecutions, as well as anyone who did not offer sacrifice to the Roman gods. The persecutions were particularly bloody in Africa and Egypt, where the killings were on a massive scale. Only high-born Christian women could count on a milder punishment - exile. The reign of Valerian is considered one of the most tragic moments in the history of Christianity. "
Under Diocletian-"Another edict issued 303 AD. ordered the destruction of Christian temples and the confiscation and burning of sacred books, severely punishing the gathering of Christians."
Christianity at the beginning of the fourth century entered its golden period, gaining more and more rights. The process was initiated by Constantine the Great (306-337 AD), who proclaimed 313 AD in Milan tolerance act, called the Edict of Milan. Under it, Christianity was given rights equal to other religions.
The final triumph of the Christian faith was the reign of Theodosius the Great (378 - 395 AD), who in 392 banned all forms of pagan worship, recognizing the Christian religion as the national religion.
I remind the reader that historically Rome fought against Christianity for almost 300 years (with a sea of blood but also with a carrot) and finally recognized it in 313, thus it is the end of the persecution by Aurelius and his reign. \More than 100 years after the establishment of the solvictus, Christianity would become the dominant religion in Rome in 392.
Doesn't it seem that solvictus was an attempt to remove the population of Rome from something ... perhaps from Christianity?
After all, solvistus was instituted at the climactic end of the greatest persecution of Christians in Rome????
The claim that Rome adopted Christmas in place of the fresh feast of Solvictus seems preposterous, since the Christians came out of the underground in 313 AD, 39 years after the establishment of Solvictus, and after a total of almost 300 years of severe persecution and underground church life.
A much more plausible theory seems to be that solvictus was intended to replace .... with what?
____________
Sol Invictus was to replace not what, but whom: Jesus Christ.
Jesus is replaced by an infallible pope.
Yes you are right, Sol Invictus was an attempt to move away from true Christianity. which institutionalized what continues to this day. No longer in Spirit and in truth, but in pew and works, the attendance roll and entrusting one's faith to priests rather than Jesus.
English 
Polish
some of the things I didn't know about this sol-badge, and some of the things I already know about it steth-unfortunately (depends for whom)... 😮
I've studied a little further
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Roman_Empire
It turns out that the worst of the persecution of the Christians was yet to come, and it came at the end of the last years of the persecution known as the Great Tribulation.
During the Great Persecution which lasted from 303 to 312/313, governors were given direct edicts from the emperor. Christian churches and texts were to be destroyed, meeting for Christian worship was forbidden, and those Christians who refused to recant lost their legal rights. Later, it was ordered that Christian clergy be arrested and that all inhabitants of the empire sacrifice to the gods. Still, no specific punishment was prescribed by these edicts and governors retained the leeway afforded to them by distance.[24] Lactantius reported that some governors claimed to have shed no Christian blood,[25] and there is evidence that others turned a blind eye to evasions of the edict or only enforced it when absolutely necessary.
"During the Great Tribulation which lasted from 303 to 312/313, governors received direct edicts from the emperor. Christian churches and texts were to be destroyed and Christian worship was forbidden, and those Christians who refused to appeal lost their rights. Later, Christian clergy were ordered to be arrested, and all citizens of the empire sacrificed to the gods. But these edicts provided no specific punishment, and the governors retained the freedom that distance gave them. [24] Lactantius reported that some governors claimed that they did not shed Christian blood, [25] and there is evidence that others turned a blind eye to evasion of the edict or enforced it only when absolutely necessary.
So the Christian steel was hardened in persecution for almost 300 years until the end, like a diamond - the hardest of all stones.
And suddenly all this persecution came to an end in 313 (the sun rose for the Christians)
In the EASTERN the empire under Constantine (he moved the capital to Constantinople-Byzantium), who, let us say, was baptized only shortly before his death, although he ensured the freedom of religion, which means that Christians came out of the underground. Nevertheless, he himself professed and surrounded himself for a long time with his pagan beliefs and the old company with the Roman idols in the background.
"Support for persecution within the Roman ruling class was not universal. Where Galerius and Diocletian were avid persecutors, Constantius was unenthusiastic. Later persecutory edicts, including the calls for all inhabitants to sacrifice to the Roman gods, were not applied in his domain. His son, Constantine, on taking the imperial office in 306, restored Christians to full legal equality and returned property that had been confiscated during the persecution. In Italy in 306, the usurper Maxentius ousted Maximian's successor Severus, promising full religious toleration. Galerius ended the persecution in the East in 311, but it was resumed in Egypt, Palestine, and Asia Minor by his successor, Maximinus. Constantine and Licinius, Severus's successor, signed the "Edict of Milan" in 313, which offered a more comprehensive acceptance of Christianity than Galerius's edict had provided. Licinius ousted Maximinus in 313, bringing an end to persecution in the East.
