The Origin of Christmas

What God ordained, has man profaned?

The specific day on which Jesus was born is unknown. The calendar in use today is inaccurate by approximately four years. It is believed that Jesus was born between 0 and 4 BC, given the biblical and historical records of Herod the Great, and the first term of Cyrenius, as governor over Syria, which presumably occurred from 4 BC to AD 1.

Now that I have pointed out the inaccuracy of our calendar, let me further state that there is no way that Christ could have been born on or near the 25th of December.

Luke 2:8 mentions that shepherds were living in their fields keeping watch over their flocks by night. This is a good indication that Jesus' birth did not happen in December when the flocks would have already been moved from the fields to pens. They were only in the fields during the hot months. There is a remark in the Talmud that flocks were put out to grass in March and brought in during the beginning of November. During the Jewish month of Heshvan (our October/November) the fall rains hit and the animals are penned up. At best, the passage narrows down the birth month to one of 7 months.

The month of Jesus birth can be calculated with reference to the conception of John the Baptist:

Luke 1:5 says that John's father, Zacharias, was "a member of the Abijah division of the Temple service corps." (Living Bible)

1 Chronicles 24:15 assigned the priests of the Abijah division to begin temple service at the start of the 9th week of the year. But at the end of the week, Pentecost had begun, so he would have remained on duty until the end of the 10th week.

Luke 1:23-24 records that Zacharias returned immediately to his home, and that John was conceived shortly thereafter - probably during the last half of Sivan, the 3rd month in the Jewish calendar.

Allowing for a normal 9 months pregnancy, John would have been born in the springtime.

Luke 1:36 records that the angel came to Mary when John's mother Elizabeth was 6 months pregnant.

Luke 1:31 reports that Mary conceived very shortly after the angel's visit.

Assuming a normal, 9 month pregnancy, Jesus would have been born about 6 months after John - sometime in the fall of the year.

How the date of Christ's birth was SELECTED.

The winter solstice occurs about DEC-21. It is the day of the year when the night is longest and the daytime shortest. It was and is the traditional date for followers of many different Pagan religions to celebrate the rebirth of the sun. Following the solstice, each succeeding day has slightly more sunlight than the previous. Numerous pre-Christian Pagan religions honored their gods' birth or rebirth on or about that day.

Roman Pagan Religion: Attis was a son of the virgin Nana. His birth was celebrated on DEC-25. Worship of Attis began in Rome circa 200 BCE.

Greek Pagan Religion: Dionysus is another god. He was worshipped throughout much of the Middle East as well. He had a center of worship in Jerusalem in the 1st century BCE. He was viewed as the son of Zeus, the Father God.

Egyptian Pagan Religion: Osiris is a god who had been worshipped as far back as Neolithic times.

Persian Pagan Religion: Worship of Mithra became common throughout the Roman Empire, particularly among the Roman civil service and military. Mithraism was a competitor of Christianity until the 4th century. Their god was believed to have been born on DEC-25, circa 400 BCE.

The Babylonians celebrated their "Victory of the Sun-God" Festival on DEC-25. Saturnalia (the Festival of Saturn) was celebrated from DEC-17 to 23 in the Roman Empire. The Roman Emperor Aurelian blended Saturnalia with a number of birth celebrations of savior Gods from other religions, into a single holy day: DEC-25. After much argument, the developing Christian church adopted this date as the birthday of their savior, Jesus. The people of the Roman Empire were accustomed to celebrating the birth of a God on that day. So, it was easy for the church to divert people's attention to the Jesus' birth.

Now the fact that Christ was born is not to be disputed. However, with the Roman church in assigning a date to His birth to coincide with pagan rituals leaves no doubt where this is leading.

Let's take a look at our present day customs and traditions.

Customs and Traditions

The Christmas Tree

The tree, used as a symbol of life, is a tradition older than Christianity and not exclusive to any one religion.

Long before there was a Christmas, Egyptians brought green palm branches into their homes on the shortest day of the year in December as a symbol of life's triumph over death.

Romans adorned their homes with evergreens during Saturnalia, a winter festival in honor of Saturnus, their god of agriculture. Druid priests decorated oak trees with golden apples for their winter solstice festivities.

In the middle ages, the Paradise tree, an evergreen hung with red apples, was the symbol of the feast of Adam and Eve held on December 24th.

The first recorded reference to the Christmas tree dates back to the 16th century. In Strasbourg, Germany (now part of France), families both rich and poor decorated fir trees with colored paper, fruits and sweets. The retail Christmas tree lot also dates back that far - in those times, older women would sell trees harvested from nearby forests.

The tradition spread through Europe and was brought to the United States by German settlers and by Hessian mercenaries paid to fight in the Revolutionary War. In 1804 U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Dearborn (now Chicago) hauled trees from surrounding woods to their barracks at Christmas.

The popularity of the Christmas tree then proliferated. Charles Minnegrode introduced the custom of decorating trees in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1842. In 1851, Mark Carr hauled two ox sleds loaded with trees from the Catskills to the streets of New York and opened the first retail lot in the United States.

Franklin Pierce, our 14th President, brought the Christmas tree tradition to the White House. In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony now held every year on the White House lawn.

Since 1966, members of the National Christmas Tree Association have presented a beautiful, fresh Christmas tree to the President and first family. This tree is displayed each year in the Blue Room of the White House.

Can you see how subtlely a pagan tradition has entered into the Christian world?

