Christmas http://www.yrm.org/b-day-sun.htm
and http://www.seedofabraham.net/christmas.html
December
25- Birthday of the Sun
The Christmas super-holiday
is the standard for popular observances today. Families will gather on December
25, gorge themselves on ham and turkey, stare at a decorated tree while a swooning
Bing provides the ambience, and exchange billions of dollars in gifts, many of
them unwanted. A crescendo of months of retailer hype will climax on one grand day of thhe Savior’s supposed birth.
But hold on. Amid the bells and
booze, frolicking elves and fruitcake, many sense that something isn’t right.
If Christmas is a celebration of the birth of the Savior at
Maybe the problem is simply
that people fail to catch and hold the “spirit of Christmas.” Or could the holiday
itself be flawed? Why do so many people sense an emptiness
at this time of year, a major letdown amid the torn gift-wrapping and crushed
ribbon bows?
Where’s the Scriptural
Christmas?
Christmas,
after all, is supposed to be rooted in the Bible. It is assumed to honor the
birth of the Savior of men in a manger at
A revealing survey would be to poll frantic Christmas
shoppers to find out how many know the origins of Christmas. Do you know what Christmas is all about?
Are you mildly amused each year with newspaper and magazine articles detailing
the strange, irreverent customs of Christmas? On the other hand, maybe you have
found these facts somewhat troubling. Isn’t it time you honestly investigated
the matter? If Christmas is that significant – the biggest holiday of the year
demanding a great deal of your time and money — shouldn’t you at least know
what it is actually all about? This is especially serious considering the
religious flavor of Christmas. The Creator in heaven may just have a definite
opinion about the observance of this holiday that you need to discover.
Do you observe Christmas because you believe it is in the
Bible? Try as you might, you will not find a hint of Christmas anywhere in the
Scriptures. There is neither a call to observe it nor an example where anyone
in the Bible did so. Shocking? Millions are oblivious to this simple fact. As one authority puts it, “There is no historical evidence that our
[Savior’s] birthday was celebrated during the apostolic or early post-apostolic
times,” Christmas, p. 47, The New Schaff-Herzog
Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Another writer makes this
astounding statement: “The day was not one of the early feasts of the Christian
church. In fact the observance of birthdays was condemned as a heathen custom repugnant
to Christians,” The American Book of Days, by George W. Douglas.
What a revealing statement! The single most important religious holiday observed today
in Christianity would have been FORBIDDEN in early New Testament times. Many
historians and Biblical scholars corroborate this fact. Now read a candid
admission from The New Catholic Encyclopedia,
“Inexplicable though it seems, the date of the [Messiah’s] birth is not known.
The Gospels indicate neither the day nor the month,” vol. 3, p. 656. And the
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
says, “The fathers of the first three centuries do not speak of any special
observance of the nativity. No corresponding festival was presented by the Old
Testament ... the day and month of the birth of [the Messiah] are nowhere
stated in the Gospel history, and cannot be certainly determined,” Christmas,
p. 276.
Celebrating birthdays was never sanctioned in the
Scriptures, nor is a birthday party ever mentioned that didn’t end in someone’s
death. If Christmas is as popular and pervasive a religious holiday as retail
sales indicate, why isn’t it found anywhere
in the Bible? Why aren’t we told the month —let alone the day—
of the Savior’s birth?
“But what about the manger scene with shepherds and wise
men?” you ask. Yes, the manger is described in the Bible, but it was never
provided as a focus for the continued observance of the birthday of the Savior.
Shepherds came to the manger, but the wise men visited a house up to two years
later. Here’s the account of these wise men, right from Matthew 2:11, “And when
they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary
[Miriam] his mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.”
And then there is the timing. Usually during Christmas
plays someone will read the account in Luke 2:8: “And there were in the same
country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by
night.” Is this describing a cold December scene? According to Jeremiah 36:22,
December is wintry in the
Luke, however, says that sheep were still in the open
fields. This had to be before the
cold winter rains and snows began to fall. The livestock had not yet been moved
to shelters. Notice: “It was a custom among Jews to send out their sheep to the
deserts about the Passover [early spring], and bring them home at the
commencement of the first rain” (Clarke’s Commentary by Adam
Clarke, vol. 3, p. 370). Clarke says the first rain commences in October or
November. He adds, “As these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks,
it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that,
conse-quently, our Savior was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks
were out in the fields ...the [Bible says] flocks were still in the fields by
night. On this very ground the nativity in December should be given up.”
Another indication that the Savior was born in the fall
rather than in winter is the fact that Caesar Augustus had declared a census or
tax be made of the empire, and each citizen had to report to his hometown to
register, Luke 2:1-5. Ordering the people of the empire to travel great
distances in the dead of winter
would have surely incited a revolt, at least among the Jews in the
Various prophetic
Scriptures indicate that Yahshua the Messiah was born at the time of the fall
Feast of Tabernacles. That may have been one reason that the inn was full when
Joseph came to
Sun (Not Son) Worship
If Christmas is not in the Bible, where did it come from?
The answer is found in every encyclopedia and in many newspapers or magazines
appearing around December 25. What they say about the roots of Christmas should
shock every honest Bible believer into taking a serious look at the annual
observance and what it really
celebrates.
Historians do not hide the fact that Christmas was an
invention of the Roman church, designed to compete with the heathen Roman feast
of Saturnalia in honor of the sun deity Mithras. Mithras bore remarkable
similarity to the Biblical Messiah. The Mithraic feast, like Christmas, was
celebrated to commemorate his birth. Notice the remarkable parallels, as
detailed by Joscelyn Godwin, professor at
These two popular movements were vying for dominance in the
So today, much of what is
accepted as Bible-based tradition is the direct result of compromising and
mixing with heathen religion. Roman Emperor Constantine, a former pagan
himself, gave the most significant push to the Christian-pagan blending of
teachings like Christmas. Among other things, he would decree that worship for
Christianity switch from the seventh day Sabbath to the first day of the week –
Sun-day – the day superstitious heathens worshiped the sun.
“This tendency on the part of Christians to meet Paganism
half-way was very early developed,” says Alexander Hislop in The Two
Babylons, p. 93. Interestingly, Hislop notes that the pagans gave up
precious little of their own beliefs and practices. “And we find Tertullian,
even in his day, about the year 230, bitterly lamenting the inconsistency of
the disciples of [Messiah] in this respect, and contrasting it with the strict
fidelity of the Pagans to their own superstition.”
Hislop quotes Tertullian, the most ancient of the Latin
church fathers whose works are extant, as he decries the early church
observances: “By us who are strangers to Sabbaths and new moons, and festivals,
once acceptable to [Yahweh], the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the
Brumalia, and Matronalia are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new
year’s day presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated
with uproar.”
Why a Death Celebration
Honoring a Birth?
A mass is a celebration of the Eucharist or the emblems of
the death of the Savior. Yet, “Christ-mass” is an observance supposedly in honor
of His birth. Why? The answer is found with the secular ancients. Mithras was
known as the Sun Deity. His birthday, Natalis solis
invicti, means “birthday of the invincible sun.” It came on December 25, at the time of the winter solstice
when the sun began its journey northward again. Pagan peoples were overly
concerned with life and fertility. They saw life fading in the darkness of
winter and so held festivals in honor of and to beckon back the sun to give
life and light to the earth once more. The Dictionary of the Middle Ages
explains how a funeral mass came to be celebrated as the supposed birthday of
the Savior:
“In patristic thought [the Messiah] had traditionally been
associated with light or the sun, and the cult of the Sol invictus,
sanctioned as it was by the Roman emperors since the late third century,
presented a distinct threat to Christianity. Hence, to compete with this
celebration the Roman church instituted a feast for the nativity of [the
Messiah], who was called the Sol iustitiae ....
Usually when Christians celebrated the natalis of a saint or martyr, it
was his death or heavenly nativity, but in this case natalis was
assigned to be [the Messiah’s] earthly birth, in direct competition with the
pagan natalis,” pp. 317-318. (That is, it was to compete with the
birthday of Mithras.) So confused were some about what or whom they were
worshiping that Pope Leo I (440-461) chastised Christians who on Christmas
celebrated the birth of the sun deity!
The sun cult was particularly strong at
Where did Mithraism come from, this Roman religion that
venerated the sun deity and influenced Christianity so greatly? Kenneth Scott
Latourette in A History of Christianity, traces Mithraism to the
mystery religions of
Nimrod: The Grandfather
of Paganism
Clearly, Christmas as the observance of the Savior’s birth
did not come into existence immediately. It was not observed for at least three
centuries after His birth.
