CHRISTMAS IS A COMING

CHRISTMYTH BUSTERS

In the mid 17th century Oliver Cromwell initiated one of the strangest pieces of legislation ever put before an English parliament-the abolition of Christmas! The act banning the Yuletide celebration was enacted in 1644 and diligently enforced up to 1660. Cromwell of course as well as being a Republican was also a strict Puritan and viewed all occasions of merriment with suspicion, and the debauchery and drunkenness surrounding the Christmas revelries in those days was an obvious target for the Reformers religious zeal. In our day it might be argued that the Christmas season has surpassed in sensuous excesses those days of yore in ‘merry’ old England, with the ‘religious’ side being relegated to a church service and the singing of carols on street corners. So the debate continues, as those who follow the One who is ostensibly supposed to be at the centre of it all, what are we to make of Christmas ?
I have long been a proponent of the Christian involvement in the festival on the basis that no matter how tainted it has become, at its centre there is still the remembrance of the Incarnation of the Invisible God, in the human form of a little baby born in Bethlehem. I listen carefully however to those who feel the whole business is irredeemable as a truly significant spiritual excercise, and every year I waver in my personal response to it all. The arguments against Christmas are fairly compelling both from a historical perspective and from a theological position. It might be helpful to address some of the myths that surround the modern festival of Christmas.

CHRISTIANS ALWAYS CELEBERATED CHRISTMAS ?
FALSE >We know the early Christian church did not celebrate any day as the birth of Christ, probably because birthdays generally were considered a pagan practise and were not part of the Jewish calendar of festivals. In fact it wasn’t until Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity in the 4th century that December 25 th was established as Christmas Day…"Christmas customs are an evolution from times that long antedated the Christmas period - a descent from seasonal, pagan, religious and national practices, hedged about with legend and tradition... In the beginning many of the earth's inhabitants were sun worshippers because the course of their lives depended on its yearly round in the heavens, and feasts were held at its return from distant wanderings. In the south of Europe, in Egypt and Persia the sun-gods were worshipped with elaborate ceremonies at the season of the winter solstice, as a fitting time to pay tribute to the god of plenty, while in Rome the Saturnalia reigned for a week...The exact day and year of Christ's birth have never been satisfactorily settled, but when the fathers of the church in A.D. 340 chose the day of the winter solstice which was firmly fixed in the minds of the people and which was their most important festival." (Encyclopaedia Britannica article Christmas page 642)

JESUS WAS BORN ON THE 25th OF DECEMBER ?
FALSE > It is most unlikely that this was the actual date of Christ’s birth for several reasons. The Gospel writer Luke tells us that at that time there were shepherds out on the hillsides minding their sheep (Luke 2:8), most unlikely in the wet and cold weather typical in December for that area. In those inclement conditions shepherds would have brought their flocks to shelter for the night, according to Luke the more appropriate time of year would be summer or autumn. Also Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem to register in the Roman census (Luke 2:1-4), it would have been an administrative nightmare to organise a census in the dead of winter when many people had to travel long distances in the biting cold.

THE BIBLE TELLS US TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS ?
FALSE > Nowhere are we told in Scripture to celebrate the birth of Jesus, in fact the only event in the New Testament that we are commanded to commemorate is His death. The Apostle Paul writes…"For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.'
"In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes . . . Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup" (1 Corinthians 11:23-28). There is a fairly convincing counter-argument to this however as Jesus himself celebrated a festival that is nowhere mentioned in the Scriptures. The festival of Hanukkah or Dedication is not one of the feasts named in the Old Testament and yet Jesus apparently participated in it according to John 10:22-23. Hanukkah is a celebration of the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple. It also commemorates the miracle of oil that burned for 8 days. This event took place after the last Old Testament prophet had written the scriptures. The scriptures were closed before this event, and thus, this Feast is extra-biblical. As Jesus was in the temple area where the feast was celebrated, He participated in Hanukkah.
Today, Christmas is celebrated next to Hanukkah. So while there is no command to celebrate Christmas the principle of taking part in an extra-Biblical festival is not of itself excluded.

THE ORIGIN OF DECEMBER 25th CELEBRATIONS IS PAGAN ?
TRUE > The celebration of December 25th was practised by the Romans from a tradition imported from Persia. Mithra was the Persian god of light and sacred contracts and in the 3rd century the Pagan Emperor Aurelian initiated the festival of Dies Invicti Solis, the Day of the Invincible Sun, on December 25. It is believed that Emperor Constantine was an adherent to Mithraism prior to his conversion and became instrumental in transforming the popular sacred day of his old religion over to his new-found Christian faith. Thus December 25th received a Christian make-over and became the date decided upon to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. Throughout all recorded history, in every culture and nation, the death and rebirth of the sun-god has been celebrated as a pivotal moment in religion. Naturally, this celebration occurs when the sun reaches its furthest distance from the equator and thus appears to "die away", and can it be a coincidence that this happens around 21st/22nd December, when Christmas-time begins? Tertullian, a Church historian observed as early as 230AD "By us, who are strangers to sabbaths, new moons and festivals, the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia and the 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."

ANY LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS ?
YES >There are so many other aspects to Christmas that we could demythify…the tree…the crib…the mistletoe…the gifts…Santa…etc,. As I have said at the outset I have an ambivalent attitude to it all realising that our modern Christmas celebrations owe more to Dickens than the Bible and revolve more around the Mall than the Magi! However there is a side to the festival that gives me cause for hope, for many people it is a time to reflect on their lives and their families and perhaps in the maelstrom of shopping and partying there may yet shine a star that will pierce our darkness ,and lead us again back to the One who joined our humanity in the mystery of that night two thousand years ago. We see that warm Nativity scene in the glow of a mothers love, but also in the shadow of a cross ,upon which that baby Jesus would one day die and take upon himself our sins, opening up our way back to God. It’s a cliché but its true, Jesus is the Gift of Christmas and whatever adorns you tree next December 25th, without Him you are poor indeed.

Gerard O'Shea