Friday, December 4, 2009

Why Christians Claim December 25th as Jesus' Birth

I'm in the middle of exploring our Christmas traditions - why we do what we do this time of year.  This is the first post of several based on what I've uncovered regarding our various practices.  Read my previous post for a complete explanation of my endeavors.
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Why December 25th?
The date isn't so significant as the season. Ancients celebrated the winter solstice (the half-way point of winter), and each culture had their own significance to this period of time.

Germans honored the god Oden, whom was believed to fly around during the night and decide which people would live or die.

Romans celebrated Saturn, the god of agriculture. Society was turned upside-down for a month, with slaves commanding their masters and peasants ruling the city. Businesses and schools shut down so everyone could get in on the action. They also celebrated the birth of Mithra, god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25th.

Europeans in general found the winter solstice a convenient time to celebrate. They slaughtered livestock because it was hard to feed entire herds during the winter, and thus they had a new supply of fresh meat. Beer and wine hit their fermented stage at this time as well and flowed aplenty. (Invite a few friends over, throw a steak on the grill, pop open a can of beer...)

It wasn't until the fourth century that church officials decided to declare Jesus' birthday a holiday. Since no one knew for sure when that was, Pope Julius I declared December 25 to be the lucky day. It's possible that this season was chosen in an attempt to either mix and mingle with pagan traditions, or to draw pagan society into embracing this new celebration.

Contrary to current practices, the Christmas season - or winter solstice, rather - was quite the riotous and chaotic time. The Roman society was not one of peace and order. Combine that with beer, wine, and people who love to party...get the picture?

Puritans actually tried to outlaw celebrating anything Christmas. In fact, when they immigrated to America from England in 1620, they did not bring tradition with them. For twenty-two years (1659-1681), it was illegal in Boston to celebrate. Guilty parties were fined five shillings. (However, just down the road in Jamestown, Christmas was well recognized.)

Finally, after the American Revolution, English customs were dismissed. Christmas celebrations were officially restored on December 25, 1789, and continue today.

Next post:  Where Did Our American Christmas Traditions Come From?
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Sources:
http://www.history.com/content/christmas/the-real-story-of-christmas

3 comments:

ERIN said...

Something I read said that Jesus was more likely born sometime closer to September, since shepherds wouldn't have been out guarding their flocks in winter. (Which never even crossed my mind).

Minor point - by our current seasons, winter solstice is actually the first day of winter, not the half-way point. But I have no idea how exactly ancient cultures measured seasons, so maybe it was the half-way point for them. Either way, daylight starts getting longer again after winter solstice, which had to be quite a relief for people without electricity. :)

Elizabeth said...

Thanks Erin - I must not have payed close attention when I was reading about the solstice part. I was probably distracted by some of the ancient Roman practices going on. ;)

Ginger said...

"It's possible that this season was chosen in an attempt to either mix and mingle with pagan traditions, or to draw pagan society into embracing this new celebration."

I've heard views like this regarding Christmas. I haven't actually studied anything, not really sure where to look. I worked with a woman in the church nursery a few years ago who told me that she had decided that year that her, her husband, and their two young boys would not be celebrating Christmas anymore based on things she'd read about the origin of Christmas which seems similar to things you've written. She said it wasn't something she talked about much as she knew most people wouldn't understand, she seemed to think I would. Though I didn't know much, all I could say was that if you think something to be a sin, best not to do it, even if it's not, it would become a sin for you if you took part in something you thought was. Paul talked about that some.

I'm not sure either way, I guess because I've not really read or heard any arguments against Christians celebrating Christmas. I have thought about it a lot the past couple of years. To be honest, I could celebrate it or not. I love the warm feelings it can bring out but I wouldn't miss not celebrating it either.

If God ever convicts me to not celebrate, then I won't. Until that time, I'll do my best to honor and celebrate the sacrifice made by God becoming man.

Thanks for the informative blogs, Elizabeth!

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