Why Christmas is on December 25th
Why Christmas is on December 25th
December 10, 2014 by Erick Erickson
One of the most popular theories and commonly taught explanations for why Christmas is on Dec. 25th is because the early church placed Christian holidays at times of Roman celebration to co-opt the local pagan festivals.
Christians placed Christmas on Dec. 25th to co-opt Saturnalia, the mid-winter festival, or possibly the Festival of the Unconquered Sun — Sol Invictus. The theory went that Christians could get the heathen to convert by co-opting their own holidays.
There is one problem — it sounds more convincing than it is. These theories did not start growing until the 12th century and only became popular once comparative religion became trendy after the 18th century.
Going back to the earliest Christian church finds evidence that Christmas, though not initially celebrated, had starting being commemorated well before the Feast of the Unconquered Sun’s creation for entirely Christian reasons.
In Egypt, less than 300 years after Christ’s death, some Christians celebrated his birth in the spring. As the Biblical Archeology Society has noted, the earliest references to Christmas come at about 200 A.D., at a time Christians were not incorporating other religious traditions into their own.
By 300 A.D., many Christians were celebrating his birth around Dec. 25th. Within 100 years, Christmas was on the calendar record. Christians looked to December because the early church was far more interested in Jesus’s death. His death and resurrection is what matters to the Gospel, and that was the date the early church focused on.
“Around 200 A.D., Tertullian of Carthage reported the calculation that the 14th of Nisan in the year Jesus died was the equivalent to March 25 in the Roman calendar,” said Andrew McGowan last year at the Biblical Archaeology Society. That would be the day of Crucifixion. The math from there is rather simple. Nine months later would be Dec. 25. Early church history held as fact that the prophets and martyrs of the church were conceived on the day they died.
So if Christ died on March 25, it was also the anniversary of his conception.
Separately, and more directly from the Bible, Luke 1 tells us Zacharias, John the Baptist’s father, was in the priestly division of Abijah. Based on a calculation of this and the division of priest in the temple in 70 A.D. when the temple fell, a number of early Church historians presumed Zacharias would have been in the temple in early October. Later historians, however, speculate it would have been June.
The Gospel of Luke tells us when Zacharias left the temple, his wife conceived. “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazaerth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David,” Luke 1:25-26 notes.
Six months after Zacharias left the temple would be March as Mary’s time of conception. Fast forward nine months and again we find ourselves in December.
To continue reading, please go to the original article here:
https://www.redstate.com/erick/2014/12/10/why-christmas-is-on-december-25th/
Saturnalia History.Com Editors
Updated: Aug 21, 2018 original: Dec 5, 2017
Saturnalia, held in mid-December, is an ancient Roman pagan festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn. Saturnalia celebrations are the source of many of the traditions we now associate with Christmas.
What Is Saturnalia?
Saturnalia, the most popular holiday on the ancient Roman calendar, derived from older farming-related rituals of midwinter and the winter solstice, especially the practice of offering gifts or sacrifices to the gods during the winter sowing season.
The pagan celebration of Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture and time, began as a single day, but by the late Republic (133-31 B.C.) it had expanded to a weeklong festival beginning December 17. (On the Julian calendar, which the Romans used at the time, the winter solstice fell on December 25.)
How The Romans Celebrated Saturnalia
During Saturnalia, work and business came to a halt. Schools and courts of law closed, and the normal social patterns were suspended.
People decorated their homes with wreaths and other greenery, and shed their traditional togas in favor of colorful clothes known as synthesis. Even slaves did not have to work during Saturnalia, but were allowed to participate in the festivities; in some cases, they sat at the head of the table while their masters served them.
Instead of working, Romans spent Saturnalia gambling, singing, playing music, feasting, socializing and giving each other gifts. Wax taper candles called cerei were common gifts during Saturnalia, to signify light returning after the solstice.
On the last day of Saturnalia celebrations, known as the Sigillaria, many Romans gave their friends and loved ones small terracotta figurines known as signillaria, which may have referred back to older celebrations involving human sacrifice.
Saturnalia was by far the jolliest Roman holiday; the Roman poet Catullus famously described it as “the best of times.” So riotous were the festivities that the Roman author Pliny reportedly built a soundproof room so that he could work during the raucous celebrations.
