to be circumcised and given the name “Jesus”, as was the custom.
Luke did not record the journey to Egypt.
This is the reality and truth of Christmas. This is what Christians should celebrate, ‘Christ mass’ the celebration of Christ’s birth.
How many of us remember this in the midst of the mad shopping, the chaos of decorating homes, the cooking, the feasting and drinking, and all we believe Christmas to be? In the rush and stress of it all, it is very easy to forget why we are celebrating.
It is interesting to note that neither St. Matthew nor St. Luke found it important to record the actual date of Christ’s birth. Biblical scholars and even astronomers have tried to establish a date, but in vain.
Some writers point out that our accepted date is quite improbable. St. Luke describes the angels visiting shepherds tending their sheep in the fields at night. As 25 December falls in the middle of winter in Israel, it was unlikely and impractical for shepherds to have been outdoors in the fields with their flocks at that time. However, I discovered that mid winter is the key. It is the time of the winter solstice, which was a very important pagan festival.
Some writers have revealed the distressing fact that in their opinion, Christmas is nothing but a continuation of the winter solstice, only in another name. As a Christian, I find this a very distressing statement. The Bible warns us against heathen idolatry and worshipping, which often involves fertility rites and sexual licentiousness. One of the many quotes from Deuteronomy 6;14:
“Do not follow other gods, the gods of the people around you” (pagans).
Is it possible that we, too, are inadvertently continuing pagan traditions? To answer this disturbing question, I decided to take a brief glimpse of the facts concerning the winter solstice and pagan practices to see if they link up to our present day Christmas traditions.
Winter Solstice
I discovered that the winter solstice is when the sun is at its most southern point in the sky between 21 an 22 December. In the northern hemisphere, it is the shortest day of the year.
The winter solstice was very important, because many poor communities were not certain whether they would survive the rest of the winter, even though preparations had been made for the past nine months. They slaughtered many cattle, as fodder was in short supply and preserved as much food as they could spare. But the winters were long and depressingly cold. The significance of the solstice was that it was the turning point of winter. The days would start to lengthen and the end of these hardships were in sight. It was indeed a time to celebrate. As the sun was now reversing it’s presence in they sky, it was a time to celebrate the rebirth of the sun gods.
The winter solstice was celebrated extensively and symbolic rituals evolved according to the beliefs of various cultures in different countries. Some examples are as follows.
The winter solstice festival of Extreme Winter is one of the most important festivals in East Asia.
In Greece, the exclusively female mid-winter ritual was the celebration of the Wild Women. They sacrificed babies and later, replaced babies with goats.
In Scandinavia, mid-winter was celebrated as St. Lucy’s Day.
The Romans, the rulers of Israel, had their own traditions. Influenced by the Greek festival Lenaia, Brumalia was the ancient festival honouring Bacchus. The name comes from Bruma, meaning the shortest day. There was much merrymaking and drinking.
Saturnalia was the feast when the Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple to the sun god, Saturn, during the 17th to the 25th of December. At this time, they indulged in heavy drinking and eating. They decorated their homes with evergreen branches and wreaths to ward off evil spirits and burned candles. It was a time of disruption of hierarchy and they disregarded rules of order. Children became heads of the household, slaves changed places with their masters and there was cross-dressing. Debts and quarrels were forgotten. Villages often crowned a simple young boy for the day, naming him ‘King of Misrule’. In Israel, they were very cruel to Jews, mocking them and sometimes killing them in jest. In other words, it was a time of riotous decadence.
In AD 275, Rome, still a pagan empire, proclaimed 25 December the day of the Invincible Sun, ‘Deus Sol Invictus’. Under this name, it was possible to worship several solar deities collectively including the Elah-Gabal, a Syrian god and the god of Emperor Auretian. They were celebrating the longer days of sunshine.
The original date for Christmas was 6 December, known as the King’s day. It was actually associated with the Magi’s visit to Jesus’ home when they visited Him with the gifts they brought. This Eastern custom of honouring important people is indicative that they recognized the fact that Jesus was of the royal line of David.
As Christianity grew and many pagans were converted, Christians continued to celebrate the day of the Invincible Sun as well. This heathen festival with its riotous merrymaking was so popular and deeply embroiled in their lives, that even though they were converted Christians, they were not willing to give up the custom. Nothing the church could do would stop them. Therefore, in about AD 336, after King Constantine’s conversion, he moved Christmas to 25 December, sharing it with the festival of the Invincible Sun.
To appease the new Christians, many church fathers rationalized that Christ was the true sun god and that any celebration of the sun was really celebrating Christ. Over time, the two blended into one, but the pagan rites continued.
It is seems to be clear that the possibility of Jesus’ birth falling on 25 December is very small. Bearing this in mind, what is to stop Christians celebrating Christmas on a convenient day of their choice? Wouldn’t it make sense to choose a day when the weather is more clement and prices lower? If this was practiced widely, it would certainly create a better global financial balance. As this date falls in the middle of winter or summer, depending on which hemisphere a person lives, it is a time of extreme cold or heat.
Personally, this is my first step towards shedding some of the stresses I experience during this season.
However, before we plan our celebrations, let us investigate other traditions we observe and learn the truth behind them. Is there a link between them and our Christmas traditions?
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