Seven Things (some) Christians Don't Know About Christmas

Seven Things (Some) Christians Don't Know About Christmas

1.    You can't put Christ back into Christmas, because he was never there.

Truth is, the celebration adopted by the early Christian church -- and which was later renamed "Christmas" -- is really the pagan winter solstice celebration known as Saturnalia.
The early Roman Christian church adopted, and then integrated, many pagan dates and celebrations into the church's traditions.   Christmas is certainly not alone, either.  Other examples of Roman practices that are now standard fare in Christendom is the roll of Sunday as the weekly holy day instead of Sabbath (Saturday), as well as the veneration of saints and statuary in churches and cathedrals: all these were elements of Roman pagan religious practices.

2.    Christ's birthday is not -- and never was -- mentioned as an occasion for celebration.

The nativity story was not intended as reason for celebrating a birthday.  It was, rather, given to illustrate the lineage of Jesus' Davidinic legacy, which was considered essential Israeli royalty to Jews of the early Roman empire.  Furthermore, birthdays were not a cause for celebration nor is there any command or directive to celebrate them.  Birthdays were not even generally celebrated as special occasions until the end of the Middle Ages.

3.    The baby Jesus was not visited by Three Wise Men.

At least not necessarily. 
The number is an extrapolation based on the Biblical account of that three types of gifts were bestowed on the Christchild by wisemen from "The East."   Just because wisemen gave gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh doesn't mean there were only three of them, it only means they gave three kinds of gifts.  The actual number, based on caravan sizes of the era, was probably closer to 20.

4.    The Christmas tree is not a Christian tradition.

Most people know this one.
The idea of decorating an evergreen tree in the middle of winter is a practice that pre-dates Christianity by centuries.  Early Germanic tribes celebrated the holiday of Yule which fell on-or-about tthe time of the winter solstice and signified the coming greening of the earth hereafter.  There is some evidence that the practice may have reached the the Mesopotamian basin during Biblical times, since some scholars believe Jeremiah's condemnation of the practice of decorating trees cut from the forest reflects this influence.  (Jeremiah 10:2-4)

5.    The tradition of exchanging gifts is a not Christian.

This one also predates Christianity by several centuries, possibly more.  Both the celebration of Yule and the ancient pagan holiday of Sol Invictus  included the giving of gifts, but many middle eastern traditions embraced similar practices.  Gift-giving is an ages-old tradition, despite modern commercialization of it.

6.    The Virgin Birth story isn't "new" to the birth of Jesus.

This is a concept common to many ancient pagan religious sects.  Biblical scholars believe the concept of a virgin birth may have entered the Old Testament lexicon from Egyptian mythology during the Hebrew exile. In Egyptian lore, Queen Mut`emua was a virgin when she bore Amenophis III, the son of the god Kneph (also known as the Holy Spirit).  This virgin birth is announced beforehand by the god Taht and the child is visited by wisemen from the East, bearing gifts.  Sound familiar?

7.      Jesus wasn't born on December 25th.

Not only that, but he was probably born in August or September.  Most Biblical scholars laugh at the very notion.  Remember that in Luke's account (Luke 2:8)  the shepherds were in the hills watching their flocks by night.  Even in the age of global warming, that's not where shepherds keep  their flocks.  In the depths of winter, flocks and shepherds move to the warmer, greener lowlands.  For a shepherd to abide (the New International Version even calls it "living" out in the fields with their flocks.   Furthermore, a cold, open-air manger wouldn't be suitable for lodging, even in Roman times.  The date is simply incorporated from the Roman celebration of Sol Invictus. 

 

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I invite you to add your own list of Christmas misconceptions below if you have some to share!  There are plenty, not the least of which are myths like Santa Claus, elves, mistletoe and flying reindeer.