Christmas in SDA History

[Gregory Matthews]

For an article on Christmas in SDA history see:

Adventist Review Online | CHRISTMAS IN OUR ADVENTIST PAST

 

NOTE:  My comment attached to that article on the history of Chrismon trees may interest you.

 

 

[Kevin H]

Excellent article, including the issues over how we got December 25 (or January 6/7) as the birth of Jesus. Bible Review gave an excellent article that tried to make more sense out of the evidence in either their 2001, 2002 or 2003 issue, and Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) has ran other articles, usually in their December issues. I have made a number of posts trying to summarize these articles. This information is trickling down from the theologians into journals like BAR (For a few years they tried splitting into two journals one focused more on archaeology the other on Bible studies as Bible Review, but then the two again merged back into BAR). 

Christians tend to celebrate Christmas in one of two ways. One is respecting the world around us, and since we don't know just when Jesus was born, but it is a wonderful event to celebrate that we can celebrate any time of the year, we respect where our culture celebrates and use it as a time to remember the birth of Jesus, share Jesus and share the joy of enjoying the families that God has given us. If we connect this with the story of the raising of Lazarus (which John connects to Hanukkah) we get even a deeper message of God's love for family and an Adventist message looking forward to the resurrection!

The other way is to put down the outside world, to see ourselves as better since we "don't celebrate" Christmas. But even their annual "It's pagan, and you are wrong" is a way of celebrating. 

These two ways reflect two quotes in the Desire of Ages:

Quote

When we love the world as he [Jesus] has loved it then for us his mission is accomplished we are fitted for heaven for we have heaven in our hearts

Quote

 

 

The other comes from the communion chapter:

Quote

There is in man a disposition to esteem himself above his breathern, to serve self to seek the highest place and often this results in evil surmisings and bitterness of spirit

Now what is sad about the discoveries about how we got December 25 to be Christmas is that it was related to the synagogue/church split starting in 135 AD, and building upon two intertestamental Jewish traditions that were applied to Jesus in a way to make Jesus and Christianity superior to Judaism. I am more comfortable with the old understanding of us taking it from the Pagans when it comes to this aspect (after all the Biblical Feasts of the Land were connected to the agricultural cycle of the land and thus was celebrated by the Canaanites long before the birth of Abraham. The Bible teaches what the Hebrews could keep from the Canaanite celebration, and what was absolutely forbidden and how to re apply it to celebrating God's love and teach the plan of redemption instead of trying to help Baal and the gods of life get victory over leviathan and the gods of death.) 

[stinsonmarri]

On 12/3/2020 at 7:47 AM, Gregory Matthews said:

For an article on Christmas in SDA history see:

Adventist Review Online | CHRISTMAS IN OUR ADVENTIST PAST

 

NOTE:  My comment attached to that article on the history of Chrismon trees may interest you.

 

 

Michael W. Campbell is a compromiser! Christmas is a lie and we are not to bear false witness. There is no Scripture anywhere in the Bible to celebrate YAHSHUA'S Birth, if so show it! The Catholic church made this up so you worship both Saturnila and Mithras who the pagans claim they both were born on December the 25th. YAHSHUA was born some time during the Unleavened Bread: Luk 2:42 The word feast is pagan word and was introduced by the Pagan Roman's. YAHWEH called them Holy Convocations and when YAHSHUA turned 12 years old during that week, HE travel with HIS mother and father to Jerusalem. I lived in Jerusalem and shepards do not watch their sheep in the winter months or the fall. This the beginning of the rainy season. They take their sheep out during the Spring!

Israeli has two seasons: winter (late Oct to mid-Mar), which is cool to cold and when the rains occur, and summer (Apr–Oct), which is warm to hot and virtually rain-free. Winter in Israel starts with showers in October and advances to periodic heavy rainfall from November to March. When to Go | Frommer's

Why is Christmas celebrated on December 25th? The popular answer is that it is Jesus’ birthday. However, it is necessary to reconsider that belief, No records exist in the Bible, or elsewhere, suggesting Jesus was born on that date. If it was not the birth of Christ which set Christmas Day apart from others in the calendar, what was it? To find out, you need to take look at ancient Persian and pagan traditions.

First, let’s take a quick look at why Christmas probably wasn’t Jesus’ day of birth. As the Catholic Encyclopaedia states “there is no month in the year to which respectable authorities have not assigned Christ's birth” ( Catholic Encyclopaedia ). That being said, there are several reasons supporting the idea that Jesus wasn’t born in December. Luke 2:8 states that on the night of Jesus' birth “there were also in that same country shepherds living out of doors and keeping watches in the night over their flocks.” Scholars tend to agree that it is highly unlikely that shepherds were out with their flocks in the cold winter month.

