3 thougts on Christmas, pt. 2: How did we get Dec. 25 to be Christmas?

[Kevin H]

You know it's spring when you see the robin and the buds on the trees; you know it's Christmas when I come on talking about:

1.) How we got Christmas on December 25

2.) The story about the Kataluma in Luke, it was not a public inn, but Joseph's family that did not have room

and 3.) Christmas Tears Jesus' Hanukkah sermon. There is a big part of this season we are missing, where there is room for more sermons and songs, a very important part of the season that Satan does not want us to see, a sermon that Jesus himself gave for this season.

If you have read these in the past I hope you still enjoy them, and if you read it for the first time I hope you enjoy them.

Oh, I just got a new reference tonight on how we got December 25 for Christmas, it is a good companion to the Bible Review article of 2001, 2002 or 2003.

http://www.bib-arch.org/e-features/christmas.asp

Enjoy the Christmas season!!!!

[Kevin H]

Until a few years ago I believed like you probably do that Christmas was of pagan orgin, taken by the church in the 4th century around the time of Constantine when the church was accepted and mixing with the pagans. I've heard this in sermons and on the history channel, this has for years believed to be the orgin of Christmas ever since a church history written durring the dark ages has said this was the orgin.

I've heard that at least one professor of a medical school says to his first year students on their first day of medical school "50% of what you will learn in medical school is wrong, but right now we don't know which 50%" One of my Bible professors said "My students keep asking me if I'm going to give the same final exam this semester as I did last semester, my answer is 'the questions don't change, but you need to pay attention and study as the answers might have changed as we discover more evidence.'" and in the 1940's at the Seventh-day Adventist seminary in Washington DC a professor (Maybe Lynn Wood but I have not confermed,Felix Lorenz one of his students said "My semminary professor said...) "If you believe the same thing seven years from now that you believe today then you do not have the Holy Spirit in your life." and went on to point out that The Holy Spirit's job is to lead us into more and more truth and if we want to just stop and setttle where we are we have left the Holy Spirit.

The source that changed my mind about the orgin of Christmas is an article printed in Bible Review. It was a sister journal of Biblical Archaeology Review. It was in the November - December issue, now I forgot if the year was 2001, 2002 or 2003. Sorry I don't have the exact year but this focuses your study to three issues rather than waiding through page after page. Before you dissagree with me (or even before you agree with me), please read this article and look at the evidence it has to offer.

Although it is widely believed that the church began cellebrating Christmas in the 4th century, we now know that December 25 or January 6 (depending on eastern or western churches) was celebrated as the birth of Jesus durring the third century, 100 years before Constintine. It was celebrated by Christians in the catacombs at a time where they were refusing pagan influence, and opposed anything that appeared remotely pagan to them, yet, while those in the eastern church had no problem with January 6th, those in the western church had no problem with December 25th being the birth of Jesus as not being pagan.

So we have the two problems of:

1. December 25th being seen as the date of the birth of Jesus a full century before Constantine. And

2. It was held as acceptable by a very anti-pagan church, who would rather face death then to do anything they saw as remotely pagan.

Now it is a sad story as to how we got December 25 (or January 6) as the birth of Jesus, but it comes from the friction between Christians and Jews as Christianity emerged as a sepperate religion after 135 AD.

Durring the intertestimental period the Jews developed a traditon. The Rabbies said that we are to expect good things to happen during passover. I don't know how they reasoned this, but they said that it was passover when Abraham had the three visitors and the one, the Lord, told him that when he returns next year Sarah would have had a son. They believe that Issac was conseved on passover, and born 9 months later to the time that would corrispond to our late December and early January. Furthermore they taught that it was also passover where Abraham took Issac to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice him and provided the ram in his place.

Mary and Joseph were taught this lesson as children cellebrating passover. Peter and John were taught this when they were cellebrating passover as children. This was Jewish tradition by the time of Christ. Part of the passover celebration was the story of Abraham being promiced Issac and the trip to Mt. Moriah, and some time aroud Hanukkah they would also think about the birth of Issac.

