Standing Strong |
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Isaiah 11:6 2 Thessalonians 2:15 |
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December 25 as the Date for Christmas
Each year I hear it brought up that the placing of the date for Christmas is pagan and we shouldn’t celebrate birthdays at all. I am taking this opportunity to look into the placing of the date for celebrating the Lord’s Birth and will try to make sense of the myriad of information, often contradictory, that is available on the subject.
It amazes me that because there were pagan feasts on the day most commonly associated with Christmas that people claim that was the reason for picking the date in question. If one were to research the whole of the calendar, one would be hard pressed to find any day that did not have some pagan feast associated with the date. To place a motivation upon those selecting the day can not be found through any level of research. To say the day was picked because of the pagan feasts associated with the day is a stretch at best and Lashon HaRah at worst. Lashon HaRa his to speak badly of someone without cause or compelling by a duly assembled court. In its worst case the purpose is to disparage the person in question with no proven grounds to even back up what is being claimed. Prior to Christ’s birth many other groups had festivals during this season. The Romans observed saturnalia from the middle of December to the new year. In Persia they observed the winter solstice showing their reverence to the deity of light, Mirthra. In Northern Europe the pagan Teutonic tribes honored their all father “Woden (or Odin)” (Krythe, 1954, pp. 1-2)
The date upon which to celebrate Christmas was greatly debated. The exact date is not to be found anywhere in scripture and resulted in many dates, almost around the calendar being considered by those trying to determine when the celebration might be. One had to question why to celebrate the birthday at all. It was common to celebrate the birthday of a prince or king who ruled over the populous during the second temple period. (Schurer, 1890, pp. 26-27) While one would be expected to celebrate the birthday of the ruler of the land and even be compelled to comply, Christians would in demonstration of their recognizing Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords celebrate his birthday as a statement of who they really follow.
…by the third century some had been observing the event (of the nativity) on these varying dates: January 6, Febrauary 2, March 25, April 19, May 20, and November 17. (Krythe, 1954, p. 2) The date of December 25th was actually put forward as early as the second century. “among dates suggested by early church men were January 6, April 18, April 19, May 20 and according to Hippolytus (ca.170-236), in his commentary on Daniel, “Our Lord was born on Wednesday December, 25, in the 42nd year (2 b.c.) of the reign of Agustus.” (Oliver, 2001, p. 238)
Finally – acording to St. Chrysostom – at the request of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Julius I (Pope or Bishop of rome from AD 337-3520 made an investigation into the matter of the date. In AD 350, December 25 was set as the most probable time. The feast of the nativity was first observed on this day at Rome, perhaps in 353; and from then on the custom spread eastward. (Krythe, 1954, p. 2) This flies in the face of those who claim the date was set by Constantine as he died May 22, 337. (Constantine the Great - Profile of Constantine the Great)
About a century later in 440 the Pope at Jerusalem also accepted this ruling although various scholars had wanted the date established as January 1, March 6, March 29, Apirl 9, or September 29th. (Krythe, 1954, p. 2) This was not the final decision on the matter and the date is celebrated at different times even to this day. In Theriot, Lousiana, the Holiday is kept in the middle of February. In some parts of the South, “old Christmas” is celebrated on January 5 or 7. (Krythe, 1954, p. 10) In Pennsylvania, many persons observe the old holiday traditions of their Moravian ancestors, while, at various places in the Middle West, Scandinavian customs prevail. They usually begin on St. Lucia’s day – December 13…. (Krythe, 1954, p. 10) In Theriou, Louisiana, the holiday is kept in the middle of February, for during the regular Christmas season the men are away on the marshes trapping. In some parts of the South, “old Christmas” is celebrated on January 5 or 7, a date related to the visit of the Magi, or Wise Men, to the Holy Babe. (Krythe, 1954, p. 10)
The reason for choosing the date not always been seen as based upon research. Some associate the reason for picking the date with the feasts of other feasts. “As adherents of Mithraism (Birth of the Unconquered Sun), as well as Saturnalia, and the Jewish Feast of Dedicationof the Temple all occurred at this time different sources suggest various reasons for picking this date.” (Krythe, 1954, pp. 2-3) I find it particularly interesting that the Jewish feast of dedication occurs on the 25th of the winter month of Kislev. To have those accepting Yeshua/Jesus as messiah to pick the 25th of the winter month shows a very close relationship indeed and might show closer ties than those who try to associate the 25th of December with Saturnella or the winter solstice which both occur on dates different than the 25th. Church tradition has established the day of the celebration of Jesus’ birth on December 25 for the western church and January 6 for the eastern church. (Black, 2003, p. 96)
The Science of Astonomy, not astrology, has brought forward some items of interest in trying to determine the date of the Christ Child’s birth. |