Christmas on December 25th?

[Nick the Pilot]

Hi everybody!

I thought I would share a story, as to why Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. According to the story, the date was not decided by a birth, but by a committee. It is said they took December 22nd, because it was the Winter Solstice. (The Solstice used to be on that day; it has since been shifted in modern times to December 21st.)

According to the story, the Winter Solstice (called the darkest day of the year) was chosen to signify the darkest day in the Christian tradition — the day Jesus died. As we all know, Jesus is said to have risen after three days. 22 + 3 = 25. Thus, December 25th was chosen.

...according to the story.

[bob x]

March, June, September, and December 25 were the original dates of the equinoxes and solstices in the calendar as Julius Caesar intended it. But since 365 1/4 days is not exactly the year, the dates drifted backward over the centuries. The spring equinox had shifted to March 21 by the time of the Council of Nicaea, which set the rules for fixing Easter based on that date for the beginning of spring, and that is why when the Gregorian calendar corrected the drift (by Pope Gregory's time, it had moved back to the 11th!) the dates were reset to the 21st, not back to the 25th.

[Nick the Pilot]

Bob,

That is an interesting twist to the story. Is it possible Christmas was placed on December 25th, because that was the Solstice at that time?

[wil]

What I've always heard was it was to separate those pagans, can't have some bacchanalian festival lasting for days at such a somber time. So they had to choose, and be identified and ostracized, of course today, eat, drink, be merry, gluttony and materialism have won back out.

Now the Greeks have a different day yes? But still far from Jesus's supposed real birthdate.

[bob x]

"That is an interesting twist to the story. Is it possible Christmas was placed on December 25th, because that was the Solstice at that time?"
December 25th was celebrated by the Romans as the birthday of "Sol Invictus" (the sun-god) because it was the traditional date of the solstice; and was also adopted by the Mithraists as the birthday of Mithra (also a sun-god in origin) because in Persia the sun was "reborn" every year on the winter solstice. By the time Christianity became widespread, Dec. 25 was no longer the true solstice, but was still the date of these celebrations, which the Christians decided to co-opt for their own purposes.

[mee]

True, some feel inclined to say, "It does not matter about the date, as long as we celebrate his birth." But such persons must still square such a celebration and its many pagan features with the fact that Jesus commanded his followers to commemorate his sacrificial death, not his birth.—Luke 22:29, 20.

Other fallacies have been built up around the festivities of December 25. Many have assumed that the Magi or astrologers who came bearing gifts were three in number. Do you believe that? The Scriptures leave them unnumbered. It also has been commonly assumed that the astrologers were directed straight to Jesus in Bethlehem. by a star. But the fact is that the star directed them to Jerusalem to King Herod, who wanted to kill the babe, and when they finally arrived in Bethlehem, Jesus was no longer in a manger, as is commonly believed, but he then lived in a house. Read the account yourself in your own copy of the Bible at Matthew chapter 2, verses 1-12.

[mee]

In his book The Trouble With Christmas, author Tom Flynn set out conclusions reached after years spent researching Christmas:

"An enormous number of traditions we now associate with Christmas have their roots in pre-Christian pagan religious traditions. Some of these have social, sexual, or cosmological connotations that might lead educated, culturally sensitive moderns to discard the traditions once they have understood their roots more clearly."—Page 19.

After presenting a mass of supporting information, Flynn returns to the basic point: "One of the great ironies of Christmas is how little of its content is truly Christian.

Once we dispose of the pre-Christian elements, most of what remains is post-Christian, rather than authentically Christian, in origin."—Page 155.

[wil]

I actually could care less what was of Pagan origin and what wasn't.

Bad wording the above, I do have an interest in Pagan traditions and have no issues respecting their beliefs.

But in regards to Christmas, Easter, or any day of the year I think it is the rememberance, not of the event, but that we have another chance to realize the Christ within. From Paul, I die daily, and put the mind in Christ in you. Reminding us that we grow, we need to shed the old skin and try to be better people on a regular basis. Whatever it takes to do that, whatever your method is, it is worthwhile.

One freaks because of wreaths or trees or bunnies or eggs, so be it, don't have em, don't participate. Others enjoy the fun around it, if it helps, awesome, if not let it go.

At church we have the kids and adults write letters to G!d at Christmas time. Like our letters to Santa requesting what we want as gifts and how good we been, letters to G!d are to indicate how good we want to be and how we'd like to use the gifts G!d has already provided, Love, Wisdom, Renunciation, Faith, Order, etc. Then the church sends the letter back to us in July, a reminder of our intentions, giving us the rest of the year to catch up.

Whatever it takes to learn to love your nieghbor is alright with me.