no pun intended...
2006-09-10 07:36:55 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Oh... well to the cartoon dude with the sunglasses and ridicuous hat, I guess I was confused about the root of the word CHRISTmas. Can you please tell me (with validity of course) when he was born then? Anyone?
2006-09-10 07:47:17 · update #1
Christmas is not a celebration based on the Bible.
Date of the celebration:
M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia says: “The observance of Christmas is not of divine appointment, nor is it of N[ew] T[estament] origin. The day of Christ’s birth cannot be ascertained from the N[ew] T[estament], or, indeed, from any other source.”—(New York, 1871), Vol. II, p. 276.
Luke 2:8-11 shows that shepherds were in the fields at night at the time of Jesus’ birth. The book Daily Life in the Time of Jesus states: “The flocks . . . passed the winter under cover; and from this alone it may be seen that the traditional date for Christmas, in the winter, is unlikely to be right, since the Gospel says that the shepherds were in the fields.”—(New York, 1962), Henri Daniel-Rops, p. 228.
The Encyclopedia Americana informs us: “The reason for establishing December 25 as Christmas is somewhat obscure, but it is usually held that the day was chosen to correspond to pagan festivals that took place around the time of the winter solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, to celebrate the ‘rebirth of the sun.’ . . . The Roman Saturnalia (a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture, and to the renewed power of the sun), also took place at this time, and some Christmas customs are thought to be rooted in this ancient pagan celebration.”—(1977), Vol. 6, p. 666.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia acknowledges: “The date of Christ’s birth is not known. The Gospels indicate neither the day nor the month . . . According to the hypothesis suggested by H. Usener . . . and accepted by most scholars today, the birth of Christ was assigned the date of the winter solstice (December 25 in the Julian calendar, January 6 in the Egyptian), because on this day, as the sun began its return to northern skies, the pagan devotees of Mithra celebrated the dies natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of the invincible sun). On Dec. 25, 274, Aurelian had proclaimed the sun-god principal patron of the empire and dedicated a temple to him in the Campus Martius. Christmas originated at a time when the cult of the sun was particularly strong at Rome.”—(1967), Vol. III, p. 656.
If you would like further information or a free home Bible study, please contact Jehovah's Witnesses at the local Kingdom Hall. Or visit http://www.watchtower.org
2006-09-10 08:44:26 · answer #1 · answered by Jeremy Callahan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would like to know the answer to this myself. I have never heard of a Jehovah's Witness that had the courage to plan one, the audacity to turn those plans into reality and the chutzpah to afterwards talk about it. I think there is a similarity between Jehovah's Witnesses and birthday parties and a young teenage boy and a Playboy magazine. A Jehovah's Witness is not going to openly reveal a desire to celebrate birthdays or Christmas, and a teenage boy is not going to read a Playboy magazine in front of his mother. Well, most of them will not. But what would happen if a Jehovah's Witness does have a birthday party? I would imagine it depends on how much they are liked in that community. While some would merely figuratively get a hand slap, others might be dealt with much more harshly. I am reminded of a Malcolmism, "If you are looking for an excuse, any excuse will do." If an Elder is looking for an excuse to "punish" someone, then a birthday party or Christmas celebration would be a perfect opportunity.
2016-03-27 05:35:11 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is doubtful that Jesus was truly born on December 25th. Some early church fathers believed it to have been December 25th, but the Bible does not say when Jesus was born. Some argue that Jesus was born in the Fall, probably in September by our modern calendars. However, the Bible does not even really tell us what season Jesus was born. The early church declared December 25th to be Jesus’ birthday in order to replace a pagan Roman holiday, Saturnalia. Ironically, December 25th was a celebration of the birthday of the sun god. The early church, in an attempt to get rid of the pagan holiday, declared December 25th to be the birthday of the Son of God. Now, Jesus very may well have been born on December 25th – we simply do not know. Whatever the case, it does not matter, theologically, when Jesus was born. It also, therefore, does not matter what day we celebrate His birth. Rather than disputing December 25th as the day of Jesus' birth, we should be grateful that an increasingly non-Christian society even celebrates His birth at all.
2006-09-10 08:03:07 · answer #3 · answered by ca_rissa3505 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Xmas is a pagan holiday... Jesus wasn't even born on that day. No one knows the exact date of Jesus birthday.
2006-09-10 11:04:57 · answer #4 · answered by R.C.P. 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Seeing as how Jesus Christ was not born in December, I seriously doubt that there is any validity to this question.
2006-09-10 07:40:56 · answer #5 · answered by Southern Apostolic 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
biblically Jesus was born in the spring (it talks about dates being on the trees)
2006-09-10 07:50:14 · answer #6 · answered by phalsephasod 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