Basic HTML Version
INCREASE
YüUR
BIBLE IQ
Christmas
Befare Christ?
H
UNDREDS
of mill ions of people
around the world are looking forward to the
Christmas holiday season. Families will soon
be busy putting up Christmas decorations.
Holly, mistletoe and evergreen will deck the
house. And just the right tree will be chosen
and decorated with tinsel and ornaments.
Christmas is traditionally the time when
presents are exchanged. A time to sing carols,
admire colorful twinkling lights, to roast
chestnuts in the fireplace and burn the Yule
log. lt's when fam ily and friends get together
for a sumptuous Christmas dinner.
Yet, paradoxically, Christmas is also the time of
year when suicides, family fights, depression and
drunkenness reach a peak!
Stop and think for a moment. Very few have ever
reflected on why they believe what they do-why
they follow the customs they do, or where those
customs carne from. Having been born into this
world with its religious customs, most people
naturally accept the customs and beliefs of society
without question.
Have you ever wondered how and when Chr istmas
originated? Does it
really
celebrate the birthday of
Christ? Was Jesus really born December 25? Did
the original apostles, whom Jesus taught personally,
celebrate his birthday?
Let 's begin this eye-opening study and discover
the surprising answers!
Non-Christian Origin of Chr1stmas
l.
Wbat does tbe Bible reveal about weather and
farming conditions surrounding the time of year when
20
Christ was born? Luke 2:6-8, especially verse 8.
COMMENT: Many encyclopedias and other historical
sources point out that Christ's birth could
not
have
occurred in the month of December. The shepherds in
Judea always brought their flocks in from the
mountainsides and fields and corralled them no later
than mid-October! They did this to protect the sheep
and themselves from the cold rains that followed. The
Bible itself shows that winter in Judea is the rainy
season (Song of Solomon 2: 11; Ezra 10:9, 13).
Encyclopedias and other reference works all show
that the exact date of Christ's birth is
unknown.
If
Jesus Christ had intended for us to celebrate his
birthday, then he would have commanded that it be
done and revealed the exact date in the Bible. But he
did not. ·
There is no biblical record of Christ, his apostles or
his Church having observed his birthday. Rather, the
apostle Paul commanded true Christians to
commemorate the date of his
death
(ICor. ll :24-26).
Since Jesus was not even born in December, what
about the various customs and traditions associated
with Christmas? Have we assumed that the customs
of this most-observed religious holiday stem from
Christian origins?
Christmas customs and practices date long before
Christ! According to the
Encyclopaedia Britannica,
"Christmas customs are an evolution from times that
long antedate the Christian period- a descent from
seasonal, pagan, religious and national practices,
hedged about with legend and t radition" {15th
edition, article, "Christmas").
The
Encyclopedia Americana,
1944 edition,
further explains: "It was, according to many
authorities, not celebrated in the first centuries of
the Christian church, as the Christian usage in
general .was to celebrate the death of remarkable
persons rather than their birth.. .. A feast was
established in memory of this event [Christ's birth]
in the fourth century. In the fifth century the
Western Church ordered it to be celebrated forever
on the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of
Sol [the sun], as no certain knowledge of the day of
Christ's birth existed."
These authoritative reference works further state
that many familiar Christmas trappings such as the
holly wreath, mistletoe and the Yule log are relics of
pre-Christian times!
2. A common custom during the Christmas
holidays is to cut down an evergreen tree and
The
PLAIN TRUTH