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Garner Ted Armstrong
SPIAKS OUT!
Christmas and Christ's Birthday
P
eace on earth, good will toward
men'' may sound tri te and hol–
low this year. But in spite of
terrifying world troubles, the tradi –
tional , commercial, chief of the
"Christian" holidays looms on the
horizon once again. Yet, chances
are, you would flunk miserably in a
simple test about its origins. Go
ahead, take a chance and find out:
TRUE OR FALSE
1. Christmas is the birthday of
Jesus Christ.
2. Santa Claus was one of three
wise men.
3. The holly wreath is chosen be–
cause of its red and green color -
and everyone knows red and green
are traditional Christmas colors.
4. The Christmas tree is an ancient,
pagan symbol.
5. Kissing under the mistletoe
comes to us from an early Ameri –
can custom.
6. The "Christmas spirit of giving "
comes to us from the example of
the wise men at Christ's manger
birthplace.
7. The yule log is only a strange
name attached to a log our fore–
fathers used to drag in to be burned
in the fireplace.
8. We don't "wassail" anymore,
because people can ' t hear us
" wassailing" over their TV sets.
9. There are more murders in the
24-hour period including Christmas
eve and Christmas day than during
any other comparable period in the
year.
1
O.
We observe Christmas because
of the Bible example.
44
ANSWERS
1. False. Scholars know Jesus was
not born on or anywhere near De–
cember 25. The Romans anciently
observed their " Brumal ia" on that
date. lt was the " Saturnalia" sea–
son when the pagan Romans peti–
tioned their imagined "sun God " to
begin his annual journey into north–
erly latitudes once more.
2. False. The Bible nowhere states
there were three. Sorne histori cal
evidence indicates there may have
been twelve. "Santa Claus" is a fig–
ment of man's imagination.
3. False. The holly berries were
used as ancient sex symbols, repre–
sent ing the propagation of lite -
fertili ty.
4. True. Read the "Origin of Mod–
ern Christmas Customs" on page
20 of this issue for further informa–
tion on this subject.
5. False. Mistletoe is a parasite and
was formerly a Celtic fert ility sym–
bol. Kissing under it was to " come
under its spell." lt was used by the
heathen in sex rites and in worship
of fertility.
6. False in two ways. The wise men
gave their gifts to Christ. Modern
people never seem to do this. They
exchange gifts among themselves.
Furthermore, the wise men never
saw Christ in the manger. He was
already in a
HOUSE
by the time they
arrived - when he was severa!
weeks of age (Matt. 2:11 ).
7. False. lt was a symbol of fert il ity
in the ancient Germanic religion.
8. You may be right either way .
Wassail ing could get you mugged,
robbed or raped - and people
don't generally appreciate neigh–
borhood singing anyway.
9. True. The "spirit of Christmas"
in bottled form has been a direct
contributor to this shocking fact
f rom police blotters.
1
O.
False. The Bible nowhere iden–
tifies the exact date of Jesus' birth
- even conceals his age by saying
he was "about " 30 at the beginni ng
of his minist ry. Rather, the Bible
condemns learning pagan, heathen
customs and then using
them
to
celebrate events concerning the li fe
of the true God. (Read Deuteron–
omy 12:30-32.)
Score yourself " Excellent" for 9
or more correct, " Good" for 7 to 8
correct , "Fair" for 5 to 6 correct,
" Poor" for 2 to 4 correct, and " Ut–
ter Flunkout" for having only one
correct , which could have been an–
swered either way.
Mil lions in the Western world wi ll
take temporary time out from their
usual activities to become sub–
merged in the fl ood tide of annual
Christmas shopping , traffic jams,
parties, and exchanging of gifts.
Somehow all the clamor, noise,
confusion, and commercialism are
supposed to have something to do
with Christ's birthday.
But does it , reall y?
Plaln Facts About Christmas
Ever wonder what " wassailing" had
to do with wise men, mistletoe with
the Magi, martinis with Mary, Santa
with saints?
First, let's admit sorne widely
known facts. Christmas is never
mentioned in the Bible. The wise
men arrived at Christ's place of
birth long after (numerous scholars
admitas muchas severa! weeks) he
was born . Scholars freely admit he
was not born on or anywhere near
December 25. (Read the proof in
our free article "When Was Jesus
Bo rn?") The Magi gave thei r gifts
directly to Christ and didn't ex–
change them among themselves.
Christmas Antedates Christianity!
Christmas, say all the authorities ,
long antedates Christianity. lts ori–
gins go back to pagan Babylon ,
Greece, Rome, and Egypt.
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1976