Luke 2:1-4 also claims that Joseph and Mary were traveling to Bethlehem to register in a Roman census when Jesus was born. These censuses were not known to have occurred in winter - also making it improbable to link Jesus’ birthday with the day now called Christmas.

 

Okay, so Jesus probably wasn’t born on December 25th. Yet other important events did fall at that time of year for ancient pagans. The most well-known of these celebrations were Saturnalia and the birthday of the Sun God, Mithra. Originally, Saturnalia was held on December 17th, though the festival eventually was extended until December 25. This celebration honored Saturn, the God of Sowing and Husbandry, and was linked to the rise of a new year and the return of light. Ancient Romans would celebrate this date with a public banquet, giving gifts, partying, and holding a sacrifice in the Temple of Saturn.

Roman Pagans who worshipped Mithras believed he was born on December 25th - the most holy day of the year for many ancient believers. This was a well-known cult for the Roman military in the 1st to 4th centuries AD. But Mithras is a god who has his origins in Persia beginning around the 6th century BC. The proto-Indo-Iranian language calls him ‘Mitra’, but that name was later adapted into Greek as ‘Mithras’. Many scholars believe that Roman soldiers discovered this god while completing military campaigns in Persia.

The Mithraic New Year and Mithras’ birthday were celebrated on 25 December. The date was part of the Roman Natalis Invicti festival – a celebration linked to worshipping the sun in general.

When Constantine converted to Christianity in the 4th century, he may not have imagined how difficult it would be to convert pagans into Christians. To ease the transition, the birth of Jesus became associated with pagan holidays which fell in December. As the Pagan holidays gained Christian significance, it was decided that the birthday of the Sun God should also be the birthday of the Son of God. The Catholic Encyclopaedia quotes an early Christian stating, "O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born.... Christ should be born." Ancient Origins © 2013 - 2020

And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if YAHWEH be ELOHIYM, follow HIM: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 1Ki 18:21  

 And he shall speak great words against THE MOST HIGH and shall wear out the saints of THE MOST HIGH and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. Dan 7:25

 But HE answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the Commandment of ELOHIYM by your tradition? Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto ME with their mouth, and honoureth ME with their lips; but their heart is far from ME But in vain they do worship ME, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Mat 15:3, 7-9

Happy Sabbath!

 

[B/W Photodude]

I recall one statement from SOP where Sister Ellen referred to Christmas and noted it becomes a bright spot in a long bleak winter for much of those living in the Northern Hemisphere. And much charity work gets done around Christmas that in all likelihood would not happen if there were no Christmas. There has been put together a book of writings of Sister Ellen's where Christmas quotes have been compiled.

https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/757/toc

I guess we could get stingy and just cancel Christmas since there are "no verses in the Bible" mandating it. 

[stinsonmarri]

1 hour ago, B/W Photodude said:

https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/757/toc

I guess we could get stingy and just cancel Christmas since there are "no verses in the Bible" mandating it. 

EGW is not THE MOST HIGH, she also said to take the Bible. Find it in the Bible, trinity is not there, neither is the National Sunday law. Christmas is pagan started by Constantine the Great! More suicides are during this time of the year. You are celebrating Mithras and Saturnalia! The name Christmas came from Mithras!

All of you who are so against homosexual, well you need to read the history of the mistletoe! Wreath stands for death!

The tradition of man or the Commandments of YAHWEH, make your choice!

Blessings! 

[Gustave]

On 12/5/2020 at 7:21 PM, stinsonmarri said:

EGW is not THE MOST HIGH, she also said to take the Bible. Find it in the Bible, trinity is not there, neither is the National Sunday law. Christmas is pagan started by Constantine the Great! More suicides are during this time of the year. You are celebrating Mithras and Saturnalia! The name Christmas came from Mithras!

All of you who are so against homosexual, well you need to read the history of the mistletoe! Wreath stands for death!

The tradition of man or the Commandments of YAHWEH, make your choice!

Blessings! 

You should re-read that article Gregory posted about Christmas again and remember that the wheel was created by Pagans. 

[Kevin H]

There were Christians hiding from pagans in the catacombs 100 years before Constantine who believed that Jesus was born on December 25, and there were Christians believing that Jesus was born first 9 months after Passover and then 9 months after March 25 (or April 6) about 200 years before Constantine. And sometime during the intertestamental period there was a tradition formed that said that Isaac was born 9 months after Passover.

200 years before Constantine, some early Christians was taking the idea that Isaac was born 9 months after Passover and applied it to Jesus to say that Christianity was better than Judaism because Isaac was a type and Jesus was the anti-type who was also born 9 months after Passover. Then one year where the Jews in the west saw Passover falling on March 25 and in Greece saw Passover falling on April 6, several of the Christians who believed this stopped seeing Jesus as being born 9 months after Passover to him being born either 9 months after March 25 or 9 months after April 6.