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What do Rudolphs red nose
and Eggnog have to do with
rís mas?
" PEACE
on
earth/
GOOD
WILL toward menn may sound
frite and hollow this year. But in SPITE of terrifying world
troubles/ the traditional/ commerciat CHIEF of the ° Christian°
holida ys comes /round every December. Chances are/ you
would FLUNK MISERABLY
in
a simple test about its
ongms.
Go
ahead - take a chance- find out!
by
Garner Ted Armstrong
B
RACE
YOORSELVES. The mad shop–
ping rush, the jangling bells, the
department store "Santas" are with
us aga in.
Many deplore the growing
commer –
ciaiism
of this
most imfJortant
of the
"Christian" holidays. Church leaders cry
out, "PuT CHRIST back in Christmas"
th is year !
But was Chríst ever
TN
"Chrístmas,"
and where did the custom originate?
Take the simple test below. How much
do you KNO\'<' about Christmas - the
chief hol iday of Ch ristendom?
TRUE OR FALSE
l . Ch ristmas is the birthday of
Jesus Christ.
2. Santa Claus was one of three
wise men.
3. The holly wreath is chosen
because 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
American 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
forefathers used to drog in to
be burned in the fireplace. .
8. To "wassail" means to sing
carols on peoples' lawns.
9. There are more murders in the
Christmas season than any
other comparable period in the
year.
1
O.
We observe Christmas becouse
of the Bible example.
ANSWERS
1. False. Scholars know Jesus was
not born on or anywhere near
December 25th. The Romons
anciently observed their "Bru–
malia" on that date. lt was
the "Saturnalia" seoson when
the pagan Romans petitioned
their imagined "sun-god" to
begin his annual journey into
northerly latitudes, once more.
2. False. The Bible nowhere states
that there were three wise men .
"Santa Claus" is a derivat ion
of an ancient title of Nimrod,
the tyrant who began Baby–
lonish civilization.
3. False. The holly berries were
used as ancient sex symbols–
representing the propogation
of life - fertility. The
wreath
shape was in honor of the
orbit
of the
sun,
whose birthday was
anciently celebrated on Christ–
mas Doy.
4.
True. Read any book on the
origin of the Christmas tree.
5.
False. Mistletoe was formerly
imagined as both a deity and
an aphrodisiac. Kissing under
it was to "come under its spell"
and was celebra ted among the
Druids in sex riles, and human
sacrifices.
6. Fa lse in two ways. The wise men
gave their gifts to CHRIST. Mod–
ern people don't do this. They
a lmost exclusively exchange
gifts among
themselves.
Fur–
ther, the wise men never sow
Christ in the manger. He was
al ready 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 the
dead Osiris, or Nimrod, from
which a tiny, living tree w as
claimed to hove sprung.
8. False. The word Wassoil comes
from a toast "Waes Hoeil"
(meaning "be well") from the
drunken heathen yule festivols.
The word wassail became
equivalen! with "to corouse"
or "to drink l iquor."
9. True. large amounts of the
"Spi rit of Christmas" in bottled
form hove been a di rect con–
tributor lo this shocking fact
from police blotters.
1
O.
Fal se . The Bible NOwhere iden–
tifies the exact date of Jesus'
birth -
even conceals His
oge by saying He wos " about"
30 at the beginning of His
ministry. And hove you ever
noticed that the Bible CON–
DEMNS learning pagan, hea–
then customs, and then using
them
to celebrate events con–
cerning the life of the True
God? See Deuteronomy 12:
30-32.
Score yourself "Excellent" for
9
or