But Christmas as a pagan holiday traces back thousands of
years to a man named Nimrod, founder of ancient pagan
The Madonna and child theme, which is universal or evident
in hundreds of religions down through the centuries, had its origin in
Saturnalia – Forerunner
of Modern Christmas
Tammuz, the Babylonian sun deity, was the first counterfeit
savior. Yahweh in Ezekiel 8:14-18 condemns ancient
“Then he brought me to the door of the gate of Yahweh’s house
which was toward the north; and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of
man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater
abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of Yahweh’s
house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of Yahweh, between the porch and
the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple
of Yahweh, and their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the sun toward
the east. Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O
son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of
Elements of this worship are still found in today’s Christmas
rites. The Romans worshiped Tammuz as the sun deity Mithras in a special
observance called the Saturnalia. The Saturnalia was named for Saturn,
otherwise known as Cronus. Cronus is an alias for Tammuz. His wife and mother
was Rhea (Semiramis). The Saturnalia, therefore, was just another observance
for Tammuz, the Babylonian, counterfeit redeemer. The Romans kept the
Saturnalia in December, at the time of the winter solstice, in honor of the
returning sun. The festival lasted seven days. “All classes exchanged gifts,
the commonest being waxed tapers and clay dolls,” says the Encyclopaedia
Britannica, Eleventh Edition.
Legend has it that the Saturnalia was instituted by
And so the church established the birthday of the Savior to
coincide with the heathen feast day. “...the Latin Church, supreme in power,
and infallible in judgement, placed it on the 25th of December, the very day on
which the ancient Romans celebrated the feast of their goddess Bruma. Pope
Julius I was the person who made this alteration” (Clarke’s Commentary).
This fact is supported by the New International
Dictionary of the Christian Church, p. 223:
“December 25 was the date of the Roman pagan festival inaugurated in 274 as the
birthday of the unconquered sun which at the winter solstice begins again to
show an increase in light. Sometime before 336 the Church in
This blending of observances only served to confuse
worshipers. By the middle of the fifth century, Pope Leo the Great rebuked his
over-cautious flock for paying reverence to the Sun on the steps of St.
Peter’s before turning their backs on it to worship inside the westward-facing
basilica. Even some bishops, like
Protestants
Object to Christmas Observance
As the
When the Protestant movement attempted to rid itself of the
excesses and sins of Roman Catholicism, there also came an opposition to
Christmas that almost obliterated it entirely in
For a period of 12 years the staunch Puritans kept the
shackles on Christmas, making it an ordinary day of business and even a day of
fasting. Yet “with the Restoration in 1660 the citizens reclaimed Christmas,
but it was a different festival from what it had been. The religious aspects
were often neglected, with the result that the secularization of the holiday
was well under way,” ibid.
In
Henry Ward Beecher, clergyman and lecturer, wrote in 1874
of his boyhood in
Thanks for the Memories?
Can anyone who sincerely seeks to worship in purity and
truth continue practicing a legacy from rank Mystery worship?
“But Christmas gives so many memories,” some may argue.
“What’s so wrong with giving the children happiness and joy at this time of the
year?” From a purely human standpoint, probably nothing.
If Christmas existed apart from a Creator who has very clear expectations for
worship, then no harm would be done to celebrate it.
Christmas, however, is a religious holiday as well as a
secular observance. Its pagan rites Almighty Yahweh outright and forcefully
condemns in the Scriptures. Because of that fact alone we must heed when He
thunders, “Learn not the way of the heathen!” Jeremiah 10:2. Nor is it
acceptable to the Father in heaven to take only what seems to be properly
religious about Christmas and downplay the pagan attributes.
Those seeking True Worship cannot mix the holy with the
profane. Paul writes, 14: “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:
for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and
what communion hath light with darkness? 2Corinthians
They Worshiped Trees
Space prohibits us from detailing all of the customs of
Christmas and their origins in the mystery religions of ancient peoples, but
the Christmas tree deserves special note because of its prominent role. In Old
Testament times an indispensable part of Baal worship involved the asherah, a
sacred tree stem or pole (from which we get the May pole and totem pole). The
asherah was a carryover of even more ancient tree worship. These asherah were
used by the Canaanites in what the King James Version calls “groves.” Typically
asherah sites included an altar and a stone pillar (a survivor of even older
stone-worship).
Some historians believe asherahs were connected with
phallic worship. “At first [asherah] may have been living trees (Deut.
The “green tree” is mentioned 13 times in Scripture and in
every instance it is linked with idolatry! Can we find much difference between
idolizing trees anciently and adoration of
Christmas trees today? Notice what the prophet Jeremiah wrote in connection
with tree-idol worship: “Thus says Yahweh, learn not the way of the heathen ...
for the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the
forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with
silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers,
that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be
borne, because they cannot go ...” Jeremiah 10:2-5.
Although based in mystery worship, the modern Christmas
tree traces to
The ancients were very concerned about the dead vegetation
in December and the waning of the sun. Fir trees were always green, symbolic of
life, and to the ancients represented immortality in a dead world. They were
often set on fire to portray and beckon back the sun, hence the modern practice
of stringing trees with Christmas lights and round bulbs and balls. Ultimately,
the Christmas evergreen springs from that old Babylonian, Nimrod. It represents
the resurrected and reincarnated man-deity. “Now the Yule Log is the dead stock
of Nimrod, deified as the sun-god, but cut down by his enemies; the Christmas
tree is Nimrod redivivus – the slain god come to life again,” The
Two Babylons. p. 98. He was reborn as
his son Tammuz.
Yule (from huel meaning wheel) was a Germanic and
Celtic sunfeast in the period December-January which became absorbed into
Christmas. It commemorated the turn of the sun and the lengthening of the
day. The Christmas tree wasn’t found in
Virtually every Christmas custom is connected with some
man-made rite or heathen tradition that has little or nothing to do with the
Bible or True Worship.
The
Right Alternative: True Bible Holy Days
In the final analysis, how could Almighty Yahweh expect His
people to observe Christmas, which is so thoroughly steeped in heathen ritual?
He kept the month as well as the day of the Savior’s birth hidden. The answer
is obvious and clear – He never wanted it to be observed! If He did, He would
have told us when and how it was to be kept, just as He did for those days He
commanded in His Word.
Clearly, if Christmas were commanded in the Bible, few
would be observing it — as opposed to the vast millions around the world who
indulge in this ritual today. That should be proof enough that Christmas is not
Scriptural. What Yahweh commands, man ignores; what He prohibits, man indulges
in.
Once we are enlightened to the truth of Christmas, we find
the holiday not only distasteful but totally unacceptable to Yahweh.
Now that you know the truth, you must make a decision. Do I
continue keeping a nonBiblical observance that Yahweh
condemns? Or do I start honoring the very days He commands in His Word for all
True Worshipers?
His seven annual Feasts are found in Leviticus 23, the only
“holidays” sanctioned in the Scriptures. These Feasts were kept by
The choice is yours, and so is the promise of salvation for all who obey and follow the Truth--
http://www.yrm.org/b-day-sun.htm
Second Article
http://www.seedofabraham.net/christmas.html
CHRISTMAS
by Richard
A. Davis
edited by
Avram Yehoshua
If we were to ask several people the meaning of Christmas,
80% of them would say, 'The birthday of Christ, of course.' Most of the others
would say, 'The day we celebrate the birthday of Christ, since we really don't
know just when He was born.' Several years ago that would have been my answer
too.
About 23 years ago, just before Christmas, my family and I had returned from
church and were listening to a well-known evangelist on the car radio. He was
saying, 'Let's put Christ back into Christmas.' The thought appealed to me and
I thought, 'Yes, let's put Christ back into Christmas.' I was surprised to hear
a small Voice within me say, 'How can you put Christ back into something He was
never in?!
This not only surprised me, but alarmed me as well. What was the meaning of
this? I had been raised in a Christian home and all my life I had been taught
that December 25th was the birthday of the Lord Jesus Christ. I had accepted
that without question. Now though, I was being challenged about it. So, I set
about trying to prove what I believed.
First of all, I re-read the accounts in the Scriptures concerning the birth of
our Lord. I didn't immediately find anything there that told when He was born.
I went next to the library to research 'Christmas'. This is what I found:
'Christmas (i.e. the Mass of Christ) was not among the
earliest festivals of the Church, and before the 5th century there was no
general consensus of opinion as to when it should come on the calendar, whether
on January 6th, March 25th or December 25th.' (Encyclopedia Britannica)
'In Britain, December 25th was a festival long before the conversion to
Christianity, for Bede relates that "the ancient peoples of the Anglo
began the year on December 25th when we now celebrate the birth of the Lord;
and the very night which is now so holy to us, they called the mother's night,
by the reason we suspect of the ceremonies which in the night long vigil they
performed.'" (Encyclopedia Britannica)
'It was according to many authorities not celebrated in the first centuries of
the Christian Church, as the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the
death of remarkable persons, rather than their birth' (Encyclopedia Americana)
'It is unknown just when it originated, but surely December 25th was not
generally observed as the date prior to Chrysostom's time (4th century) in the
Eastern Church, although much earlier in the the Western Church. There was no
uniformity in the period of observing the Nativity among the early churches.
Some held the festival in the month of April or May, others in January. January
6th was the usual date for the feast of the Nativity in the Eastern Church and
still continues to be the date in the Armenian Church.
It is impossible to establish any date as the exact time in the year of the
birth of Christ. It is often objected that December 25th cannot be the true
date, for it is then the rainy season in Israel, when shepherds would hardly
have been watching their flocks by night in the fields...' (The New
International Encyclopedia)
This much of my research had
pointed out two things. One, the encyclopedias didn't seem to have the
information as to when Christ was born. And two, that
December 25th didn't seem to be that time. What they did point out
however, was that it was not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian
Church. And that when it began to be celebrated, the date
varied among the churches. This concerned me.
