From: fischedj@nextwork.rose-hulman.edu (David J. Fischer)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Christmas on the 25th.  Why? (Long)
Date: 16 Dec 92 06:37:03 GMT
Reply-To: fischedj@nextwork.rose-hulman.edu (David J. Fischer)
Organization: Computer Science Department at Rose-Hulman

I recently looked into this subject (a very cursory glance, mind you) and wrote  
the following article for the newsletter out Inter-Varsity chapter produces.  
Please correct me if I have made any historical errors.


	With the Christmas season upon us, we are bombarded by many events.  
Merchants display their wares and announce immense bargains, sales, and other  
bonuses for your support of their establishment. Civil liberties activists  
decry the appearance of nativity scenes and other symbols of religious thought  
on government property. Finally, the Christian church steps into the irruption,  
crying out that everyone has missed the true point of the holiday; the birth of  
Jesus Christ our Savior. So what do we do? Shop until we drop? Rally against  
infringements of the separation of church and state? Make an effort to focus on  
Christ, and what his birth means to us and humanity?

	I am going to try and address these issues in the three articles before  
Christmas. To begin with, I think some background information is necessary, so  
this week, I am presenting a brief history of Christmas holiday. The following  
information is taken from Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 6, pp. 666-667, Danbury  
Corp., 1980.

	The origins of Christmas, the observance of the birth of Christ, are  
somewhat obscure, but it is usually thought to have been established to  
coincide with pagan festivals celebrating the winter solstice. The winter  
solstice occurs about December 22, and following the solstice, the daytime  
becomes longer until the summer solstice. Many pagan festivals celebrated the  
winter solstice as a time of the rebirth of the sun. Northern European tribes  
celebrated their main festival, Yule, at the winter solstice to commemorate the  
birth of the sun as a giver of light and warmth. The Roman Saturnalia is a  
festival in honor of Saturn, god of agriculture of renewed power of the sun.  
Some scholars think that an analogy between Christ "Light of the World" and the  
rebirth of the sun was established to make Christianity more meaningful to  
pagan converts.

	Although many early Christians decried the gaiety and festivity of  
Christmas as pagan survival, the holiday has, from its beginning, been a holy  
day and a holiday. The date of Christmas, December 25, was set sometime during  
the middle of the fourth century for the Western world. Christmas is now  
observed by all Christian churches on December 25, except for the Armenian  
church which celebrates January 6 as the baptism of Christ (which is usually  
called Epiphany by everyone else).

	Many Christmas customs were adapted from practices not initially  
related to Christmas. The English adapted folk festivals to their Christmas  
celebrations. The Lord of the Misrule reached the highest levels of festivity.  
This is where a serf or commoner would rule a lord's domain during the  
Christmas season; usually resulting in complete frivolity. This custom probably  
came from Saturnalia, when slaves became their master's equals. A second  
custom, the burning of the yule log, came from the Scandinavian festival Yule  
where large bonfires were burnt in honor of the solstice. 

	Other rituals originated from pagan rituals. Greenery came from  
pre-Christian Northern European beliefs: Celtic and Teutonic tribes honored  
evergreens during the solstice as symbolic of eternal life; Druids ascribed  
magical properties to mistletoe; holly was worshiped as a promise of the sun's  
return. Legend says that Christ's crown was made of holly, which then had white  
berries. His blood touched the berries and turned them forever red. The  
Christmas wreath is thought to have originated from this legend. Some scholars  
think that the evergreen tree later became symbolic of Christ and became an  
integral part of his birth celebration. 

	Yet other rituals began in more contemporary settings. Martin Luther is  
accredited with beginning the custom of Christmas trees in Germany. Both  
caroling and the creche, or nativity scene, are credited to St. Francis of  
Assisi for their introduction during the 13th century in Italy. The notion of  
Santa Claus as a fat, jolly, bearded man came from the austere-looking St.  
Nicholis, who was noted for his good works. The gift-giving associated with St.  
Nicholis traveled from Asia Minor, to Europe, and finally to America via early  
Dutch settlers. In 1822 Clement Moore composed his Visit from St. Nicholis  
("All through the house not a creature was stirring..."). Finally, the cultural  
image of Santa in fur-trimmed dress was drawn by cartoonist Thomas Nast in  
1863.

--
David J. Fischer : fischedj@nextwork.rose-hulman.edu

"Don't ever put your brain on a runaway train 'cause it won't be coming back!" 
- Mad At The World.