Now that you’ve bought your Christmas tree, you've gone to your Christmas parties and wasted hundred of dollars buying gifts for family, friends and coworkers, either because you wanted to or because it was a traditional office Kris Cringle shenanigan (not to mention that you forgot that the first of the month is right around the corner and now you have bills piling); now that you've gone to Mass at your local parish, or service at your local church; now that you’ve had Christmas dinner and experienced all kind of quagmires with some drunk relative or an argument with your in-laws, you are all Chrismased-out and getting ready for the New Year.
For those of you that did celebrate Christmas, why do you celebrate Christmas? Do you celebrate Christmas because you’re a Christian (give or take you’re not a Jehovah’s Witness, a Latter-day Saint, or a reformed Seven Day Adventist)? Do you celebrate Christmas because it’s the norm (“Everyone else is doing it.”)? Do you celebrate Christmas because you have children (“How do I tell my kids Santa isn’t real?”)? Whatever the case may be, at the end of the day, can you convey to anyone the actual meaning of Christmas? What is it about? Why do people buy gifts? Why is there so much greenery? Why is there a Yule log? When was it incorporated into Christian culture? What exactly is the true meaning of Christmas?
For starters, people associate Christmas with the birth of the Christian god, Jesus, the giving of gifts, and merriment. There are carols dedicated to a red-nosed rein deer, bells that are either silver or jingle, or a mother kissing Santa. You can expect to see representatives of the Salvation Army posted up collecting donations with their annoying bell, or endless commercials advertising holiday sales that can’t be beat. There are different elements that embody the “Christmas spirit”, but what is their significance? What do they mean?
This will be hard to grasp if you’re a Christian (save you’re a JW, a Mormon or a nonreformed SDA), but Christmas would have no meaning or significance if it was not for pagan customs. Sure, that is a bold and possibly, a “blasphemous” thing to say (“How dare they allege that my holy, Christmas day has something to do with those godless pagans?!). Nevertheless, what are the facts about Christmas?
According to the Encyclopedia of Christmas, before your December 25th celebration was even called Christmas, it was known as Festum Nativitatis Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, meaning the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. December 25th was considered the Dies Natalis Domini (Birthday of the Lord) by a juvenile calculation of the Church; it was believed that Jesus was conceived in the spring (March 25th) and therefore, he was born in the winter (December 25th). The earliest records mention the celebration of Jesus' nativity under the Philocalian calendar in 336 AD. The celebration of the birth of Christ did not begin until the fourth century. This means the earliest Christians did not celebrate Jesus' birth!
Why did Christians and the Church take so long to come up with a feast dedicated to Christ’s birth? Let’s examine the time the feast is first mentioned-336 AD. By this time, Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity and with his conversion, Christianity became a legal religion in Rome, which eliminated Christian persecution. Eventually, it became the official religion of Rome. This was the perfect time to increase its popularity and eliminate pagan Rome. One of the ways to do this was by incorporating pagan customs into Christianity. The Catholic Church did this by Christianizing pagan Rome as a means of steering people away from pagan festivities.
For example, pagan Rome had festivals such as Saturnalia that paid homage to the Roman god of agriculture, Saturn. Like the present day Christmas feast, it was a time of merry and gift-giving in the winter. In addition, there were feasts dedicated to Mithras and Sol Invictus, whose birthdays were celebrated on December 25th. There is no Biblical evidence to support that Jesus was born December 25th whatsoever. Even the World Book Encyclopedia will tell you that no one knows the date of Jesus' birth; however, in an attempt to convert pagans, the Catholic Church Christianized pagan customs to appease pagans. This is the very reason why there are so many pagan elements surrounding Christmas; Christianity had competition and the only way to compete was to assimilate and this was done by absorbing pagan customs into Christianity-an attempt to convert pagans. The Christmas Encyclopedia conveys that some Christians tried to outplay the solar deities by claiming that the true unconquered Sun was Jesus; after all, Biblical literature does allude to him as the Sun of Righteousness.
Furthermore, the Yule log, too, has its origins in pagan culture. The Yule log is one of many pre-Christian Norse feasts (from mid-November to mid-January); sacrifices were made to the Aesir gods. In World Mythology and Legend, we read that the Yule log burning was a custom of lighting a log in honor of Thor with a fragment of the previous year’s log. In a typical move made by the Church, the Yule log was Christianized for no other reason-to convert pagans. Interestingly, the Church's explanation was that the preservation of the last year’s Yule log was effective in preventing fire in the house; this is how the Yule log has become apart of Christmas tradition. There is no correlation between the Yule log and the nativity of Jesus, just the influence of pagan culture.
What's the true meaning of Christmas? Christmas is signified through the customs and festivities of pagan culture. Christmas would have no importance or relevance if it was not for pagan culture. If it was not for pagan culture, there would be no greenery decor during the Christmas season. If it was not for pagan culture, there would be no singing or gift giving during the Christmas season. If it was not for pagan culture, there would be no Yule log during the Christmas season. If it was not for pagan culture, the nativity of Jesus would not be on December 25th and do not for once think that this is blasphemy or heresy; this isn't blasphemy or heresy. Do not think that this is being said to promote apostasy. Even Christians acknowledge Christmas to be pagan; this is why Jehovah Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas. The World Book Encyclopedia inclines that Christians considered Christmas to be pagan because of its nonreligious customs dating as far back as the Reformation (1500's). In fact, Christmas was outlawed in England as well as in parts of their American colonies during the 1600's.
The true meaning of Christmas? Christmas is a pagan custom that was Christianized and this much is known by Christians.
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