A Look At Christmas

Scripture Reading: Romans 14:5-8 & 16-19

When was Jesus born? Why do we celebrate His birth? Is there scriptural evidence of the time of His birth? Why do we give gift’s? Why do we put up a tree and adorn it with lights and ornaments? Why do we gather with family to eat and drink? Where in scripture does it tell us about Christmas? Many of the answers may shock you. For these answers we need to know our history. Lets take a close look into the origins of Christmas.

When Was Jesus Born?:

Most believe December 25th the year 1 C.E. The New Testament gives no date or year for Jesus’ birth. The earliest gospel (Mark) written about 65 CE begins with the baptism of an adult Jesus. This suggests that the earliest Christians lacked interest in or knowledge of Jesus’ birth date.

The year of Jesus birth was determined by Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian monk, “abbot of a Roman monastery.” Here’s how ...

a. In the Roman, pre-Christian era, years were counted from ab urbe condita (“the founding of the City” [Rome]).  Thus 1 AUC signifies the year Rome was founded, 5 AUC signifies the 5th year of Rome’s reign, etc.

b. Dionysius knew that the Roman emperor Augustus reigned 43 years, and was followed by the emperor Tiberius.

c. Luke 3:1,23 indicates that when Jesus turned 30 years old, it was the 15th year of Tiberius reign.

d. If Jesus was 30 years old in Tiberius’ reign, then he lived 15 years under Augustus (placing Jesus birth in Augustus’ 28th year of reign).

e. Augustus took power in 727 AUC.  Therefore, Dionysius put Jesus birth in 754 AUC.

f. However, Luke 1:5 places Jesus’ birth in the days of Herod, and Herod died in 750 AUC, four years before the year in which Dionysius places Jesus birth.

We are not certain of the exact day or year Jesus was born (4 year discrepancy). The DePascha Computus, an anonymous document believed to have been written in North Africa around 243 CE, placed Jesus birth on March 28.  Clement, a bishop of Alexandria (d. ca. 215 CE), thought Jesus was born on November 18.  Based on historical records, Fitzmyer guesses that Jesus birth occurred on September 11, 3 BCE.

Why December 25th.?:

Roman pagans first introduced the holiday of Saturnalia, a week long period of lawlessness celebrated between December 17-25. Courts were closed. No one could be punished during the celebration. The festival began when Roman authorities chose “an enemy of the Roman people” to represent the “Lord of Misrule”. An innocent victim forced to indulge in the festivities (drinking, sexual misconduct, etc.). On December 25th the “Lord of Misrule” was executed brutally.

In the 4th century CE, Christianity adopted the Saturnalia festival, hoping to take the pagan masses in with it. Many Pagans converted to Christianity by the promise they could continue to celebrate the Saturnalia as Christians. There was nothing Christian about Saturnalia. Christian leaders named Saturnalia’s last day, December 25th, to be Jesus’ birthday.

Church leaders had little success refining the practices of Saturnalia. In return for ensuring massive observance of the anniversary of the Savior’s birth, the Church agreed to allow the holiday to be celebrated the way it had always been. The earliest Christmas holidays were celebrated by drinking, sexual indulgence, singing naked in the streets, etc. Because of its known pagan origin, Christmas was banned by the Puritans and its observance was illegal in Massachusetts between 1659 and 1681.

Origins Of Christmas Traditions:

1.) Christmas Tree: Worshipers of the Asheira cult and its offshoots were recruited by the Church by allowing “Christmas Trees”. Pagans had long worshiped trees in the forest, and brought them into their homes and decorated them, so this ritual was adopted. Note what scripture has to say about this: Jeremiah 10:3-4 “For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter.”

2.) Mistletoe: Norse mythology recounts how the god Balder was killed using a mistletoe arrow by his rival god Hoder while fighting for the female Nanna. Druid rituals use mistletoe to poison their human sacrificial victim. The custom of “kissing under the mistletoe” is a later combination of the sexual license of Saturnalia with the Druidic sacrificial cult.

3.) Christmas Presents: In pre-Christian Rome, the emperors forced their most despised citizens to bring offerings and gifts during the Saturnalia (in December) and Kalends (in January).  Later, this ritual expanded to include gift-giving among the general populace. The Catholic Church gave this custom a Christian flare by re-rooting it in the gift-giving of Saint Nicholas.

4.) Santa Claus: Nicholas was born in Parara, Turkey in 270 CE and later became Bishop of Myra.  He died in 345 CE. He was named a saint in the 19th century. In 1087, a group of sailors who idolized Nicholas moved his bones from Turkey to a sanctuary in Bari, Italy.
There Nicholas took the place of a deity called The Grandmother, or Pasqua Epiphania, who used to fill children's stockings with her gifts. Members of this group gave each other gifts during a pageant they conducted annually on the anniversary of Nicholas’ death, December 6.
The Nicholas cult spread north until it was adopted by German and Celtic pagans. These groups worshiped a pantheon led by Woden. Their chief god and the father of Thor, Balder, and Tiw. Woden had a long, white beard and rode a horse through the heavens one evening each Autumn.
When Nicholas merged with Woden, he shed his Mediterranean appearance, grew a beard, mounted a flying horse, rescheduled his flight for December, and donned heavy winter clothing. To gain pagan converts in Northern Europe, the Catholic Church adopted the Nicholas cult and taught that he distribute gifts on December 25th instead of December 6th.
In 1809, Washington Irving wrote a satire of Dutch culture entitled Knickerbocker History.  The satire refers several times to the white bearded, flying-horse riding Saint Nicholas using his Dutch name, Santa Claus. Dr. Clement Moore in 1822 published a poem based on the character Santa Claus: “Twas the night before Christmas”. Moore portrayed a Santa with eight reindeer who descended through chimneys. From 1862 through 1886, based on Moore’s poem, Nast drew more than 2,200 cartoon images of Santa for Harper’s Weekly. Before Nast, Saint Nicholas had been pictured as everything from a stern looking bishop to a gnome-like figure in a loose long coat. Nast also gave Santa a home at the North Pole, his workshop filled with elves, and his list of the good and bad children of the world. 
All Santa was missing was his red outfit. In 1931, the Coca Cola Corporation contracted Swedish artist Haddon Sundblom to create a coke-drinking Santa. He modeled his Santa on his friend Lou Prentice, chosen for his cheerful, chubby face.  The corporation insisted that Santa’s fur-trimmed suit be bright, Coca Cola red.  And Santa was born, a blend of Christian crusader, pagan god, and commercial idol.

The true origin of Christmas is filled with controversy and compromise. Research will reveal a number of disturbing roots. The Christmas we celebrate today suggests the willingness of Christians to absorb the world's customs and traditions. We forget its simple roots in the historical reality of Jesus Christ.

Christmas should be nothing more than a simple, yet wonderful reminder of Christ's humble beginning as a human child in this world. His birth merely set the stage for the power, glory, and salvation that would be revealed in His life, death, and resurrection.

Whether it's December 25th, sometime in late September, or any other day of the year, we should use each and every opportunity to reflect on Jesus Christ and His message of hope for all of us.

In closing I would like to leave you with a piece of God's Word.:
1 Corinthians 10:31-33 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God-even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.