A question arose. If God had wanted us to celebrate the birth of His Son,
wouldn't He have made the date known to us in His Word? My studies so far had
told me what it was not, now to find out the original reason for the
celebration of December 25th.
WHOSE
BIRTHDAY?
Further research brought more light upon the subject:
'In the 5th century, the Western Church ordered it to be
celebrated forever on the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of Sol, as no
certain knowledge of the day of Christ's birth existed. Among the German and
Celtic tribes, the winter solstice was considered an important turning point of
the year. They held their chief festival of Yule to commemorate the return of
the burning wheel. The holly, mistletoe, Yule log and the wassail bowl are
relics and symbolic of pre-Christian times...(Encyclopedia
Americana)
'The early church was eager to replace pagan festivals by Christian ones. As
Christianity spread, the feast of winter solstice, the time when the day begins
to increase and light to triumph over darkness was easily turned into the feast
of Christ, the light of life. Many of the great beliefs and usages of the old
German and also Romans, relating to this matter, passed over from heathen
practice into Christianity and have survived to the present day.' (The New
International Encyclopedia)
Now I had found that since no one seemed to know just when
Christ was born, Christianity had adopted someone else's birthday. Who was this
Sol anyway upon which so much honor had been bestowed?
And who or what was this burning wheel? Here was a 'chief festival' held in his
honor and it had come down from pre-Christian times, and had survived to this
present day. I had to know who this was that held so much
honor.
'The early Church Fathers probably chose December 25th
because the feast of the sun, or winter solstice, was a familiar Roman feast
celebrating the victory of light over darkness. This idea was easily turned
from a pagan to a Christian one since Christians consider Christ as the light
of life.' (The World Book) 'The real birthday of Christ is unknown. In Rome it
was kept on December 25th from about 330 AD onward, when to the 'birth of the
unconquered sun' or winter solstice was opposed that of the 'sun of justice'
(Christ); it can scarcely date from the 3rd century, for the earliest
Christians did not keep birthdays.' (Collier's Encyclopedia)
Oh, there was the answer. The birth of the 'unconquered sun.' That didn't sound too
good. Not only was December 25th not the birthday of our Lord, but it was the
time that the ancient peoples celebrated the birth of the sun!
This opened up another study for me, that of sun-worship. Further study on the
subject of sun-worship took me all the way back to ancient
It seems that shortly after the Flood, man realized that the sun traveled
southward for a certain length of time, during which time the days became
shorter and shorter. Then, they noted that there was a day when a noticeable
change was observed, and the 'return of the burning wheel' was celebrated.
Light began once again to triumph over darkness; the sun was 'born again.' And
so the 'Nativity of the Sun' became the chief winter festival.
There were several other aspects of worship involved which also included the
other celestial bodies, but the sun was considered 'chief.' It was the sun that
was thought to rule the heavens and the earth. It was the thing which they
thought, gave them life.
THE TREE ,
MISTLETOE AND YULE
Then I wondered how the Christmas tree and other Christmas
favorites were associated with this winter festival. The World Book, under
Origin of Christmas Tree related this:
'Several scholars believe the Christmas tree began in early
Opening the World Book under Yule, I read this:
'The early pagans of Scandinavian countries held Yule
festivals near the end of each year. After Christianity was introduced into
This really didn't tell me the
origin of these things. However, it did say that they were a 'carry-over from
sun worship.' My studies again took me back to ancient
The mistletoe was generally found in trees that were not themselves evergreen,
so it was quite noticeable. The ancient peoples thought that those things that
stayed green all winter somehow had the substance of the gods in them (of which
the chief was the sun). So, they began to worship these ever-green things in
relation to their great Sun god. They even took new born babes and tied them to
the branches of evergreen trees. If they survived the night, they were
dedicated to the sun god.
As these practices came down from
The names of the gods seemed to vary in accordance with the name of the person
ruling the people. Each succeeding ruler of the people wanted to be deified.
The original Babylonian festival started when Semiramis, the wife of Nimrod,
claimed that overnight, an evergreen tree sprang up from a dead tree stump
beside his grave. The dead stump supposedly symbolized her dead husband Nimrod.
The new evergreen tree was Nimrod come to life again in the person of the god
Tammuz.
So, the practice of burning the dead stump began and the following morning (it
was said) the evergreen tree had appeared; the god had been 'born again' from
the dead tree stump in the form of the evergreen tree. The stump or Yule log,
represented the dead stock of Nimrod and the Christmas tree was Nimrod revived,
deified as the Sun god or the 'son of the Sun.'
THE UNDECORATED TREE
By now my head was in a spin. All of this was so new to me.
I had truly believed that December 25 was the birthday of the Lord Jesus
Christ. To find that it wasn't really bothered me. To find that it was a
carry-over from sun worship bothered me even more.
It is not an easy thing to discard from one's mind, that which had been put
into it from childhood. At this point I began to justify and said, 'Oh, it
doesn't really matter whether it is the birthday of Jesus or not. We are
honoring Him and that's all that really counts.'
Then just before the next Christmas, I was sitting by the fire one evening
reading the Bible. My wife was putting up lights around the windows and was in
the process of decorating the Christmas tree. She wanted me to come and help
her and got a bit upset when I didn't do so right away. She fell from the
ladder and that really upset her. I checked to see if she was hurt and helped
her up and then asked her to come and sit beside me. I was reading in Jeremiah
10:2-5:
'Thus says the Lord: Learn not the way of the heathen and
be not dismayed at the signs of heaven. For the heathen are dismayed at them.
For the customs of the peoples are vain. For one cuts a tree out of the forest,
the work of the hands of the workman with the axe. They deck it with silver and
with gold. They fasten it with nails and with the hammer that it moves not.
They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not. They must be lifted to go
anywhere, because they cannot walk on their own. Be not afraid of them. For
they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.'
The words just seemed to leap out at me. My wife said, 'Oh,
but we are not worshiping the tree like they did then.' But the words 'Learn
not the way of the heathen' began to burn themselves in my mind. And I couldn't
help but see the connection between how God felt about the tree cut out of the
forest and decked with gold and silver, and our Christmas tree. I began to feel
uneasy about what we were doing 'for Jesus.'
The Christmas lights were not strung up that year and the tree remained undecorated.
Then one day, while reading in Deuteronomy 12:29-32 I saw:
'When the Lord your God has cut off before you the
nations whom you are about to enter to dispossess them, when you have
dispossessed them and live in their land, take care that you are not snared
into imitating them, after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire
concerning their gods, saying, "How did these nations worship their gods?
I also want to do the same." You must not do the same for the Lord your
God, because every abhorrent thing that the Lord hates they have done for their
gods. They would even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their
gods.You must diligently observe everything that I command you. Do not add to
it or take anything from it.'
These Scriptures came alive for
me. I began to see how I was caught in a snare not of my own making. I was
imitating the rituals for the pagan gods of
I was worshiping Jesus the way the pagans worshiped their gods. I saw that God
did not desire it. That it was not pleasing to Him.When Christmas came around
again, we found ourselves not putting up the tree or exchanging presents. It
was a little strange and there was a pull to participate, but we knew that it
wasn't of God. I did not want to sin against Jesus.
I have found since then that there is so much anxiety attached to Christmas.
Getting presents for everyone, while it seems that the whole world is doing the
same thing, is no longer missed. There is such a relief, where there was so
much pressure before. Not that pressure is bad, if it is from God. But we could
see that Christmas pressure was not His.
SANTA CLAUS
Another thing we realized quite
early that had to be discarded was Santa. Regardless of where he came from, I
knew he had to go. In Deuteronomy 4:25, the Lord talks about the Children of
Israel making 'a graven image' to provoke Him.
Some of the meanings of the word 'image' are, 'a mental picture of anything not
actually present to the senses; a picture drawn by the imagination; a symbol.'
When a man dresses to look like an imaginary figure (Santa), it's still an
image.
The practice of teaching children that Santa is the judge of their behavior,
giving them gifts if they're good, or withholding them if they're not, is
unbiblical and a lie. We set up an image in their minds as to who is watching
them. Where does God ever tell us to lie to our children, so they can feel
good? And how many times have we been told and in turn tell our children, that
Santa will bring them gifts?
How many times have you heard well meaning pastors proclaim from their pulpits
that Jesus was born on December 25th? Or that we're doing it
to honor the birth of Jesus. Where in God's Word does He tell us to
honor the birth of His Son? Because if He does not tell us, then by whose
authority are we as Christians proclaiming a holy day (Christmas) to ourselves
and the world?
Do we have authority to create a holy day unto the Lord? And if we did, why
pick a day of pagan sun-worship? I believe that if Jesus wanted us to celebrate
His birthday, we would find it somewhere in the New Testament. If not, then
it's sin.
When they finally come to the truth about Santa not being real, what will they
think about this Jesus that you've been telling them? How can a child trust us
if we lie to them? Would you really trust someone if they
continually lied to you?
You might say, 'I do it for my children. Their faces are so glad. How could I
take that away from them? Did you ever think that you could give them presents
once a month? Out of a love for them, not associated with pagan things? Why
must it be at Christmas?
