A Jolly Folly?. Allan J. Macdonald

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A Jolly Folly? - Allan J. Macdonald

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      Following his protest in 1517 and with that the initializing of the Reformation, Luther in subsequent years saw little problem with Christmas and very much encouraged the celebration. Luther appeared initially to take a unified stance with Calvinists against holy days, writing in 1520 in his “Address to the Nobility of the German Nation:”

      One should abolish all festivals, retaining only the Lord’s Day.

      However, Luther’s reasoning appears to have been motivated by pragmatism in order to counter “the present abuses” he identified.

      Excursus on Lutheranism

      The Anglican or Episcopal Church also gave the church the power to decide and establish ecclesiastical rites and ceremonies not derived from Scripture. While in many ways the Lutheran and Anglican churches became a vast improvement over Rome (e.g., regarding justification by faith alone), they both denied the absolute authority of Scripture in the area of worship.

      Fifty years before Luther, the first ever Protestant Church (the Moravians), led by Jan Hus (John Huss, 1370–1415) also tolerated Christmas. Der Haus-Christ, meaning “the House Christ,” was a term used in sixteenth century Germany for the gift-bringer. German Protestants, who wished to abolish the Catholic cult of saints, needed a replacement for St. Nicholas as the traditional bearer of presents at Christmas. Clergymen chose to speak of Christ himself as the bringer of good things at Christmas and his collection of gifts as the “Christ-bundle.” This shows how Protestants recognized the pagan roots of the gift-giving practice during the Reformation. However, rather than abandoning the pagan practice, some chose to attempt to “Christianize” it. Ironically, this is exactly what the Roman Catholic Church had done twelve centuries earlier. The Reformers were condemning the Roman church for incorporating paganism into the church, but some of the Reformers themselves were unwilling to completely walk away from the cult-like behavior.

      In Zurich, Zwingli abolished the vast majority of the Roman Catholic holy days but several, including Christmas, were retained. William Farel (1489–1585) arrived in Geneva (pictured) in 1532 and ministered there as a Reformed pastor with Peter Viret (1511–1571). Calvin joined Farel in 1536 and both sought to move the city toward a more biblical lifestyle.

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      Calvin supported Farel but adopted a more conciliatory approach to the matter, declaring that “little will be said about ceremonies before the judgement-seat of God.”

      There was a struggle between those who wanted the magistrates firmly in control of the clergy and others, like Calvin, who wanted a city where the clergy were free to preach what they wanted from the pulpit and administer the sacraments as they wished.

      Matters came to a head over several practical issues demanded by the Council, including the reintroduction of Christmas and other holy days. In 1538, Geneva’s city elections resulted in a demand to the pastors to imitate Bern (where Bernhold Haller and then Caspar Hedio pastored) and re-adopt Christmas and other holy days, among other things. Calvin and others refused to comply with what they viewed as unwarranted interference in spiritual matters.

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      After they ignored an order banning them from their pulpits, in April 1538 Farel and Calvin were forced by the Council to leave the city, which they did, going to Strasbourg (pictured). It was there, while agreeing to pastor a group of French refugees, that Calvin experienced the power of congregational song on a regular basis, which stimulated his preparation of a complete French psalter.

      Farel never returned to Geneva, ministering in Strasbourg and Neufchatel, but Calvin returned for an intended stay of a week in 1541 and to great acclaim from most in the city, only to remain there for the rest of his life!

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