1st Lie: "Celebrate Saturnalia Day"!
- A lie. Saturnalia began on December 17 and ended on December 23. It was never associated with December 25.
2nd Lie: "Celebrate the Birth of the God Tammuz"
- A lie. Tammuz was a deity associated with summer, when between June and July devotees (mostly women) mourned his death. By the way, the Hebrew calendar (yes, the biblical), has a month in its namesake, Tammuz, which falls precisely in June and July.
3rd Lie: "Celebrate the Sun God"
- A lie. It is true that in the year 274 AD, the emperor Marcus Aurelio decreed December 25 as the day of the "sol Invictus". However, Christians, since the late second century, have celebrated the birth of Christ on December 25. We have extensive literary evidence for this. In fact, the Roman emperor probably did this because he saw the Roman religion decline as the Christian faith was expanding (and despite brutal Roman persecutions). So, in a political maneuver, he tried to kidnap an important Christian date and make it pagan. It didn't work out! The Invictus sun party never worked. But here we are, 1800 years later, and still celebrating Jesus Christ the Lord!.
4th Lie: "The druids began the Christmas tree tradition"
- A lie. The tree custom dates back to Bonifacio in the early 8th century, the missionary who first brought faith to the fearful Vikings. The missionary, seeing that the Germanic tribes revered the famous "Thor's oak," took an axe and cut it himself, to prove that nature is not a god. So I would point out a tree of perennial leaves, as a symbol of Christ, who is the tree of eternal life. In terms of lighting the Christmas tree, we go back to the former Augustinian monk Martin Luther, the German reformer, who, upon seeing the starry night, returned home and placed candles on the tree as a testimony to the majesty of God's creation.
5th Lie: "Jesus wasn't born on December 25, it's all pagan junk"
- A lie. No one knows for absolutely certain when Jesus was born. However, the December 25th date was not chosen at random. There is a reasonable justification for some of the Church Fathers to choose this date. If you take the fact that Zacharias was offering incense in the Holy Place of the Temple in Jerusalem during the great holy feast of Yom Kippur, which falls in late September, or early October (Luke 1:9), then this means that John the Baptist was born 9 months later, between June and July. Remember, Scripture clearly tells us that John the Baptist was conceived 6 months before Jesus (Luke 1:26,36), so 6 months after June and July places Jesus' birth in late December or early January, which coincides exactly with the tradition of East and West: West celebrates it on December 25 and East on January 7.
6th Lie: "The Bible does not command us to celebrate the birth of Christ"
- Above all else my friend, have peace. We really don't understand your fascination with conflict. But you are wrong again. The wizards of the east celebrated the birth of Christ (Matthew 2:11), the shepherds of the region celebrated the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:17), Simeon, moved by the Holy Spirit, celebrated the birth of Christ (Luke 2:28-32), the prophetess Anne, celebrated the birth of the Lord (Luke 2:38) and all the heavenly hosts sang with joy at the birth of Christ (Luke 2:14). Of course, there is enough BIBLICAL precedent to take time out of the busy year and celebrate this incredible event that cut history in half: the incarnation and birth of the Son of GOD.
Please my dear friend and brother don't listen to myths and legends, which abound in the corrupt and intriguing mind. Don't you want to celebrate Christmas because your conscience won't let you? Well don't celebrate. But please, stop perpetuating lies and slander against your brothers who do it, and do not bear false witness. Remember, lying and condemning others based on those lies are really grave sins.
References:
1. Miller, John F. "Roman Festivals," in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome (Oxford University Press, 2010), p. 172.
2. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Tammuz." Encyclopedia Britannica, February 26, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tammuz-Mesopotamian-god.
3. Reformed Forum. The origin of the Church Calendar. https://reformedforum-org.translate.goog/the-origin-of-the-church-calendar/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=es-419&_x_tr_pto=wapp
4. History of Christmas Trees: Christmas Trees From Germany. https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas-trees#christmas-trees-from-germany
CTTO: Michael Battenfiels
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