Temple Of Saturn And Other Saturnalia Customs
Constructed in the fourth century A.D. to replace an earlier temple, the Temple of Saturn in Rome served as the ceremonial center of later Saturnalia celebrations. On the first day of the festivities, a young pig would often be publicly sacrificed at the temple, which was located in the northwest corner of the Roman Forum.
The cult statue of Saturn in the temple traditionally had woolen bonds tied around his feet, but during Saturnalia these bonds were loosened to symbolize the god’s liberation.
In many Roman households, a mock king was chosen: the Saturnalicius princeps, or “leader of Saturnalia,” sometimes also called the “Lord of Misrule.” Usually a lowlier member of the household, this figure was responsible for making mischief during the celebrations—insulting guests, wearing crazy clothing, chasing women and girls, etc.
The idea was that he ruled over chaos, rather than the normal Roman order. The common holiday custom of hiding coins or other small objects in cakes is one of many dating back to Saturnalia, as this was a method of choosing the mock king.
Is Christmas A Pagan Holiday?
Thanks to the Roman Empire’s conquests in Britain and the rest of Europe from the second century B.C. to the fourth century A.D.—and their suppression of older seasonal rites practiced by the Celts and other groups—today’s Western cultures derive many of their traditional celebrations of midwinter from Saturnalia.
The Christian holiday of Christmas, especially, owes many of its traditions to the ancient Roman festival, including the time of year Christmas is celebrated. The Bible does not give a date for Jesus’ birth; in fact, some theologians have concluded he was probably born in spring, as suggested by references to shepherds and sheep in the Nativity story.
To continue reading, please go to the original article here:
https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/saturnalia
Why is Christmas on December 25?
12 | 12 | 2019
The official purpose of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, whom the world's 2.4 billion Christians worship as the Son of God. The unofficial purpose is to spend time and exchange gifts with loved ones, preferably near a warm fireplace.
Based on the fact that Christmas (short for "Christ Mass") takes place on December 25, one might reasonably deduce that this is the date of Jesus' birth. The truth is a little more complicated
First of all, no one can say with any real certainty precisely when Jesus was actually born. (Some even think it took place in the spring!)
The timing is further complicated by the discrepancies between the Gregorian and Julian calendars, which is why Christmas isn't universally celebrated on December 25; January 6 is the preferred date for Armenian Apostolics (fun fact: Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion), while most Oriental and Eastern Orthodox churches observe it on January 7.
One of the most widely accepted theories involves the Winter Solstice, which in Ancient Rome took place on December 25. According to the fourth-century theologian Augustine of Hippo, Jesus chose to be born the shortest day of the year: "Hence it is that He was born on the day which is the shortest in our earthly reckoning and from which subsequent days begin to increase in length.
He, therefore, who bent low and lifted us up chose the shortest day, yet the one whence light begins to increase." This interpretation was later supported by Isaac Newton.
Another theory centers around the Annunciation, or the day that the Archangel Gabriel told Mary she would give birth to the Son of God, which is observed on March 25 — or exactly nine months before December 25.
Beyond the date, the actual year Jesus was born isn't agreed on either. There was no actual year 0, of course — remember that BC stands for "Before Christ" and AD means "anno Domini," or "in the year of our Lord" — and most scholars place his birth between the years 6 BC and 1 BC.
Whatever the case, Christmas taking place on December 25 is hardly a new phenomenon: Constantine, the first Christian Roman Emperor, decreed that it be held on that date in 336.
To continue reading, please go to the original article here:
https://www.triviagenius.com/why-is-christmas-on-december-25/
Why Is Christmas Celebrated on December 25?
Sarah Pruitt Updated: Dec 3, 2019 Original: Dec 24, 2012
Most Christians today probably can’t imagine Christmas on any other day than December 25, but it wasn’t always that way. In fact, for the first three centuries of Christianity’s existence, Jesus Christ’s birth wasn’t celebrated at all.
The religion’s most significant holidays were Epiphany on January 6, which commemorated the arrival of the Magi after Jesus’ birth, and Easter, which celebrated Jesus’ resurrection. The first official mention of December 25 as a holiday honoring Jesus’ birthday appears in an early Roman calendar from 336 A.D.
But was Jesus really born on December 25 in the first place? Probably not. The Bible doesn’t mention his exact birthday, and the Nativity story contains conflicting clues. For instance, the presence of shepherds and their sheep suggest a spring birth.
