Thursday December 11, 2009
- Was Christ born on December 25th?
- Should we work to "put Christ back into Christmas"?
- What is the Father's will about celebrating Christ's birth?
The Christmas of our time and culture has evolved from a centuries old chain of practices borrowed from many cultures and lands, and reflecting the beliefs and superstitions of countless people. I have a list of over sixty traditions practiced today, which originated in such far-flung places as Rome, Babylon and Constantinople, as well as throughout Europe and the United States, dating as far back as 600 years before Christ’s birth. Some originated with those who believed in the divinity of Jesus, but many did not. A great many were lifted from the pagan world. I wonder about the validity of today’s tendency to use the customary trappings of Christmas to nourish faith in Christ. Sadly, some folks evidence little or no believe in the Savior except at this season.
Is it possible to find Christ in Christmas? Many who want to, say no! It has become too commercial, they say. (It is true that Christmas has become very commercial; advertisments now appear before Thanksgiving.) They want to put Christ back into Christmas. But I have to ask, has Christ ever really been in Christmas? Is it a legititmate celebration of His birth? Or, was the name of Christ connected with a pagan holiday for secular reasons, perhaps to extend the borders of Christianity. Actually, December 25th was a date of significance among non-Christians long before Jesus was born, though exactly what that significance was is difficult to determine. For some, it apparently was an ancient celebration of the winter solstice, the passing of December 21st (22nd), the shortest day of the year. December 25th had important ceremonial and social significance, apparently unrelated to solstice activities, among the Seleucids by 167 B.C. (I Macabees 1:58-59, II Macabees 6:7). In pre-Christian Rome, Mithra, an old-Iranian god of light, was supposedly seasonally reborn on Dec. 25th. Mithra (originally an Indo-Iranian god of contracts and broad pastures) was combined with the Semitic Babylonian gods of the sun and regeneration (fertility). After his introduction to Rome, the composite Mithra, and perhaps his December 25th date of celebration, were again joined with Solis indigeni (a Roman sun god). This resulted in a composite being, Solis invicta - the invincible sun. Mithra, the god of the regenerating sun, was believed to be annually reborn on December 25th. Aurelian eventually proclaimed Mithraism the official religion of the Roman Empire in A.D. 274, and Natalis Solis Invicti (Birthday of the Invincible Sun) became an official holiday. Worship of Christ was legally allowed in the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great in A.D. 313. According to St. Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople, the "Roman Church purposefully placed the keeping of Christmas between two popular folk festivals, Saturnalia and the Kalends of January, in order to give Christians something to celebrate (undisturbed) while others were engaged in secular merrymaking." The December 25th date for the Roman Christian celebration was generally accepted in the Western Roman Empire probably some time before A.D. 336, but certainly soon after. For a long time, American churches resisted the Christmas celebration, and it was not declared a holiday by any states until the mid to late 1800s. It was generally unimportant in the United States until the 1880's at which time churches relented. The traditional Christmas in our culture, along with Christianity has evolved a long way since then. If we look beyond the fickle viewpoint of men to God's Word, the Bible, we find nothing about celebrating the birth of Jesus. His birth is mentioned, but Christ placed no emphasis upon observing it. Further, neither the Bible nor secular history indicate that the apostles and early Christians celebrated His birth. All Scripture teaches us to remember His death, not His birth. We would do well to pay heed to a fundamental principle of the Christian faith, which Christ Himself set forth: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) Can't we be satisfied with the Lord's will in all matters? Would you like to pursue further the validity of Christmas as a celebration of Christ's birth? Log onto BibleTalk Tuesday, December 22, 2009, at 7 pm for a one hour interactive broadcast on this important topic. If you have questions or comments, you can send them anytime up to and including the broadcast hour. Send them to BibleTalk.
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