Your children will give you everlasting thanks for telling them the truth and
walking in it. Truth does have its reward also. It's called Life. God's Life
and Light is not in illusion. Illusion may appear as light, but has no true
Light in it.
STILL UNDECIDED?
When we realize that all of these practices originated in
'And after these things I saw another angel come down
from the Heavens, having great power and the earth was lit by his glory. He
cried mightily with a strong voice saying, "
The Scriptures are referring to
those same practices and customs that originated in ancient
In 1st Kings 14:14 it states: 'And God will give
We have more knowledge than they did in many things. The Scriptures tell us
that to whom much is given, much is required. If they could not worship God any
way that they wanted to, how can we? If King Jeroboam could not ordain a feast,
if he could not make a day holy that God hadn't spoken of, then how can we
think that we can take a pagan day, rename it Christmas, the 'birth of Christ' and
that it would be alright with God?
The early Christian Church refused these practices. But over time, these pagan
practices were baptized with the name of 'Christian' and they gained
acceptance. But this is nothing less than a tradition of man. And we know what
Jesus had to say about those in authority teaching for the commandment of God,
the traditions of men.
If God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ had wanted us to celebrate His
birthday or His being born, don't you think that it would be found somewhere in
the New Testament?
You might say that there is good in Christmas. But what I have seen is that
Christmas time is a season where the carnal man runs around 'doing good.' If
that is not the case, then why does the world get involved with Christmas?
Since when does the world follow God? I'm saying that we need to get back to
worshiping Jesus the way He would want to be worshiped. Christmas is man giving
to God, worship He does not desire. Christmas is sin. It is an offense to our
Creator and Savior. It has no biblical leg to stand on and reeks of paganism.
As you decide (hopefully) not to keep Christmas, seek the Lord for wisdom in
how to relate this to others. Many are not ready for this. We need to be loving
and Christ-like in sharing this truth with others. As for me and my house, we
will worship the Lord...the way He chooses.
References:
The Two Babylons.................by Alexander Hislop
The Ancient Gods.........................by E.O. James
The Mother Goddess Cult..............by E.O. James
Babylon Mystery Religion...........by R. Woodrow
http://www.seedofabraham.net/christmas.html
Third Article—
http://www.religion-encyclopedia.com/C/christmas.htm
Christmas
Christmas. The Christian feast of Jesus' birth, celebrated
on 25 DEc. Its observance is first attested in
Christmas. The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ,
first found in 1038, and Cristes-messe,
in 1131. In Dutch it is Kerst-misse,
in Latin Dies Natalis, whence
comes the French Noël, and
Italian Il natale; in German Weihnachtsfest, from the preceeding
sacred vigil. The term Yule is of disputed origin. It is unconnected with any
word meaning "wheel". The name in Anglo-Saxon was geol, feast: geola, the name of a month (cf.
Icelandic iol a feast in December). EARLY CELEBRATION Christmas was not among the earliest
festivals of the Church. Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their lists of
feasts; Origen, glancing perhaps at the discreditable imperial Natalitia,
asserts (in Lev. Hom. viii in Migne, P.G., XII, 495) that in the Scriptures
sinners alone, not saints, celebrate their birthday; Arnobius ( Finally, though never at According, however, to John of Nikiu,
Honorius, when he was present on a visit, arranged with Arcadius for the
observation of the feast on the Roman date. Kellner puts this visit in 395;
Baumstark (Oriens Chr., 1902, 441-446), between 398 and 402. The latter
relies on a letter of Jacob of Edessa quoted by George of Beeltân, asserting
that Christmas was brought to Constantinople by Arcadius and Chrysostom from
Italy, where, "according to the histories", it had been kept from
Apostolic times. Chrysostom's episcopate lasted from 398 to 402; the feast
would therefore have been introduced between these dates by Chrysostom
bishop, as at He gar prote parousia tou kyriou hemon he
ensarkos [en he gegennetai] en Bethleem, egeneto [pro okto kalandon
ianouarion hemera tetradi] Basileuontos Augoustou [tessarakoston kai deuteron
etos, apo de Adam] pentakischiliosto kai pentakosiosto etei epathen de
triakosto trito [pro okto kalandon aprilion, hemera paraskeun, oktokaidekato
etei Tiberiou Kaisaros, hypateuontos Hrouphou kai Hroubellionos. -- (Comm. In
Dan., iv, 23; Brotke; 19) "For the first coming of Our Lord in
the flesh [in which He has been begotten], in Interpolation is certain, and admitted by
Funk, Bonwetsch, etc. The names of the consuls [which should be Fufius and
Rubellius] are wrong; Christ lives thirty-three years; in the genuine
Hippolytus, thirty-one; minute data are irrelevant in this discussion with
Severian millenniarists; it is incredible that Hippolytus should have known
these details when his contemporaries (Clement, Tertullian, etc.) are, when
dealing with the matter, ignorant or silent; or should, having published
them, have remained unquoted (Kellner, op. cit., p. 104, has an excursus on
this passage.) St. Ambrose (de virg., iii, 1 in P. L.,
XVI, 219) preserves the sermon preached by Pope Liberius I at St. Peter's,
when, on Natalis Christi, Ambrose' sister, Marcellina, took the veil. This
pope reigned from May, 352 until 366, except during his years of exile,
355-357. If Marcellina became a nun only after the canonical age of twenty-five,
and if Ambrose was born only in 340, it is perhaps likelier that the event
occurred after 357. Though the sermon abounds in references appropriate to
the Epiphany (the marriage at Cana, the multiplication of loaves, etc.),
these seem due (Kellner, op. cit., p. 109) to sequence of thought, and do not
fix the sermon to 6 January, a feast unknown in Rome till much later. Usener,
indeed, argues (p. 272) that Liberius preached it on that day in 353,
instituting the Nativity feast in the December of the same year; but
Philocalus warrants our supposing that if preceded his pontificate by some
time, though Duchesne's relegation of it to 243 (Bull. crit., 1890, 3, pp. 41
sqq. ) may not commend itself to many. In the West the Council of Saragossa
(380) still ignores 25 December (see can. xxi, 2). Pope Siricius, writing in
385 (P. L., XII, 1134) to Himerius in ORIGIN OF DATE The Gospels. Concerning the date of
Christ's birth the Gospels give no help; upon their data contradictory
arguments are based. The census would have been impossible in winter: a whole
population could not then be put in motion. Again, in winter it must have
been; then only field labour was suspended. But Zachary's temple service. Arguments based
on Zachary's temple ministry are unreliable, though the calculations of
antiquity (see above) have been revived in yet more complicated form, e.g. by
Friedlieb (Leben J. Christi des Erlösers, Münster, 1887, p. 312). The
twenty-four classes of Jewish priests, it is urged, served each a week in the
Analogy to Old Testament festivals. It
seems impossible, on analogy of the relation of Passover and Pentecost to
Easter and Whitsuntide, to connect the Nativity with the feast of
Tabernacles, as did, e.g., Lightfoot (Horæ Hebr, et Talm., II, 32), arguing
from Old Testament prophecy, e.g. Zacharias 14:16 sqq,; combining, too, the
fact of Christ's death in Nisan with Daniel's prophecy of a three and
one-half years' ministry (9:27), he puts the birth in Tisri, i.e. September.
As undesirable is it to connect 25 December with the Eastern (December) feast
of Dedication (Jos. Ant. Jud., XII, vii, 6). Natalis Invicti. The well-known solar
feast, however, of Natalis Invicti, celebrated on 25 December, has a strong
claim on the responsibility for our December date. For the history of the
solar cult, its position in the The earliest rapprochement of the births
of Christ and the sun is in Cypr., "De pasch.
Comp.", xix, "O quam præclare providentia ut illo die quo natus est
Sol . . . nasceretur Christus." - "O, how wonderfully acted But even should a deliberate and
legitimate "baptism" of a pagan feast be seen here no more than the
transference of the date need be supposed. The "mountain-birth" of
Mithra and Christ's in the "grotto" have
nothing in common: Mithra's adoring shepherds (Cumont, op. cit., I, ii, 4, p.
304 sqq.) are rather borrowed from Christian sources than vice versa. Other theories of pagan origin. The origin
of Christmas should not be sought in the Saturnalia (1-23 December) nor even
in the The astronomical theory. Duchesne (Les
origines du culte chrétien, Paris, 1902, 262 sqq.) advances the
"astronomical" theory that, given 25 March as Christ's death-day
[historically impossible, but a tradition old as Tertullian (Adv. Jud., 8)],
the popular instinct, demanding an exact number of years in a Divine life,
would place His conception on the same date, His birth 25 December. This
theory is best supported by the fact that certain Montanists (Sozomen, Hist.