When church officials settled on December 25 at the end of the third century, they likely wanted the date to coincide with existing pagan festivals honoring Saturn (the Roman god of agriculture) and Mithra (the Persian god of light). That way, it became easier to convince Rome’s pagan subjects to accept Christianity as the empire’s official religion
The celebration of Christmas spread throughout the Western world over the next several centuries, but many Christians continued to view Epiphany and Easter as more important.
Some, including the Puritans of colonial New England, even banned its observance because they viewed its traditions—the offering of gifts and decorating trees, for example—as linked to paganism.
In the early days of the United States, celebrating Christmas was considered a British custom and fell out of style following the American Revolution. It wasn’t until 1870 that Christmas became a federal holiday.
To continue reading, please go to the original article here:
https://www.history.com/news/why-is-christmas-celebrated-on-december-25
The True Origins Of Your Favorite Christmas Traditions
12 | 12 | 2019
It’s almost that time of year again when we travel from near and far to spend time with friends and family for the holidays. Even if you’re not a big fan of the Christmas season, you’re probably familiar with some of the more well-known traditions such as Christmas trees, yule logs, eggnog, and gift-giving.
But where did these traditions come from? Hold onto your hats because Christmas is one of many Christian holidays with an origin that’s going to surprise you.
Christmas trees
One of the most iconic symbols of the Christmas season is, of coure, the tree. Early Christians decided to “borrow” an ancient pagan holiday known as Saturnalia, and thus, they borrowed other symbols and incorporated them into Christian celebrations.
The classic Christmas tree is yet another item the Christians borrowed from pagan religions. In particular, the Romans were fond of fir trees during Saturnalia. And as Saturnalia gave way to Christmas, the fir tree continued to be used.
Christmas stockings
We don’t know about your house, but many people start their Christmas Day celebrations by opening their stockings for little gifts. This is one tradition that is firmly rooted in Christianity. There are competing origin stories for Christmas stockings — some of which are controversial.
But of them, the most popular include one that also serves as the origin story for a more secular Christmas symbol — Santa Claus. We won’t give that one away because Santa is also on this list. But the other story centers on a wealthy man and his daughters and their recent bad luck that left them poor. Naturally, the father was worried that his daughters wouldn’t be able to marry well.
As luck would have it, St. Nicholas passed through their town and tossed three big bags of gold coins down the man’s chimney — and those bags magically fit perfectly in the daughters’ stockings that were drying by the fireplace.
Santa Claus
While Santa Claus has some improbable qualities, he is based on a real man. If we go back in time to the third and fourth century, you’ll also find the origin story for a famous Catholic saint, Saint Nicholas. Incidentally, he has his own celebratory day, December 6.
But more importantly, the real Saint Nicholas was a Greek bishop who later became the Bishop of Myra (a town in Greece). The real Nicholas was nothing like the jolly plump Santa Claus that most of us imagine.
The real Saint Nicholas lived during a time when Christianity was still a bit of a fringe religion and when those who overtly practiced it could be persecuted. Because he defied the local laws against Christianity, Saint Nicholas was imprisoned until he (and other Christians) were freed by Constantine.
However, during his time as a bishop, he was known for his generosity and his defense of vulnerable groups. And that persona led to his sainthood as well as the fact that he is often considered the patron saint of nearly everyone.
Gift giving
It would seem like Christmas and gift-giving go together like peanut butter and jelly. But it turns out that of all the traditions we most closely associate with the holiday, exchanging gifts is a fairly modern invention. The next time you participate in a Secret Santa gift exchange, give Queen Victoria a shout out.
Prior to the mid-1800s, gift giving was considered a distraction from the real reason for the season — to celebrate Jesus Christ. But during Queen Victoria’s reign, she routinely gave gifts to her husband and children at Christmas. And the queen was so influential that her subjects also began to enjoy gift exchanges.
Mistletoe
What could be more romantic than stealing a smooch under a bit of mistletoe? This classic lover’s twist on Christmas has been brought to you by the Celtic Druids. Yes, again, here’s another Christmas tradition borrowed from pagan culture. The Druids valued mistletoe because it was a symbol of fertility.
No one really knows how mistletoe made the jump from a pagan to a Christmas symbol, but we do know that mistletoe was first popularized as a Christmas accent in English households during the 18th century.
To continue reading, please go to the original article here:
https://www.triviagenius.com/the-true-origins-of-your-favorite-christmas-traditions-2/