Tuesday, I began a series of posts looking at the origins of some of our favorite Christmas traditions. Today, I’m going to cover a rather controversial one, and that is the date of Christmas itself – why do we celebrate Christmas on December 25?
I’ve actually met many people, Christian and non-Christian alike, who really believe we celebrate Christmas on December 25 because that’s when Jesus was born, yet there is no proof to support that belief. The first recorded celebration of Jesus’ birth on December 25 was in Rome, in the year 354, according to Chronography 354. However, beginning in the eighteenth century, many scholars began to argue against that date, largely due to Luke’s account (Luke 2:8) stating that shepherds were in the field tending their flocks at the time of Jesus’ birth, that he was born either in the spring, summer or autumn. That logic would make sense in a western climate; but Jesus was born in Bethlehem – the Middle East, which has been known to have a mild climate even in December. So, while it is possible Jesus was born on December 25, we don’t know for certain, and the Bible doesn’t give us a date. But that still leaves us with the question of, why December 25? While there is a bit of uncertainty surrounding the answer, the answer itself is certain: that’s the date the Church chose. Some, such as Isaac Newton, argue that the date of Christmas was selected to correspond with the winter solstice, which the Romans called Bruma and celebrated on December 25. Others have argued that December 25 was selected to correspond with the Roman solar holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. Still, others argue for the belief that creation began on the date of the spring equinox (March 25) and that Jesus had to have been born nine months (December 25) after this celebratory date. And others propose that it was selected to correspond with the Roman festival of Saturnalia.
However, to be blunt – the date of Jesus’ birth is of little importance. What is important is that Jesus was born. And while we should celebrate him daily, it is a good thing to choose one day for all Christians around the world to lay aside their differences and distractions, and celebrate that God came down to Earth in human form to reveal himself to us and ultimately, to redeem us.
Personally, I believe that as Pagans converted to Christianity, they brought along some of their former practices, which did not conflict with the Bible. It could even be an example of the early Christians living out the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 and “becoming all things to all people, that by all means they might save some.” I could definitely see Paul telling a former Pagan, “I heard you used to throw some big parties for Saturn around this time of year. Who said you have to give up the party? It’s not the celebration that is wrong, it’s the what that you’re celebrating that is wrong. Why not celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25?” And there you have an example of redeeming a tradition. Our practice of exchanging gifts actually supports this, as it aligns more with the Saturnalian practice of gift giving than anything else. Now I know many people will argue that we exchange gifts because the wise men in Matthew chapter 2 presented gifts to Jesus. But from a historical perspective, it was actually very common for royalty and the wealthy to present newborn royalty with gifts, as a way of showing respect. And Matthew 2:2 states the wise men believe Jesus to be King of the Jews. Additionally, the practice of Christmas gift giving was actually banned by the Catholic Church during the middle ages, as it was believed to have Pagan origins. They later lifted the ban because of it’s association with Saint Nicholas (i.e. Santa Claus, whom I’ll get to in a bit), as well as Matthew chapter 2 and the wise men. So while you could stretch Matthew chapter 2 to cover the exchanging of gifts, it’s more likely that it’s a Christian inclusion of a harmless Pagan tradition.
Saturday, I’ll wrap up this series of posts by covering two Christmas topics: is Santa Claus real, and what’s the big deal with “Xmas”?