Eccl., Conclusion. The present writer in inclined
to think that, be the origin of the feast in East or West, and though the
abundance of analogous midwinter festivals may indefinitely have helped the
choice of the December date, the same instinct which set Natalis Invicti at
the winter solstice will have sufficed, apart from deliberate adaptation or
curious calculation, to set the Christian feast there too. LITURGY The calendar. The fixing of this date
fixed those too of Circumcision and Presentation; of Expectation and,
perhaps, Annunciation B.V.M.; and of Nativity and Conception of the Baptist
(cf. Thurston in Amer. Eccl. Rev., December, 1898). Till the tenth century
Christmas counted, in papal reckoning, as the beginning of the ecclesiastical
year, as it still does in Bulls; Boniface VIII (1294-1303) restored
temporarily this usage, to which Germany held longest. Popular merry-making. Codex Theod., II, 8,
27 (cf. XV, 5,5) forbids, in 425, circus games on 25 December; though not
till Codex Just., The three Masses. The Gelasian and
Gregorian Sacramentaries give three Masses to this feast, and these, with a
special and sublime martyrology, and dispensation, if necessary, from abstinence,
still mark our usage. Though The historical origin of this triple Mass
is probably as follows (cf. Thurston, in Amer. Eccl. Rev., January, 1899;
Grisar, Anal. Rom., I, 595; Geschichte Roms . . . im Mittelalter I, 607, 397;
Civ. Catt., 21 September, 1895, etc.): The first Mass, celebrated at the
Oratorium Præsepis in St. Mary Major -- a church probably immediately
assimilated to the Bethlehem basilica -- and the third, at St. Peter's,
reproduced in Rome the double Christmas Office mentioned by Etheria (see
above) at Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The second Mass was celebrated by the pope
in the "chapel royal" of the Byzantine Court officials on the Palatine,
i.e. St. Anastasia's church, originally called, like the basilica at
Constantinople, Anastasis, and like it built at first to reproduce the
Jerusalem Anastasis basilica -- and like it, finally, in abandoning the name
"Anastasis" for that of the martyr St. Anastasia. The second Mass
would therefore be a papal compliment to the imperial church on its patronal
feast. The three stations are thus accounted for, for by 1143 (cf. Ord.
Romani in P. L., LXXVIII, 1032) the pope abandoned distant St. Peter's, and
said the third Mass at the high altar of St. Mary Major. At this third Mass
Leo Dramatic presentations. The history of the
dedication of the Oratorium Præsepis in the Liberian basilica, of the relics
there kept and their imitations, does not belong to this discussion [cf.
CRIB; RELICS. The data are well set out by Bonaccorsi (Il Natale, Rome, 1903,
ch. iv)], but the practice of giving dramatic, or at least spectacular,
expression to the incidents of the Nativity early gave rise to more or less
liturgical mysteries. The ordinaria of The crib (creche) or nativity scene. St.
Francis of Hymns and carols. The degeneration of
these plays in part occasioned the diffusion of noels, pastorali, and carols,
to which was accorded, at times, a quasi-liturgical position. Prudentius, in
the fourth century, is the first (and in that century alone) to hymn the
Nativity, for the "Vox clara" (hymn for Lauds in Advent) and
"Christe Redemptor" (Vespers and Matins of Christmas) cannot be
assigned to Ambrose. "A solis ortu" is certainly, however, by
Sedulius (fifth century). The earliest German Weihnachtslieder date from the
eleventh and twelfth centuries, the earliest noels from the eleventh, the
earliest carols from the thirteenth. The famous "Stabat Mater
Speciosa" is attributed to Jacopone da Todi (1230-1306); "Adeste
Fideles" is, at the earliest, of the seventeenth century. These
essentially popular airs, and even words, must, however, have existed long
before they were put down in writing. Cards and presents. Pagan customs
centering round the January calends gravitated to Christmas. Tiele (Yule and
Christmas, London, 1899) has collected many interesting examples. The strenæ
(eacute;trennes) of the Roman 1 January (bitterly condemned by Tertullian, de
Idol., xiv and x, and by Maximus of Turin, Hom. ciii, de Kal. gentil., in P.
L., LVII, 492, etc.) survive as Christmas presents, cards, boxes. The yule log. The calend fires were a
scandal even to Greenery. Gervase of Tilbury (thirteen
century) says that in The mysterious visitor. Only with great
caution should the mysterious benefactor of Christmas night -- Knecht
Ruprecht, Pelzmärtel on a wooden horse, St. Martin on a white charger, St.
Nicholas and his "reformed" equivalent, Father Christmas -- be
ascribed to the stepping of a saint into the shoes of Woden, who, with his
wife Berchta, descended on the nights between 25 December and 6 January, on a
white horse to bless earth and men. Fires and blazing wheels starred the
hills, houses were adorned, trials suspended and
feasts celebrated (cf. Bonaccorse, op. cit., p. 151). Knecht Ruprecht, at any
rate (first found in a mystery of 1668 and condemned in 1680 as a devil) was
only a servant of the Holy Child. Non-Catholic observances. But no doubt
aboriginal Christian nuclei attracted pagan accretions. For the calend
mumming; the extraordinary and obscene Modranicht; the cake in honour of
Mary's "afterbirth", condemned (692) at the Trullan Council, canon
79; the Tabulæ Fortunæ (food and drink offered to obtain increase, and
condemned in 743), see Tiele, op. cit., ch. viii, ix -- Tiele's data are
perhaps of greater value than his deductions -- and Ducange (op. cit., s. vv.
Cervula and Kalendæ). In
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Fourth Article
Christmas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation).
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Christmas |
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Christmas tree in a Danish home, 2004 |
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Also called |
Christ's Mass |
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Observed by |
Christians
around the world as well as by non-Christians who observe the secular aspects
of the holiday. |
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Type |
Christian |
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Significance |
traditional
birthdate of Jesus |
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Date |
December
25 |
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Observances |
religious
services, gift giving, family meetings, decorating trees |
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Related to |
Annunciation,
Incarnation; Crucifixion;
Advent, the
four weeks preceding Christmas; and the period between the day after Thanksgiving
and the Sunday after New Year's Day, the American holiday season |
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual Christian
and secular holiday that
celebrates the birth of Jesus with many secular winter festival themes. It is traditionally
observed on December 25. Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate it on January 7,
which corresponds to December 25 of the Julian
calendar. These dates are merely traditional; the precise chronology of
Jesus' birth and death is still debated. Christmas has many popular aspects,
some religious and many secular, including the exchange of gifts, Santa Claus,
decoration and display of the Christmas
tree, and religious ceremonies.
Global
spread of Christianity has led to Christmas being celebrated in
most countries around the world. The holiday has also been vastly adopted by
non-Christians as a secular winter festival, namely in Hong Kong
and the PRC
whereas there are small Christian populations. Examples of past winter
festivals that have influenced Christmas include the festivals of Yule[1]
and Saturnalia.
Many of the traditions associated with the holiday have origins in these pagan
winter celebrations.
Various
local and regional Christmas traditions are still practiced, despite the
widespread influence of American and British Christmas motifs disseminated by
film, popular literature, television, and other media.
Etymology
The
word Christmas is derived from Middle
English Christemasse and from Old English
Cristes mæsse.[2] It is a contraction meaning "Christ's mass".
The
name of the holiday is sometimes shortened to Xmas because Roman
letter "X" resembles the Greek
letter Χ (chi), an abbreviation for Christ
(Χριστός).
History
Pre-Christian origins of holiday
Christmas
has its origins in several pagan holidays. The celebration known as Saturnalia
included the making and giving of small presents (saturnalia et sigillaricia).
This holiday was observed over a series of days beginning on December 17 (the
birthday of Saturn) and ending on December 25 (the birthday
of Sol
Invictus, the "unconquered sun"). The combined festivals resulted
in an extended winter holiday season. Business was postponed and even slaves
feasted. There was drinking, gambling, and singing, and nudity was relatively
common. It was the "best of days," according to the poet Catullus.[3]
During
the time in which Christianity was spreading throughout the Roman
Empire, another similar religion known as Mithraism was
also gaining widespread acceptance. The followers of Mithraism worshipped Mithras, a god of
Persian origin,
who was identified with Sol Invictus. [citation needed] The
followers of Mithraism, consequently, adopted the birthday of Sol Invictus as
the birthday of Mithras. In 274 AD, due to the popularity of Mithraism, Emperor
Aurelian
designated December 25 as the festival of Sol Invictus.
Christian origins of holiday
Around
220 AD, the theologian Tertullian declared that Jesus died on March 25, 29, but was resurrected
three days later. Although this is not a plausible date for the crucifixion,
it does suggest that March 25, nine months before December 25th, had significance
for the church even before it was used as a basis to calculate Christmas.
Modern scholars favor a crucifixion date of April 3, 33, which was also the date
of a partial lunar eclipse (These are Julian
calendar dates. Subtract two days for a Gregorian date.).[4]
By 240
AD, a list of significant events was being assigned to March 25, partly because
it was believed to be the date of the vernal
equinox. These events include creation, The
Fall of Adam and Eve, and, most relevantly, the Incarnation.[5] The view that the Incarnation occurred on the
same date as crucifixion is consistent with a Jewish belief
that prophets died at an "integral age," either an anniversary of
their birth or of their conception.[6][7]
The
idea that December 25 is Jesus' birthday was popularized by Sextus Julius Africanus in Chronographiai
(221 AD), an early reference book for Christians. This identification did not
at first inspire feasting or celebration. In 245 AD, the theologian Origen denounced
the idea of celebrating the birthday of Jesus "as if he were a king pharaoh."
