AN "OLD
FASHIONED" CHRISTMAS!
It is a festive season. Little children are filled with anticipation and
excitement. Families are busy putting up decorations. Boughs of holly and
evergreen are assembled and placed about the houses. Trees are chosen and
decorated with sparkling trinkets and ornaments.
It is a season of giving and receiving presents, of sending greetings; a time to
sing songs. Parades with special floats, sumptuous meals and merrymaking and to
the festivity.
Does that seem familiar? Certainly this could be a description of Christmas.
Celebrations such as these were taking place among non-Christians centuries
before Jesus Christ was born! Such customs do not come from the Bible. They have
nothing to do with the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not originate them, nor
were they observed by the apostles or the New Testament Church.
Where and how, then, did the Christian world get Christmas, the most widely
observed of all its holidays?
Most people assume it comes directly from the Bible. Certainly the story of
Jesus' birth is recorded in the Scriptures. But actually the Bible nowhere
instructs Christians to commemorate his birth. In fact, notice what the Catholic
Encyclopaedia Dictionary has to say under the article "Christmas":
"In the earliest days of the Church there was no such feast..."
They just did not commemorate Jesus' birth in the early days of the Church.
And there were good reasons for that. For one thing, even back then no one
knew-- as no one knows today -- the date his birth occurred. The New Catholic Encyclopaedia
(1967) explains: "Inexplicable though it seems, the date of
Christ's birth is not known. The Gospels indicate neither the day nor the
month." (Article "Christmas and Its Cycle.") .
Why then does the Christian world celebrate Christmas when it does? Let us
look at various views. "According to the hypothesis ... accepted by most
scholars today," the New Catholic Encyclopaedia continues, "the birth
of Christ was assigned the date of the winter solstice (December 25 in the
Julian calendar, January 6 in the Egyptian) because on this day, as the sun
began its return to the northern skies, the pagan devotees of Mithra celebrated
the dies natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of the invincible sun)."
From pre-Christian times, during the season of the solstice, the Romans
engaged in their boisterous feats of the Saturnalia (December 17-23). They did
this in the honour of Saturn, the god of agriculture. In addition, the expansion
of the Empire introduced Romans to many Oriental cults, one of which was the
worship of the Persian sun-god Mithra, whose birthday was celebrated December
25.
Again, the New Catholic Dictionary : "Christmas originated at a time
when the cult of the sun was particularly strong at Rome...Though the substitute
of Christmas for the pagan festival cannot be proved with certainty, it remains
the most plausible explanation for the dating of Christmas."
In ancient times, many people realized their dependence upon the sun for
light, heat and the growing of crops. With deep interest they observed the sun's
yearly course through the heavens. To expedite its journey, they created various
feasts and celebrations to be observed at different seasons.
The end of December was an especially significant time in the northern
hemisphere. Days were short; nights long. The sun was at its lowest point. This
called for the celebration of special festivals of thanksgiving and
encouragement to the waning sun. When, at the winter solstice in late December,
the days began to lengthen once again, there was great festivity lasting into
the first part of January. The reason was that the declining sun -- the light of
the world -- had been reborn and began to gain in strength.
In the early centuries of the Christian era festivities once meant to honour the sun and the sun-god easily lent themselves to become part of increasingly
popular "Christian" religion. Only now, it was reasoned, they could honour
the birth of Jesus -- the real light from heaven. "With the triumph
of Christianity, Christmas replaced the pagan festival, Christians having
applied 'Sun of Righteousness' (Mal. 4:2) to Christ" (Harper's Bible
Dictionary, article "Christmas").
It was not until A. D. 354 that we have the first clear reference to December
25 being regarded as the anniversary of Christ's birth. A Roman almanac from
that year mentions the date, but even so, gives no evidence of any great
celebrating to mark the occasion. Some three centuries had gone by since Jesus'
birth, death and resurrection -- three centuries during which there is no record
of the Christian world commemorating Christ's birth on December 25.
It is important to point out, however, that Christianity has not been of one
mind in selecting a date. In the eastern part of the Roman Empire Jesus' birth
and baptism were being observed even previous to 354 A.D., but on January 6. By
the middle of the fifth century, however, most of the Eastern church too had
adopted December 25 as the anniversary of Christ's birth, keeping January 6 --
Epiphany -- to commemorate his baptism.
Carryover from Ancient Times
Many and Varied Customs
Trees, Candles and Holiday Cheer
And Santa Claus?
WHY CHRIST WAS BORN!
Peace on Earth
When and Where
The Star and the Magi
What difference does it make?
Worship in Vain
Good News
Discussion
