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Behind the modern observance
of an ancient pagan holiday
-
now clothed in religious re–
spectability
-
is
an urgent
need within every human
being. Here 's how that need
shou/d be filled.
~
SEASON
to be jolly
is
nearly
J.
~pon
us again. With it will
come parties, gifts, family
get-togetbers - and very likely a
stern reminder not to forget the
"real meaning of Christmas."
Such an admonition stems from a
sincere desire to circumvent the bla–
tant, overwhelming commercialism
of the season. But as usual, the
warning will be almost totally ig–
nored, and understandably so. The
"real" meaning of the holiday has
always been annoyingly vague.
What parent hasn't felt the obli–
gation to explain to children that
Christmas is "when we celebrate
Jesus' birtbday"? At the same time,
it is common knowledge tbat no ac–
curate date for the birth of Christ
has ever been establisbed. To con–
fuse matters further, the alleged
birthday of Christ has come to be
inescapably associated with a fat
roan secretly bearing gifts in the
night, decorated evergreen trees,
and all the other traditional Christ–
mas paraphernalia.
A closer look at the two-sided his–
tory of Christmas could easily clear
up the mystery. Ironically enough, it
would show that today's generally
irreverent celebration of December
18
25 comes far closer to the "real"
meaning of Christmas than formal
Christianity generally dares to ad–
vertise.
Blame
lt
on the Romans
Christmas, as we know it, was
never observed by the earliest fol–
lowers of Christ, who did not even
celebrate their own birthdays. In the
Bible, Jesus never once made a
small allusion to tbe season. Only
after two or three centuries, when
enthusiasm and zeal for the una–
dulterated teachings of Christ had
been weakened in many vital areas,
did Christians openly begin to
adopt beliefs and practices from
their non-Christian neighbors.
The church at R.ome was espe–
cially plagued by tbat problem.
Rome's official religion was domi–
nated by worship of the god Saturo;
and during the dead of winter, an
annual, week-long feast was held in
bis honor - called, appropriately
enough, the Saturnalia. The final
day of tbe Saturnalia was the Bru–
malia, meaning "[the first day of]
winter" - which fell on December
25 in the days of Julius Caesar, who
established the Julian or Roman ca–
lendar.
Saturnalia was not strictly a Ro–
roan invention.
lt
had its earliest
origins in the inftuential mystery re–
ligion of ancient Babylon.
Offi.cial Christendom of the day
formally frowned on the celebra–
tion, even though its observance was
quite popular among many in the
church. It is easy to understand the
by
Charles F. Vinson
continuing popularity of the Satur–
nalia among the not-so-converted
Christians.
lt
was a once-a-year time
of pleasure, a time of masquerading
in public, eating great, sumptuous
dinners, visiting friends and giving
gifts to one another for good luck.
The general atmosphere of the sea–
son was cheery and convivía!.
During Saturnalia, the Romans
decked their halls witb boughs of
laurel and other evergreens and
kept small lamps lighted to ward off
the demons they believed to be hov–
ering nearby. Such practices were
nearly universal throughout the em–
pire, but were by no means the most
obviously pagan. Along the Danube
frontier and in the Balkan península
region, for instance, people looked
forward to the election of a mock
"king of the revel'' at Saturnalia
time. After a month-long reign, this
king was obligated to sacrifice him–
self on an altar in Babylonian fash–
ion. A legend surrounding the death
of one St. Dasius claims that he,
being a newly convinced Christian,
refused to play king. He was be–
beaded anyway.
lf You Can't Lick 'Em
...
To the more civilized Romans,
bowever, Saturnalia was more fun
than serious religion, and that atti–
tude carried over into the ftagging
Christian church. Much to the con–
sternation of the Roman church
leaders, many of the most enthusi–
astic Saturnalia-keepers also
claimed to be Christians. The obvi–
ous solution to this embarrassing
PlAIN TRUTH December 1973