Only sinners, not saints, celebrate
their birthdays, Origen contended.
As
Constantine ended the Christian persecution and began the persecution of
non-Christians, Christians began to debate the nature of
Christ. The Alexandrian school argued that he was the divine
word made flesh (see John 1:14),
while the Antioch school held that he was born human and infused
with the Holy
Spirit at the time of his baptism (see Mark 1:9-11).
A feast celebrating Christ's birth gave the church an opportunity to promote
the intermediate view that Christ was divine from the time of his incarnation.[8]
Mary, a minor figure for early Christians,
gained prominence as the theotokos, or god-bearer. There were Christmas celebrations
in Rome as early as 336 AD. December 25 was added to the calendar as a feast day in 350 AD.[8]
Medieval Christmas
and related winter festivals
Christmas
soon outgrew the Christological controversy that created it and came to
dominate the medieval calendar.
The
forty days before Christmas became the "forty days of St. Martin,"
now Advent.
Former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent. Around the 12th century,
these traditions transferred again to the "twelve days of Christmas"
(i.e. Christmas to Epiphany).[8]
The
fortieth day after Christmas was Candlemas.
The Egyptian
Christmas celebration on January 6 was adopted as Epiphany, one of the most prominent holidays
of the year during the Early Middle Ages. Christmas Day itself was a
relatively minor holiday, although its prominence gradually increased after Charlemagne
was crowned on Christmas Day in 800 AD.
Northern
Europe was the last part to Christianize, and its pagan celebrations had a
major influence on Christmas. Scandinavians still call Christmas Jul (Yule), originally the
name of a twelve-day pre-Christian winter festival. Logs were lit to honor Thor, the god of
thunder, hence the "Yule log." In Germany, the equivalent holiday is
called Mitwinternacht (mid-winter night). There are also twelve Rauhnächte
(harsh or wild nights).[9]
By the
High
Middle Ages, Christmas had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely
noted where various magnates "celebrated Christmas." King Richard II of England hosted a Christmas feast
in 1377 at which twenty-eight oxen and three hundred sheep were eaten.[8]
The "Yule boar" was a common feature of medieval Christmas feasts. Caroling
also became popular, and was originally a group of dancers who sang. The group
was composed of a lead singer and a ring of dancers that provided the chorus.
Various writers of the time condemned caroling as lewd, largely due to
overtones reminiscent of the traditions of Saturnalia and Yule).[8]
"Misrule" — drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling — was also an
important aspect of the festival. In England, gifts were exchanged on New
Year's Day, and there was special Christmas ale.[8]
The Reformation and the 1800s
Santa
Claus hands out gifts to Union soldiers during the US Civil War in Thomas Nast's
first Santa Claus cartoon, Harper's
Weekly, 1863.
During
the Reformation,
Protestants
condemned Christmas celebration as "trappings of popery" and the
"rags of the Beast". The Catholic Church responded by promoting the
festival in a more religiously oriented form. When a Puritan
parliament triumphed over the King, Charles I of England (1644), Christmas was
officially banned (1647). Pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities.
For several weeks, Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated
doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans.[10] The Restoration (1660) ended the ban, but Christmas
celebration was still disapproved of by the Anglican
clergy.
By the
1820s, sectarian
tension had eased and British writers began to worry that Christmas was dying
out. They imagined Tudor
Christmas as a time of heartfelt celebration, and efforts were made to revive
the holiday. The book A
Christmas Carol (1843) by Charles
Dickens played a major role in reinventing Christmas as a holiday
emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion (as opposed to communal
celebration and hedonistic excess).[11]
Father Christmas persuades the jury of his
innocence in The Examination and Tryal of Father Christmas (1686) by
Josiah King
The
Puritans of New England disapproved of Christmas and celebration
was outlawed in Boston (1659-81). Meanwhile, Virginia and New York
celebrated freely. Christmas fell out of favor in the U.S. after the American Revolution, when it was considered an
"English custom". Interest was revived by several short stories by Washington
Irving in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon
(1819) and by "Old Christmas" (1850) which depict harmonous
warm-hearted holiday traditions Irving claimed to have observed in England.
Although some argue that Irving invented the traditions he describes, they were
imitated by his American readers.[1] German
immigrants and the homecomings of the Civil War helped promote the holiday. Christmas
was declared a federal holiday in the U.S. in 1870.
Irving
writes of Saint Nicholas "riding over the tops of the trees, in that
selfsame waggon wherein he brings his yearly presents to children."[12]
The connection between Santa Claus and Christmas was popularized by the poem
"A Visit from Saint Nicholas"
(1822) by Clement Clarke Moore, which depicts Santa
driving a sleigh pulled by reindeer and distributing gifts to children. His
image was created by German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast
(1840-1902), who drew a new image annually beginning in 1863. By the 1880s,
Nast's Santa had evolved into the form we now recognize. The image was
standardized by advertisers in the 1920s.[13]
Modern times
In the
midst of World
War I, there was a Christmas truce between German and British troops in
France (1914).
Soldiers on both sides spontaneously began to sing Christmas carols and stopped
fighting. The truce began on Christmas Day and continued for some time
afterward. There was even a soccer game between the trench lines in which
Germany's 133rd Royal Saxon Regiment is said to have bested Britain's Seaforth Highlanders 3-2.
In
modern times, the United States has experienced some controversy over
the nature of Christmas, and whether it is a religious or
a secular
holiday. Because the US government recognizes Christmas as an official
holiday, some have thought that this violates separation of church and state. This
has been brought to trial several times, including Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)
and Ganulin v. United States (1999). On
More
recently, some Christians have protested against what is seen as a secularization of Christmas, leading
some to believe that the holiday is under attack from a general secular
trend or from persons and/or organizations with a deliberate or unconscious
anti-Christian agenda; the attack on Christmas has also been blamed on political correctness. The evidence for this
belief lies in what some call "taking the Christ out of Christmas."
Specifically, the following items illustrate this trend.[citation needed]
- Some businesses have forbidden their
employees to say "Merry Christmas," and tell them to say
"Happy Holidays" instead.[citation needed]
- In many public schools in America,
what were once called Christmas pageants are now often called holiday
programs or winter programs.[citation needed]
- Traditionally, schoolchildren sang Christmas
carols at Christmas pageants; carols have increasingly been replaced
with non-religious winter songs like Frosty the Snowman and White Christmas.[citation needed]
- While nativity
scenes were once commonly on public display during the Christmas
season, they have become increasingly rare[citation needed],
and even the subject of lawsuits.
The Nativity
Main article: Nativity
of Jesus
Adorazione del Bambino (Adoration of the Child) (1439-43), a
mural by Florentine painter Fra Angelico.
The
Nativity refers to the birth of Jesus. According to
tradition, Jesus was born in the city of Bethlehem in
a stable,
surrounded by farm animals and shepherds, and Jesus was born into a manger from the Virgin Mary assisted by her husband Joseph.
Remembering
or re-creating the Nativity is one of the central ways that Christians
celebrate Christmas. For example, the Eastern Orthodox Church practices the Nativity
Fast in anticipation of the birth of Jesus, while much of the Western Church celebrates Advent. In some
Christian churches,
children often perform plays re-creating the events of the Nativity, or sing
some of the numerous Christmas carols that reference the event. Many
Christians also display a small re-creation of the Nativity known as a Nativity
scene in their homes, using small figurines to portray the key characters
of the event. Live Nativity scenes are also re-enacted using Human actors and
live animals to portray the event with more realism.
While
Nativity scenes traditionally include the
Three Wise Men (Balthassar, Melchior, and Caspar), and they are often
referred to in songs and scripture, there is little or no historical evidence
to support the tradition. [14]
In the
U.S., decorations once commonly included Nativity scenes. This practice has led
to many lawsuits, as some say it amounts to the government endorsing a
religion. In 1984, the US Supreme Court ruled that a
city-owned Christmas display, even one with a Nativity scene, does not violate
the First Amendment.[15]
Economics of Christmas
Christmas display in a Brazilian shopping mall
Christmas
is typically the largest annual economic stimulus for many nations. Sales
increase dramatically in almost all retail areas and shops introduce new
products as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies. In the U.S., the Christmas shopping season generally begins on
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving,
though many stores start selling Christmas items in October/November (and in the
UK, even September/October).
More
businesses and stores close on Christmas Day than any other day of the year. In
the United
Kingdom, the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004
prevents all large shops from trading on Christmas Day.
Most economists
agree, however, that Christmas produces a deadweight
loss under orthodox
microeconomic theory, due to the surge in
gift-giving. This loss is calculated as the difference between what the gift
giver spent on the item and what the gift receiver would have paid for the
item. It is estimated that in 2001 Christmas resulted in a $4 billion
deadweight loss in the U.S. alone.[16][17]
Because of complicating factors, this analysis is sometimes used to discuss
possible flaws in current microeconomic theory.
In North
America, film studios release many high-budget movies in the holiday
season, including Christmas films, fantasy movies or
high-tone dramas with rich production values.
Santa Claus and other bringers of gifts
Main article: Santa Claus
Saint Nicholas
In Western
culture, the holiday is characterized by the exchange of gifts among
friends and family members, some of the gifts being attributed to Santa Claus
(also known as Father Christmas, Saint
Nicholas, Joulupukki, Kris
Kringle, Saint Basil and Father Frost).