As the church and synogogue split, both groups wante to teach that they were better than the other. The second century church (the century before December 25th seen as the birth of Jesus. and 200 years before Constantine) Christians in their arguing with the Jews said that Jesus was better than Issac because like Issac, it was passover when the angel went to Mary and she became pregnant with Jesus, and then Jesus was sacrificed on passover and that Jesus actually could go through with the sacrifice as he was the true sacrifice and Issac was only a forshadowing of Jesus.

The church began cellebrating the feast on the anouncation durring passover. After a while they decided to stop keeping the Jewish callender and start keeping the callender the rest of the world was keeping. They then began keeping the feast of the anounciation on the same date on the main calender. The year they decided to do this the Jews in Rome and the west had held passover on March 25, and the Jews in Greece celebrated passover on April 6. So for the rest of the second century and into the third century Christians cellebrated the feast of the announciation on March 25th in the west and April 6 in the east. The next step was adding 9 months to the announciation and you had the birth of Jesus, again in the west the date was December 25th and the east January 6th.

Now I'm sure that there were changes in the celebration after Constantine, as well as more emphessess on the birth than on the annunciation, but rather than just picking a pagan holiday durring the 4th century, by this time the church had already accepted December 25th as the birth of Jesus for a century, with 2 centuries of cellebrating his annunciation on passover then March 25th, based on the belief that Issac was conseved on Passover, born around Hannukkah and sacrficed on passover and that Issac was a foreshadowing of Jesus who the second century Christians were saying also had his mother become pregnant on passover born just after Hanukkah and sacrificed at passover.

Now I don't know if there is any evidence for Issac being conseved on Passover or the Angel visiting Mary on Passover, so I don't think that December 25th is the birth of Jesus. But we have to deal with the facts that December 25th comes from Jewish legend as opposed to paganism, and had been celebrated by Christians 100 years before our traditional history places when the church started celebrate Christmas, with March 25 being celebrated as the Annunciation two hundred years before our popular history says the church started cellebrating Dec. 25.

Now I don't know if this has a role to play in it or not, I'm just thinking of something else in the ancient world that might play a role. Easter in the ancient world would have a precession bringing the gods to their temples. The priests carrying the gods would walk 6 steps and the king would offer an ox and falings and the king would dance before the god with all his might wearing a linen ephod and would bring the god to the temple with shoulding and the sound of the trumpet. In Canaan the Canaanites would sing "Lift up your head all ye gods and be lifted up ye everlasting ones; and the king of glory shall come in." "who is this king of glory?" "Baal, strong and mighty, Baal mighty in battle, Lift up your heads O ye gods even lift them up ye everlasting ones and the king of glory shall come in" "Who is this king of glory?" "Baal of hosts, he is the king of glory" and they set the god in it's place in the temple and teh king would offer burned offerings and peace offerings then the king would bless the people and give to everyone a cake of bread (hot crossed buns) a good piece of flesh and a flagon of wine and everyone would depart to their house and try to have children. When the king went to the queen, if she happened to conseve that day the first born would have been the promised one for the throne. If the royal couple did not conseve in this event the other sons would fight over who was to be next.

We find David trying this and wanting to go to Michal, to have had a child with was a decendent of both David and Saul, conseved on Easter Sunday would have really have streanthed David's throne and would have prevented fighting in the family for who to replace David. Sadly Michal had been so hurt by things David did to get his throne that she refused to cooperate. A message that you better be careful as to how you treat your wifes. And David's children ended up fighting to take over the throne. Anyway, as Easter is near passover I wonder if this practice was applied back to Isaac. Anyway a child of promise conseved at this time would have been born around Dec. 25 give or take some. I have not read any connection but it makes sense to me for the reason the Rabbies came to say that Isaac was conseved on Passorver and born nine months later.

I hope this helps

[phkrause]

Interesting post Kevin

pk