| Aren’t there some striking parallels between the Jesus and Chu Chulainn stories? |
| Like what? Critics claim that this Irish god (aka Cuchulain) was
born of a virgin on December 25th, but there's nothing in Irish folklore
backing this up. The text "Cuchulain of Muirtheme" (first link at bottom)
says that his mother was Dechtire, and at her wedding feast in Ulster, she
accidentally swallowed a mayfly. She fell into a deep sleep and then
her and her fifty maidens were transformed into birds. They flew southward
to a place called Brugh na Boinne. A year later, the fifty maidens
came back north, drew the attention of the men of Uster, and led them south
to Brugh na Boinne. There the birds transformed back into human form,
and that night, Dechtire gives birth to Cuchulainn (then known as Setanta).
Okay, sounds kind of like a virgin birth, except that is revealed that
Dechtire's husband, Sualtim, had been with her in Brugh na Boinne the entire
time (how he got there is not made clear). The last sentence in the
first chapter is "And they brought him up upon the plain of Muirthemne, and
the name he was known by was Setanta, son of Sualtim." Thus Sualtim
is clearly the father of Cuchulain.
As for his being born on December 25th, there's nothing suggesting this. The text seems to suggest that the birth happens in a warmer time of the year, since a mayfly is present, his mother falls asleep in a 'sunny parlor', and the birds draw the attention of the men of Ulster by eating all of the grass (which is less likely to be visible in winter). Also, other texts I've seen suggest that he is celebrated on June 23rd, though whether this is supposed to be his birthday or not isn't made clear. Skeptics also claim that he died and was resurrected, but legend only has him dying, not being resurrected. Chapter 20 of that text (again, first link below) gives his death and burial, without any sort of resurrection.
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