Father
Christmas predates the Santa Claus character, and was first recorded in the
15th century,[18]
but was associated with holiday merrymaking and drunkenness. Santa Claus is a
variation of a Dutch folk tale based on the historical figure Saint Nicholas,
or Sinterklaas, who gave gifts on the eve of his feast day of December 6.
He became associated with Christmas in 19th century America and was renamed
Santa Claus or Saint Nick. In Victorian Britain, Father Christmas's image was
remade to match that of Santa. The French
equivalent of Santa, Père Noël, evolved along similar lines, eventually
adopting the Santa image.
In
some cultures Santa Claus is accompanied by Knecht
Ruprecht, or Black Peter. In other versions, elves make the toys. His
wife is referred to as Mrs. Claus.
The
current tradition in several Latin
American countries (such as Venezuela) holds that while Santa makes the toys, he then
gives them to the Baby Jesus, who is the one who actually delivers them to
the children's homes. This story is meant to be a reconciliation between
traditional religious beliefs and modern day globalization,
most notably the iconography of Santa Claus imported from the United States.
Christmas Tree and other decorations
Main article: Christmas
Tree
Christmas decorations at The Myer Centre in Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia
The
Christmas tree is often explained as a Christianization
of the ancient pagan
idea that the evergreen
tree represents a celebration of the renewal of life. The phrase "Christmas
tree" is first recorded in 1835 and represents the importation of a
tradition from Germany, where such trees became popular in the late 18th
century.[18]
Christmas trees may be decorated with lights
and ornaments. Since the 19th century, the poinsettia
has been associated with Christmas. Other popular holiday plants include holly, mistletoe,
red amaryllis,
and Christmas cactus.
Along
with a Christmas Tree, the interior of a home may be decorated with garlands and evergreen
foliage, particularly holly and mistletoe. In Australia, North
and South
America, and to a lesser extent Europe, it is
traditional to decorate the outside of houses with lights and sometimes with
illuminated sleighs,
snowmen, and
other Christmas figures.
Municipalities
often sponsor decorations as well. Christmas banners may be hung from street
lights and Christmas trees placed in the town square.
Although
Christmas decorations, such as a tree, are considered secular in many parts of
the world, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia bans such displays as symbols
of Christianity.
In the
Western
world, rolls of brightly-colored paper with secular or religious Christmas
motifs are manufactured for the purpose of wrapping gifts.
Regional customs and celebrations
Main article: Christmas worldwide
Many nations distribute stamps each year to commemorate Christmas. Austria,
1999
Christmas
celebrations include a great number and variety of customs with either secular,
religious, or national aspects which vary from country to country:
In the
southern hemisphere, Christmas is during the
summer. This clashes with the traditional winter iconography, resulting in
oddities such as a red fur-coated Santa Claus surfing in for a turkey barbecue
on Australia's
Bondi
Beach. New Zealanders also commonly celebrate Christmas at the beach,
coinciding with the vibrant red flowering of the coastal Pohutukawa
or "New
Zealand Christmas Tree".
Japan has adopted
Santa Claus for its secular Christmas celebration, but New
Year's Day is a far more important holiday. While in South Korea,
Christmas is celebrated as an "official" holiday, and in India it is often
called bada din ("the big day"). Celebrations revolve around
Santa Claus and shopping.
In Poland, Santa Claus
(Polish:
Święty Mikołaj) gives gifts on two occasions: on the night of
December 5 (so that children find them on the morning of December 6), and on
Christmas Eve (so that children find gifts that same day). In addition to the
major observances of Christmas, German children also put shoes out on their window sills on
the night of December 5, and find them filled with candy and small gifts the
next morning. Santa Claus (Hungarian: Mikulás), or Father
Winter (Hungarian: Télapó) also visits Hungary on
December 6, bringing small gifts, and is often accompanied by a black creature
called Krampusz; while on Christmas Eve (Holy Night - (Hungarian: Szenteste)) the Little (Baby) Jesus (Hungarian: Kisjézus or Jézuska) delivers the
presents.
In Spain, gifts are
brought by the Magi on Epiphany (January 6), and in Scotland,
presents were traditionally given on Hogmanay, which
is New Year's Eve. In recent times, both countries have also adopted gift-giving
on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.
The
Declaration of Christmas Peace has been a tradition in Finland from the
Middle Ages every year, except in 1939 (due to World War
II). The declaration takes place in the Old Great Square of Turku, Finland's
official Christmas City and former capital. It is broadcast on Finnish radio
and television. Sauna
bathing has an important role in Finnish Christmas, often after the visit of Joulupukki
on Christmas Eve.
Saint
Nicholas' Day remains the principal day for gift giving in the Netherlands
while Christmas Day is a more religious holiday.
In Russia, Grandfather
Frost brings presents on New Year's Eve, and these are opened on the same
night. However, after the Russian Revolution, Christmas celebration was
banned in that country from 1917 until 1992. Even today, throughout the U.S.
and Europe, several Christian denominations, notably the Jehovah's Witnesses, Puritans, and some fundamentalists,
view Christmas as a pagan holiday not sanctioned by the Bible.
Social aspects and entertainment
In
many countries, businesses, schools, and communities have Christmas parties and
dances in the weeks before Christmas. Christmas pageants may include
a retelling of the story of the birth of Christ. Groups may visit neighborhood
homes to sing Christmas carols. Others do volunteer
work or hold fundraising drives for charities.
On
Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, a special meal of Christmas
dishes is usually served. In some regions, particularly in Eastern
Europe, these family feasts are preceded by a period of fasting. Candy
and treats are also part of Christmas celebration in many countries.
Another
tradition is for people to send Christmas
cards to their friends and family members. Cards are also produced with
messages such as "season's greetings" or "happy
holidays", so as to include senders and recipients who may not
celebrate Christmas .
Christmas carol media
Gifts under a Christmas tree.
- Deck the Halls (file info) — play
in browser (beta)
- Oh Holy Night (file info) — play
in browser (beta)
- Angels We Have Heard On High
(file info) — play
in browser (beta)
- Angels We Have Heard On High,
performed by Clarinet and French Horn
- Problems playing the files? See media help.
Christmas in the arts and media
"Now it is Christmas again" (1907) by Carl Larsson.
Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas present, by John Leech. Made for Charles
Dickens's novel A Christmas Carol (1843).
Main articles: Christmas in the media and Christmas
movies
Many
fictional Christmas stories capture the spirit of Christmas in a modern-day fairy tale,
often with heart-touching stories of a Christmas miracle. Several
have become part of the Christmas tradition in their countries of origin.
Among
the most popular are Tchaikovsky's ballet The
Nutcracker and Charles Dickens' novel A
Christmas Carol. The Nutcracker tells of a nutcracker
that comes to life in a young German girl's dream. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is the
tale of curmudgeonly miser Ebenezer
Scrooge. Scrooge rejects compassion, philanthropy,
and Christmas until he is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and
Future, who show him the consequences of his ways.
Some
Scandinavian Christmas stories are less cheery than Dickens'. In H. C. Andersen's The Little Match Girl, a destitute little
girl walks barefoot through snow-covered streets on Christmas Eve, trying in
vain to sell her matches, and peeking in at the celebrations in the homes of
the more fortunate.
In
1881, the Swedish
magazine Ny
Illustrerad Tidning published Viktor
Rydberg's poem Tomten featuring the first painting by Jenny
Nyström of the traditional Swedish mythical character tomte, which she
turned into the friendly white-bearded figure and associated with Christmas.
Many
Christmas stories have been popularized as movies and TV specials.
Since the 1980s, many video editions are sold and resold every year during the
holiday season. A notable example is the film It's a Wonderful Life, which turns the
theme of A Christmas Carol on its head. Its hero, George
Bailey, is a businessman who sacrificed his dreams to help his community. On
Christmas
Eve, a guardian angel finds him in despair and
prevents him from committing suicide by magically showing him how much he meant to the
world around him. Perhaps the most famous animated production is A Charlie Brown Christmas wherein Charlie
Brown tries to address his feelings of dissatisfaction with the holidays by
trying to find a deeper meaning in them. This special is noted for one of the
characters retelling of the first Christmas. The humorous A
Christmas Story (1983) in which the main character dreams of owning a Red
Ryder BB Gun, has become a holiday classic and is even repeated for 24
hours straight starting on Christmas Eve night and going on through Christmas
Day on US cable channel Turner Network Television or TBS.
A few
true stories have also become enduring Christmas tales themselves. The story
behind the Christmas carol Silent
Night and the story Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa
Claus is among the most well-known of these.
Radio and television
programs aggressively pursue entertainment and ratings through their
cultivation of Christmas themes. Radio stations broadcast Christmas
carols and Christmas songs, including classical music such as the Hallelujah
chorus from Handel's
Messiah. Among other classical pieces inspired
by Christmas are the Nutcracker Suite, adapted from Tchaikovsky's
ballet score, and Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio
(BWV 248). Television
networks add Christmas themes to their standard programming, run traditional
holiday movies, and produce a variety of Christmas specials.
