It is that time of year again. The "Christmas is a pagan holiday" crowd will be out in force claiming that celebrating Christmas on December 25th comes from paganism and should therefore be abandoned.
And let's face it, no follower of Jesus wants to be participating in something pagan. And nor do I!!
So, to not keep anyone in suspense as to the conclusion of this blog post, I will state the fact of the matter upfront: Celebrating Christmas on December 25th DID NOT originate in Roman paganism!
I blogged about this last year and will probably continue to do so annually to counter the lie of the pagan origin of Christmas - LINK
There is definitely an ongoing debate amongst Christians as to WHEN Jesus was actually born but to the surprise of many, the idea that His birth was in December (or January) is a very early belief amongst Christians. I had previously been persuaded that a September date was most likely, but after considering the evidence I will present below, I believe that a strong case can be made for December 25th (or January 6th).
So, where did the idea that Christmas on December 25th originates from paganism come from? There are basically two sources.
One would be Post-Enlightenment comparative religions scholarship; for example, the 19th-century German scholar Hermann Usener.
The other source, which has had a much greater impact on Christians, was a Scottish Presbyterian theologian named Alexander Hislop who wrote the book, The Two Babylons (1853).
The short version is this: Early Christians did not commemorate the birth of Christ. Pagan Rome commemorated Saturnalia (December 17-23) and Christians wanted to "Christianize" this important pagan Roman festival. Also, in AD 274, the pagan Roman Emperor Aurelius created the Sol Invictus festival (the Birth of the Unconquered Sun) on December 25th to commemorate the birth of the Roman Sun god. Later, Christians "stole" that date for the birth of Jesus, God's Son, from the pagans.
And this 'FAKE NEWS' story continues to be propagated as the truth, probably most strongly in recent years by Christians influenced by the Hebrew Roots Movement who make similar claims about other Christian practices (i.e. Sunday worship). I have dealt with their claims elsewhere. LINK
How do we know that Sol Invictus (AD274) is NOT the pagan origin of our December 25th Christmas?
Because we know from history that Christians believed 50+ years earlier that Jesus was born on December 25th! This was first reported in AD221 by Roman Christian historian Julius Africanus - 53 years BEFORE the pagan festival of Sol Invictus began!
What we see is actually the exact opposite of what the Enlightenment scholarship and Rev. Hislop contend. Christians didn't steal December 25th from Roman paganism, but rather, pagan Rome chose that date to in some way counter the Christian claims to its importance.
In summary, paganism actually took December 25th from Christians!
Whereas it is true that Christians at first did not in the first century commemorate the birth of Christ, we have evidence from the 2nd century (as early as AD125) that Christmas was being observed. Again, this completely undermines the claims that Christmas was invented much later in the 4th century. What is true is that it wasn't until the late 4th century that Christmas was 'officially' adopted and widely celebrated (AD379/380 in Constantinople).
Ironically, the very first claim that Christmas on December 25th was pagan did not originate with Post-Enlightenment scholarship and/or anti-Roman Catholic Protestants such as Hislop, but rather it was an Eastern Christian named Dionysius dar-Salibi, who first made the claim in the 12th Century (1100s). Why? Because Eastern Christians celebrated Christmas on January 6th! Western Christians celebrated on December 25th.
If it wasn't from Roman paganism, then how did the date of December 25th (or January 6th) actually become the date that Christians believed Jesus was born?
It came from an ancient Jewish belief which the earliest Christians also had that great men died on the anniversary of their conception. It was widely believed that Jesus died on March 25th which would mean that if His conception was also on March 25th, then His birth would have been 9 months later, December 25th. (Note: Since Eastern Christians believe April 6th to be the day of Jesus' death, they calculate His birth as January 6th)
This is the origin of the December 25th date (or January 6th), an idea that originates in Judaism.
How ironic that Hebrew Roots teachers today argue against a belief that actually had Hebrew (Jewish) Roots!!!
Notice that I have not done anything in this blog post with regard to pagan practices that have crept into Christmas celebrations through the centuries. This definitely happened. I believe we should evaluate each and every practice that we do when we celebrate Christmas.
For example, the use of garlands at Christmas originated with Christians.
The Yule Log on the other hand has its origins in either Germanic or Norse paganism.
The early church leader Tertullian around AD200 rails against the use of laurel wreaths with lights as being pagan, but it wasn't in the context of their use at Christmas.
St. Nicolas goes back to the 4th-century (AD300s) Christian Bishop of Myrna (modern-day Turkey) who is known to have secretly put gold coins into the hung stockings of three young women whose father was too poor to pay their dowries for marriage. So, regarding the modern Santa Claus; he ends up being a perversion of an original Christian hero!
But, the practice of hanging stockings and putting gifts inside (especially the chocolate gold coins!) is a thoroughly Christian tradition!
There is a debate amongst Christians about the Christmas tree and putting lights on it (originally candles). Do your own research and decide for yourselves!
I would argue that the extreme commercialization of Christmas in the past 100 years constitutes a modern pagan influence upon a Christian holiday. We can and should push against this!
I trust what you have just read will free you to celebrate the Birth of Christ this December (or January). I think followers of Christ can and should REDEEM Christmas from ways that it has been hijacked. Ways that it has been perverted.
The belief that Jesus was born in December is an ancient Christian belief that did NOT originate in paganism. (even if it was actually in September as many scholars contend).
I pray that we can and do recover, restore, and celebrate the very best of the holiday wherein we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World.
If you are interested in going deeper, here are some resources to help: LINK
Comments
Post a Comment