What is Christmas all about anyways?

Question

I believe that most people would agree the Jesus was not born on the 25th of December. If you are a Christian, why do you celebrate Jesus' birthday on the 25th even though you know that he was not born on that day? Secondly, why do pastors continue to teach Christmas sermons during Christmas time, when they too know it was the wrong date?

Answer 1

Most of what we celebrate has nothing to do with Jesus (he was really born in late-March to mid-April). Actually, as December 25 used to be the winter solstice (they come earlier and earlier as the centuries go on through a natural process called equinoctial progression), the birth of many gods associated with the sun were believed to be born at this time as it represented the sun "coming again." A few examples of such deities or holy people include Horus, Krishnu, Hesus, Mithra, Buddha, and many others. Each of these had many parallels to the myth of Jesus' birth. Krishnu, for instance, was Vishnu (supreme Hindu god) incarnated on earth, was born of a virgin in a stable, was of royal descent, had the title "Savior," was crucified between two thieves, had a carpenter for a father, and was sought out by three magi from the east who found him by following a star. They also gave him gifts of frankincense and myrrh.

Many of our customs of Christmas are actually adopted from the Roman holiday of Saturnalia. It was a harvest festival for the Roman god of agriculture, Saturn. It was celebrated from December 17 through the 23rd. During this time, there were many public ceremonies including parades and carnivals. Everyone wore hats called pileuses, even the emperor. They were very similar to what is today known as a "Santa hat," albeit less fluffy. These symbolized that everyone was equal before the eyes of the gods and that no one was above each other. Children were also given a free rein to do whatever they wanted during this time. Some other customs included the decorating of trees, very similar to our current custom of Christmas trees. These were decorated with candles, medals, and other assorted baubles. Green and red were also the colors that were used to decorate houses and trees, as they were the colors that symbolized Saturn.

Another pagan holiday that has influenced Christmas was the celebration of Yule. It was a winter festival that took place on the winter solstice (then December 25). It was mainly celebrated in northern Europe by Germanic tribes. Different areas had different customs, but all were quite similar. It was a time for families to get together, as well as for sacrifice to their various gods. Most households would sacrifice a cow or goat, and some rich kings even sacrificed slaves. Extended families would generally meet in the largest house of their family. They would eat a very large feast and bring in large evergreen trees to be decorated, similar to the trees of Saturnalia. Boar was normally the main course. An enormous log would also be burned in the fire pit, known as the Yule Log. Holly, mistletoe, and boughs of evergreen trees would also be hung.

The story of Santa Claus also plays a great role in our Christmas customs. The figure we think of as Santa is based off of St. Nicolaus, a third century saint of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). Contrary to popular belief, he did NOT live in Amsterdam. Very little is known about him, though he was the patron saint of saliors, children, merchants, archers, and students. He was also known for giving gifts to unfortunate children. The only reason he held any association with Christmas is that his feast day is quite close to it (December 6). Surprisongly, many of the myths that have sprung up about him are based off of the Norse god Odin. In Scandinavia, where Odin was worshiped, there were very strict laws of hospitality requiring you to let travelers stay in your house to escape the bitter cold. To ensure that his people followed these universal rules, he would travel around in a sleigh pulled by his eight-legged horse Sleipnir. His sleigh was filled with food, drink, and trinkets. He was often accompanied by elves, which are creatures from Norse mythology. He would hide his sleigh in the woods and transform into a thin old man with only one eye. he then would walk up to the doors of houses and ask to be given shelter. If the owners of the house refused, he was believed to curse them with bitter cold and disease. If they did let him in, he would bless their house and give them gifts he carried in his sleigh. Children would often leave out hay, carrots, and sugar for Odin to give to Sleipnir. Over time, these stories were adapted and attributed to St. Nicolaus. If you look at early depictions of him, he is shown as being very thin with his pileus pulled down over one eye. We call him "Santa Claus" instead of St. Nicolaus because his Duttch name (his feast day was most widely celebrated in the Netherlands) is "Sinderklass."

The figure of Santa Claus we know today as being jolly, fat, and dressed in red is actually the result of arguably the most brilliant advertising endeavor of all time: Coca Cola. The advertisers of this company came up with a picture of Santa drinking Coca Cola by taking his traditional pileus and and making an entire suit to match it. It has absolutely nothing to do with finding Santa out in the snow as is popularly believed.

From Roman holidays to Norse gods to American soda companies, we have our modern holiday known as Christmas.

Answer 2

If it really mattered to Jesus when we celebrate His birth, then He would have made the exact day crystal clear with absolute certainty. What we celebrate is far more important than the day we celebrate it one. For example, in the United States we celebrate Presidents Day in February, but this doesn't mean that all the presidents were born in February.

the Church of Rome found it convenient to institute the 25th of December as the feast of the birth of Christ to divert them from the pagan feast, celebrated on the same day in honor of the 'Invincible Sun' Mithras, the conqueror of darkness

When was Jesus born? Nothing is absolutely certain, because we are dealing with implications and assumptions, but a good guess from the Scriptures and history is September 29, 5 B.C.

Answer 3

Early Christianity built their churches on pagan religious sites to try and take over their faiths and religions. They did the same with the winter festival and other pagan festivals in December.

If Jesus was born it was no where near December but somewhere between March and July.

Fun though seeing them worship pagan festivals at Christmas and ignore their saviors birthday.

Even better is the number of Christians who still strive to say that Christmas is his birthday proving what many people think - that there is a lot of simple ignorance involved in what they say!!!!!

Answer 4

The date isn't what matters. It's about the gift of salvation, the joy of a new age. It's celebrating the birth of our King.

Now, if somewhere down the line someone discovered Christ's actual date of birth, then fine. Maybe Christmas day will be celebrated on that date, maybe it will continue as is. The point, however, is that we remember the blessed birth of our Lord and what that means for us. That's the joy. That's the celebration.

God bless and Merry Christmas.

Answer 5

No one knows excatly when did our lord jesus christ was born. The important is that we celebrate his birth, for his birth we are save.

If you forget the birthday of someone you love, then you will not celebrate it anyway, no big deal. But even you forget it and celebrate it anyway does your loveone will be happy for you did forget him.

Jesus Christ will be happy for those who will not forget him, even in once a year........

Answer 6

This is the accepted date that we celebrate his birth; and since we do not know the correct date why bother changing it? Jesus really doesn't care about calendars, He cares about us.

Answer 7

Study the history of Yule....period...

Answer 8

the duke is right

everything is true about what he said

so pick that as the best answer

Answer 9

shopping

Answer 10

Money.