MistleToe and Holly

Holly is a ancient Christmas tradition actually dating back to the second century B.C.. Originally the Druids used mistletoe to mark the coming of winter. They thought that it had special power that could heal people, or help with female infertility.Then Scandinavians used it to represent peace and harmony and their God Frigga.The early church banned mistletoe from Christmas celebrations because of it's pagan beginnings, but they liked it so they replaced it with holly that looked similar but wouldn't dampen the spirit of the holidays.

Yule Log

The Celts believed that the sun stood still for 12 days during the winter solstice. Our twelve days of Christmas may have started with this belief. In order for the power of light to conquer the darkness, the Druids would bless a log, the yule log, and keep it burning for 12 days. If the log went out, great misfortune might be brought about. Keeping a small piece to light the yule log next winter would ensure that good luck was carried on from year to year.

Carols

The word comes from the ancient Greek choros, which means "dancing in a circle," and from the Old French word carole, meaning "a song to accompany dancing." Originally the carol was not associated with Christmas and was not even a religious song. In early medieval times the Church did not encourage the singing of carols, believing that Christmas should be celebrated in a solemn way and that carols were linked to pagan festivals. The Church eventually relaxed its attitude, and the fifteenth century saw a great increase in the writing and singing of Christmas carols. "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" is our earliest carol, from the twelfth century. It was not until the nineteenth century that many of the older carols were rediscovered and set to music.

Saint Nickolas, Father Christmas, and Santa Claus

A real person, St. Nicholas of Myra (in Turkey), was a thin, pale figure who dressed in bishop's robes of red cassock and a mitre, the traditional hat of a bishop. He travelled by donkey and delivered his gifts on 6 December. St. Nicholas was much loved in Europe, and when the Dutch went to America in the seventeenth century they took him along. His name was spelled Sint Nikolaas, which gradually changed into Sinterklaas and then gradually into Santa Claus.

St. Nicholas has always been a much more popular figure in Europe than in Britain, where people preferred Father Christmas, a jolly character first seen in the plays of the Middle Ages. When Santa Claus became popular in the nineteenth century, he and Father Christmas gradually merged.

In America, the familiar image of Santa Claus was made by three men: Dr. Clement Moore, Thomas Nast and Haddon Sundblom. On 23 December 1822, Dr. Clement Moore, a university professor, wrote a poem for his children. He called it "A Visit from St. Nicholas." The poem was never meant for publication, for he feared he would be ridiculed for writing children's verse. A friend, however, sent a copy to a newspaper and very soon the poem became famous across the United States. The cartoonist, Thomas Nast, began to illustrate the poem for Harper's Weekly magazine in 1863. At first, he drew him as a mischievous little elf, but gradually he became taller and fatter and his beard grew bushier. Santa Claus as we know him today, with white beard, red tunic, hat and trousers trimmed with white fur, was created by an American commercial artist, Haddon Sundblom for a 1931 Coca-Cola advertisement.

Arguments

The first argument we can approach here is the December 25th date for the celebration of Christ's birth. The argument on the one hand is: The early (Roman) church chose this date to point to the triumph that Christ's birth represented over the pagan traditions of the Roman empire. In other words, the church was not endorsing a pagan ceremony but establishing a rival celebration.

The other side of that argument is: This may in and by itself be true; However, instead of ridding the world of pagan tradition and customs, we've incorporated it into our lives. Maybe it was a point of not ruffling feathers in the pagan community TOO badly. IF, and I repeat IF, that was the intent at the time, then a close look into the Scriptures should unlighten people as to how God viewed this. Remember, our God is a jealous god. It stands to reason that if He would have no false gods before Him, then any pagan practice would also be intolerable. What is more important - pleasing man or pleasing God?

The second argument is that Santa Claus does have it's roots in Christianity. He symbolically represents the giving of gifts by the wise men to the Christ child.

Sounds good when you put it that way. BUT, not matter how you slice it, children view Christmas and Santa Claus more from what they will get, and very little from what they will give.

It's true that a jolly rosy cheeked man in a red suit, that loves children and brings good little boys and girls presents at Christmas, paints a far prettier picture then a child born into the world with the sole purpose to die. I personally feel that we should take just as much caution to that which would harm a child's mind, as we do with that which will harm his body. Through the years, added to the story of Saint Nickolas is the toy factory, elves, flying reindeer, and his North Pole residence. Not to mention that this man is obviously immortal. How we all hate LYING! Especially when we catch someone lying to us. If you are trying to teach your children not to lie, don't be surprised by the outcome the day he or she discovers you've been lying to them. Another danger that comes into focus here is that we have left behind the spiritual world and entered the material world. In just a couple of days you can count the cost. How many toys remain unbroken? How many gifts were given to out-do what someone else is, or would be giving? And how many of the gifts that you bought thinking that the person you brought them for will absolutely love them, has been exchanged for something they really wanted.

Conclusion

I'm not advocating that we give up Christmas and the exchanging of gifts. What I am saying as that we use this time of the year and our celebration to glorify God. And not just this day, but every day. Remove all the clutter, glitter and glitz. Put Christ back into Christmas and then invite your family and friends. Teach them the true meaning of John 3:16. "For God so loved the world. . . . . " And above all, this year when you throw that birthday party, don't forget the Guest of Honor.


















Joy To The World
This site best heard with . . . Crescendo PLUS from LiveUpdate!