See also
Find more information on Christmas by
searching Wikipedia's sister projects:
Dictionary definitions from
Wiktionary
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews
Learning resources from Wikiversity
- Christmas worldwide
- American Christmas traditions
- Biblical
Magi
- Boxing
Day
- Carols by Candlelight
- Christmas
carol
- Christmas cracker
- Christmas movies
- Christmas
music
- Christmas shopping season
- Christmas Sunday
- Christmas
tree
- Christmastide
- Effects of Christmas on
the environment
- Epiphany (Christian)
- Festive
ecology
- German Christmas traditions
- Jólasveinar
- List of Christmas dishes
- Nativity
scene
- Saturnalia
- Snow baby
- Twelfth Night (holiday)
- Twelve Days of Christmas
- Twelve Holy Days
- Yule
References
2.
^ "Christmas",
The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913.
3.
^ Sempronia, Julilla,"Ancient Voices: Saturnalia, AncientWorlds 2004.
4.
^ Odenwald, Dr. Sten, "Can you date the crucifixion of Jesus Christ
using astronomy?", 1997.
5.
^ "The
Feast of the Annunciation", Catholic Encyclopedia, 1998.
6.
^ Duchesne, Louis, Les origines du culte chrétien:
Etude sur la liturgie latine avant Charlemagne. Paris, 1889.
7.
^ Talley, Thomas J., Origins of the Liturgical Year. Pueblo
Publishing Company, New York, 1986.
8.
^ a b c d e f Murray, Alexander, "Medieval Christmas", History
Today, December 1986, 36 (12), pp. 31 - 39.
9.
^ Reichmann, Ruth, "Christmas".
10.
^ Durston, Chris, "Lords of Misrule: The Puritan War on Christmas
1642-60", History Today, December 1985, 35 (12) pp.
7 - 14.
11.
^ Rowell, Geoffrey, "Dickens and the Construction of Christmas",
History Today, December 1993, 43 (12), pp. 17 - 24.
12.
^ Irving, Washington, History of New York, 1812.
13.
^ Mikkelson, Barbara and David P., "The
Claus That Refreshes", Snopes.com, 2006.
14.
^ Culture and the Arts, The Three Kings
15.
^ Lynch vs. Donnelly (1984)
16.
^ "The Deadweight Loss of Christmas", American Economic Review,
December 1993, 83 (5)
17.
^ "Is Santa a deadweight loss?" The
Economist 20 December 2001
18.
^ a b Harper, Douglas, Christ, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001.
- Ganulin v. United
States
- "Christmas," The New
Columbia Encyclopedia. New York and London, Columbia University Press
1975.
- Restad, Penne L., Christmas in
America: A History, New York, Oxford University Press. 1995. ISBN
0-19-509300-3
External Links
· "A History
of Christmas from the UCG"
· Encyclopaedia
Britannica, Christmas
· "Christmas in South
America".
· Heindel,
Max, The Mystical Interpretation
of Christmas 1920. ISBN
0-911274-65-0.
· "The Japanese Christmas museum
(Focusing on Christmas commercial culture)".
· Christmas Day - Comprehensive site of
Christmas Festival.
Retrieved
from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas"
Categories: Articles with unsourced
statements | Holidays | Holidays in the United States
| Holidays in Canada | Holidays in New Zealand | Christmas | Christmas-linked holidays | December observances | Religious festivals | Christian festivals | Secular holidays
5th Article
|
Christmas in the context of early Christian
teachings, before 313 A.D. edited by Robert Nguyen Cramer (4.12.24.1) |
The Christmas celebration
as we know it today had its real beginnings with
In his excellent article on
the origins of the Christmas celebration, Hendrik F. Stander (Encyclopedia
of Early Christianity, Second Edition, edited by Everett Ferguson, NY:
Garland Publishing, 1998, pages 249-250):
CHRISTMAS. From Old English "Mass of
Christ," festival on December 25, celebrating the birth of Christ. This
festival was not generally established before the end of the fourth century.
The early Christians were far more concerned with the death and resurrection of
Jesus, celebrated during Easter, than with his birth. Moreover, Origen said
that Christians should not celebrate birthdays because it was a pagan custom,
adhered to by unrighteous people, such as Pharaoh and Herod (Comm. in Mt.
10.22)...
The true roots of what we
know as Christmas lie in a feast celebrating the baptism of Christ on January
6. The heretical Basilideans taught that the divine Christ first appeared on
earth at the baptism of Jesus and was then temporarily united with the human
Jesus. The festival on January 6 was accordingly called Epiphany
("Appearance"). The orthodox church regarded
Christ's birth as the real appearing of Christ upon the earth, and thus January
6 came to mark both the baptism and the nativity of Christ.
The Council of Nicaea (325)
condemned the doctrine that God himself did not become incarnate in Jesus at
birth. This Christological dogma probably caused the festival of Christ's birth
to be separated from the heretical custom of commemorating Christ's
"appearance" at baptism. The festival of the birth of Christ ... was
then transferred to December 25, to counter a pagan festival held that day in
honor of Sol Invictus ("The Invincible Sun").
The nativity festival was
probably separated from Epiphany in
...The strongest
opposition, however, came from Christians in
Karen B. Westerfield Tucker
(Oxford Companion to Christian Thought, edited by Adrian Hastings,
Alistair Mason, and Hugh Pyper,
...One theory for placing
Christmas on 25 December suggests that the motivation for a Christian
observance came from the pagan birthfeast of the unconquered sun (dies
natalis solis invicti) which the Roman emperor Aurelian, in 274, ordered to
be held annually throughout the empire on the day of the winter solstice,
determined then to be 25 December. According to the 'apologetics' or 'history
of religions' hypothesis, the church at Rome adopted the day of pagan
festivities for its own purposes, providing a Christian alternative by
celebrating instead the birth of the true 'sun of righteousness'; the heathen
content of the festival was reinterpreted and its date retained...
The festival of Christmas
spread quickly from the 4th century onwards. It allowed for a liturgical
counterpart to the theological conclusion reached at the Council of Nicaea
which, in condemning Arianism, affirmed that Jesus Christ was the eternal and
only-begotten Son of the Father, humanly born of Mary (recognized by the
Council of Ephesus as the 'God-bearer', Theotokos)...
So what did Christians
prior to
Addressing pagans:
On your day of gladness, we
[Christians] neither cover our doorposts with wreaths, nor intrude upon the day
with lamps. At the call of public festivity, you consider it a proper thing to
decorate your house like some new brothel. ... We are accused of a lower
sacrilege because we do not celebrate along with you the holidays of the
Caesars in a manner forbidden alike by modesty, decency, and purity. [197 A.D.,
The Roman traitors clad
their doorposts with green and branching laurels. They smoked up their porches
with lofty and brilliant lamps. [197 A.D.,
Addressing Christians:
What less of a defilement does he incur on that ground than does a
business ... that is publicly consecrated to an idol? The Minervalia are a much
Minerva's as the Saturnalia is Saturn's. Yes, it is Saturn's day, which much
necessarily be celebrated even by little slaves at the time of the Saturnalia.
Likewise, New Year's gifts must be caught at. The Septimontium must be kept.
And all the presents of Midwinter and the Feast of Dear Kinsmanship must be
exacted. The schools must be wreathed with flowers.... The same thing takes
place on an idol's birthday. Every ceremony of the devil is frequented. Who
will think that these things are benefiting to a Christian teacher? [200 A.D.,
The Saturnalia, New Year,
Midwinter festivals, and Matronalia are frequented by us! Presents come and go!
There are New Year's gifts! Games join their noise! Banquets join their din!
The pagans are more faithful to their own sect... For, even if they had known
them, they would not have shared the Lord's Day or Pentecost with us. For they would fear lest they would appear to be Christians.
Yet, we are not apprehensive that we might appear to be pagans! [200
A.D.,
The following are the biblical texts from
the ESV
that reference the birth of Jesus:
- Mat 1:18-25 - The birth of Jesus
18
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had
been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with
child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and
unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he
considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your
wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will
bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from
their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by
the prophet: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and
they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). 24 When
Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took
his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called
his name Jesus.
* See
commentary at http://www.bibletexts.com/verses/v-mat.htm#1.
- Mat 2:1-12 - The visit of the Magi from the East to the
infant Jesus
1
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, wise men from the east came to
* See
commentary at http://www.bibletexts.com/verses/v-mat.htm#2.
- Luk 1:26-56 - The birth of Jesus is announced
26
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of
* See
commentary at http://www.bibletexts.com/verses/v-luk.htm#1.
- Luk 2:1-7 - The birth of Jesus
1
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should
be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of
* See
commentary at http://www.bibletexts.com/verses/v-luk.htm#2.
- Luk 2:8-20 - The visit of the shepherds to the infant
Jesus
8
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch
over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the
glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the
angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a
great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is
born this day in the city of
* See
commentary at http://www.bibletexts.com/verses/v-luk.htm#2.
- Gal 4:3-6 - Christ Jesus born of woman
3
In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary
principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent
forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were
under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are
sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
*
See commentary at http://www.bibletexts.com/verses/v-gal.htm#4.
|
Copyright 1996-2004 Robert Nguyen
Cramer |
||
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