ViaCrucis
Confessional Lutheran
- Oct 2, 2011
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Beware the leaven of the internet crackpots, for they speak as if they are knowledgeable, but are unable to cite their sources or present credible substantiations to their claims.
Here are some common misconceptions:
- Christmas is based on the Roman feast of Saturnalia, which was observed on December 25th.
A. This is false, the Roman Saturnalia began on December 17th, and depending on the time could last between for several days. At its longest, Saturnalia ended on December 23rd.
Saturnalia - Wikipedia
- Christmas is based on the Roman celebration of Mithras, who was born on December 25th.
A. This is false, the Roman Mithraicism did not have a "birthday" celebration for Mithras, because, in fact, Mithras wasn't born. Rather Mithras was said to have emerged as a fully formed adult male from solid rock. Mithraic art of the "birth" of Mithras from antiquity has been preserved and is well attested to:
- Christmas originated as a borrowing of the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, or the Birth Day of the Unconquered Sun, which occurred on December 25th.
A. Pure conjecture. The Cult of Sol Invictus originated in the mid 3rd century under Emperor Aurelian, though a cultus of the sun had developed earlier in the 3rd century, especially under Emperor Elagabalus, who prior to his ascension to purple had been a priest of a Syrian solar deity, as such Elagabalus favored the worship of the sun. But it was Aurelian who sought to unify the various solar cults under a single religious cultus, that of Sol Invictus.
The problem here is that Christians had already been discussing the timing of Christ's birth well before any of this. There were several theories, the most prominent was that since Christ was perfect His life must be perfect, and thus He died on the same day that He had either been conceived or born. It was already well accepted in the early Church that Jesus had been crucified on a March 25th, and so it was proposed that He must have either been born on March 25th or conceived on March 25th. Those who argued for His conception on March 25th simply added nine months to get the birth date of December 25th. As such those who favored December 25th were doing so by calculating around March 25th (this is also why, later on, March 25th became the Feast of the Annunciation).
Of course this wasn't the only idea. It was also common in the ancient Church to use the already established celebration of Epiphany (January 6th) to celebrate Christ's birth. This is why, even today, the Armenian Apostolic Church (the ancient and historic Church of Armenia) celebrates Christmas on January 6th, not December 25th.
Adding to all this is that while our earliest record for Christmas on an official calendar is the Philocalian Calendar of 354 (aka the Chronograph of 354), this also happens to be the earliest mention of the Pagan Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. Keeping in mind that in 354 while Christianity had already been made legal by the Edict of Toleration and the Edict of Milan, the Roman Empire was still very much a pluralistic society, though one in which Christians were increasingly given preferential treatment under the Constantinian Dynasty (granted, this was turbulent itself given the frequent imperial favor of the Arians over the Nicenes).
It is therefore simply unclear whether Christian Christmas or Pagan Dies Natalis come first, but it is clear that Christians were already discussing these things well before the Cult of Sol Invictus had been established. What is unclear is whether the settled date of December 25th was in response to Paganism (in order to try and quench Pagan practice and encourage Christian practice) or is entirely indepentant. I suspect the truth is probably somewhere between the two--it would have been beneficial for those interested in trying to emphasize Christianity and squash Paganism in the Roman Empire to replace Pagan things with Christian things. But this wasn't happening in a vacuum, it was something Christians were already doing anyway--nothing new is being introduced.
So what about Christmas trees? The earliest Christmas trees date to the late 16th century in Germany, and usually associated with early Protestants, especially Martin Luther. The actual origins of the Christmas tree is difficult to pinpoint, but--again--pagan origin is tenuous conjecture at best. There's not much similarity between the Christmas tree and the sacred oaks of the ancient Pagan Saxons--and there are hundreds of years between the two. Any connection between the two is absolutely tenuous.
Santa Claus is, as has been discussed throughout this thread, a modern amalgam of various traditions and folklore that are derived from St. Nicolas of Myra; most of American Santa folklore is very modern in fact--and we've done a pretty good job of commercializing and exporting that elsewhere in the world.
Gift-giving was traditionally associated with the Feast of St. Nicolas, though winter time gift giving has been common for a long time. This is something that can be said to have legitimate Pagan origins, as while Saturnalia ceased to be celebrated in the late Roman Empire, people did continue to give gifts. With St. Nicolas' Feast Day being placed on December 6th, and given Nicolas' renown generosity as a gift-giver, this custom stuck around for a long time.
Why hang stockings? Well originally Dutch children placed their shoes outside by the front door, so that Sinterklass (St. Nicolas) could put a gold coin (a Dutch guilder) in them. This practice came to North America through the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, which was renamed New York after the English took it over. Santa Claus started coming down chimneys, instead of through the front door, an image made popular Clement Clarke Moore's 1823 poem, A Visit From St. Nicolas, aka 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.
The truth is ultimately that Christmas began as a Christian celebration of Christ's birth. And it has continued to be that throughout the centuries.
Christmas trees, giving gifts, Santa Claus, etc are all, at the very worst, harmless and benign fluff that adds a little fun and jolliness to our lives.
So this Christmas season as a Christian one has two choices:
Celebrate Jesus, enjoy the time you can spend with friends and family. Drink the eggnog, sing some carols, smile, laugh, and remember that God loves us.
Or go around saying "bah, humbug!", ignore Jesus, and try and suck all the joy, fun, and liveliness from people.
I know what the right choice to make is, and it's not the second one.
-CryptoLutheran
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