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History of Christmas

As we shall see, the traditions, customs, and stories of the Advent Season seemingly have Christian roots, yet in fact they mostly have secular sources. Some are legendary, and others are firmly rooted in history.

First and the foremost question being:

Could the Christ Jesus have been born during winter, as the Christmas cards depict, with snow on the ground? December was the season during which there are snow on the ground, snow falls 3 to 4 days a year in Palestine. In January on 1950 there was 20 inches on the ground in Israel. Would there have been sheep in the fields, ie. "...while shepherds watched their flocks by night..."? It is obviously not possible that there could have been sheeps in the fields in winter. Sheep destined for sacrifice at the Temple in Jerusalem were kept year round near Bethlehem at Beit Sahur, the "Tower of the Flock" but not out in the field. This was where the supply of sheeps were taken for the sacrifices. This begs the question: Where did they come to pick the date, December 25^th, as the supposed season and time of the Lord Jesus' birth?

It is ironic that the event that is the anchor for our current system of dating, i.e. BC and AD, should itself be unknown with any certainty. The Christmas feast itself was not among the earliest festivals of the church and did not enjoy general celebration until the 4th century. Agreement on the date of December 25 (in the West at least) did not occur until the early 5th century. The Eastern church's celebration is on January 6. It may be that Christmas was fixed at the end of December to supersede the pagan Roman 'Saturnalia', many of whose customs survive into the modern holiday. The ancient Romans decorated with holly, mistletoe, and evergreen and exchanged gifts and feasted. December 25 was the 'natalis invicti solis' or the birthday of the unconquerable sun, their date of the winter solstice, when the sun had reached its southernmost point and now began its northern climb in the skies as the days grew longer. December 25 was now to be known for the birth of the unconquerable Son.

Knowing the errors of the practices of the worldly people around us, we should of course not endorse the erroneous practice by engaging in the same activities and traditions of the season, which proves to be of man's origin. Having said that, we should definitely thank the Lord throughout the year, not just during a particular season, for His birth as the One Who has indeed saved us from our sins, our sin, the world, satan, and our old man. More importantly, we should be thankful to the Lord for His death and resurrection, which brought about our salvation and regeneration! For this reason, we have the Lord's table weekly to remember and to offer our heartfelt thanksgiving to Him. Our praise and thanksgiving at the Lord's table brings glory and honor to the Lord more than any outward traditional practices of this season.