The persecution failed to check the rise of the church. By 324, Constantine was sole ruler of the empire, and Christianity had become his favored religion. Although the persecution resulted in death, torture, imprisonment, or dislocation for many Christians, the majority of the empire's Christians avoided punishment. The persecution did, however, cause many churches to split between those who had complied with imperial authority (the lapsi) and those who had held firm. Certain schisms, like those of the Donatists in North Africa and the Meletians in Egypt, persisted long after the persecutions: only after 411 would the Donatists be reconciled to the church to which in 380 Emperor Theodosius I reserved the title of "catholic". The cult of the martyrs in the centuries that followed the end of the persecutions gave rise to accounts that exaggerated the barbarity of that era. These accounts were criticized during the Enlightenment and after, most notably by Edward Gibbon. Modern historians like G. E. M. de Ste. Croix have attempted to determine whether Christian sources exaggerated the scope of the persecution by Diocletian. "
Support for persecution within the Roman ruling class was not universal. Where Galerius and Diocletian were staunch persecutors, Constantius was displeased. Later edicts of persecution, including calls for all citizens to sacrifice to Roman gods, were not followed in his domain. His son, Constantine, assuming the imperial office in 306, restored full legal equality to Christians and returned property confiscated during the persecution. In Italy in 306. The usurper Maxentius ousted his successor Maximian Severus, promising full religious toleration. Galerius ended the persecution in the East in 311, but it was resumed in Egypt, Palestine, and Asia Minor by his successor, Maximinus. Constantine and Licinius, Severus' successor, signed the "Edict of Milan" in 313, Which offered a more comprehensive acceptance of Christianity than Galerius' edict provided. Licinius expelled Maxentius in 313, ending the persecution in the East. (i.e., the area around Constantinople-Antiochia-today's Turkey, Palestine, Israel, Egypt)
Persecution did not check/cause the growth of the church. By 324, Constantine was the sole ruler of the empire, and Christianity became his favorite religion. Although persecution led to death, torture, imprisonment, or dislocation for many Christians, most Christians of the empire escaped punishment. However, persecution caused many churches to split between those who acknowledged/complied/subjected to imperial authority (the lapsi) and those who held fast (their doctrines-roots of Christianity). Some schisms, such as those of the Donatists in North Africa and the Meletians in Egypt, persisted long after the persecutions: only after 411. The Donatists came to terms with the church, to which I reserved the title "Catholic" in 380 by Emperor Theodosius. The cult of martyrs in the centuries that followed the end of the persecutions multiplied the balance of wrongs that exaggerated the barbarity of those times. These overblown victims of martyrdom were criticized during the Enlightenment and later, most notably by Edward Gibbon. Modern historians such as G. E. M. de Ste. Croix have tried to determine whether Christian sources exaggerated the extent of persecution by Diocletian.
Now for two dry facts
1/ the first recorded celebration of Christmas in Rome dated 336 (in Antioch-Turkey allegedly in 170 - mid second century long before sol victus)
2) Pope Julius the First in the late 30's (336-339 I guess) declared that the birth of Christ was December 25th. After Christian debate and theories, Christmas was officially established in the Empire by Pope Julius the First in 350 on December 25th in Bethlehem. In 529, Christmas was declared an official holiday to be celebrated.
My question to the readers: from 274 (sol invictus) to the end of the severe persecution of the Christians in 313, 39 years pass (not even one generation). The fresh wounds heal like on a dog and the Christians cheerfully forget about being forced to celebrate the sol invictus and transplant themselves as early as 336 at Christmas? 24 years after coming out of the underground (after almost 300 years of [persecution and bloodshed, ruination of their lives and families) they cheerfully start to compromise? Something is not right here. They were hard as diamonds in the resistance to the new faith and suddenly they stir
pure paganism (sol invictus) with holiness?
it would suit me better if some long period of time (100-300 years) to blur their hardness-hardness and uncompromisingness of the early Christians
You guys can have your opinions, but it doesn't really work for me.
It is as if the effects of early undocumented ecumenism with pagan cults after almost 300 years of hardening or persecution (death and annihilation)
The Christians (diamonds) of those times, uncorrupted, uninstitutionalized, sit down and begin to mediate their faith to the devil and to God alone, taking shortcuts with the habits of the Roman citizens and their pagan idols.
For the joy of not being persecuted, they themselves proposed a compromise?
I don't believe it, the idea that they took this date after the sol invictus of 274, especially since nothing can be found about this cult from earlier times!!!!
It suddenly came out of nowhere. Yes, there was sun worship, but there was no sun worship of the invincible. I would love to hear what you have to say about it and I highly recommend you to translate this whole page and read how steel (christians) were hardened for almost 300 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Roman_Empire
Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. (Beautifully discussed by each emperor)
http://detektywprawdy.pl/2017/01/06/6-stycznia-okultystyczne-swieto-upadlego-aniola-aiona/