Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1848-02-03
NwN-
CHRISTMAS DAY.

MIR. Edtor:-In the Sentinel of the 20tl'
! ultlno. is laid before your readers an argu.
ment against the 25th of December as the
day OF our Saviour's nativity, AS stated by
l'r Adam Clarke. That argument is drawn
! from the fact that at the time of our Lords
advent, shepherds We're out watching their
tocks by night in the fields. The fact is
| furnished by the Bible itself. and against an.
day OF winter month is strongly nresump-
tive. 49,.
in my former communication nothing was
SAID OF the origin of the custom of observing
this day. To enable your readers more def
ion upon this question. we have thought IL
well to present them with the following re-
suits of researches made with view of ar
irving at the earliest traces of the CUSTOM
And any candid mind. who wishes to know
the truth. I feel sure, with these facts before
! them, will not long hesitate between the two
| opinions, whether the 25,h of December is
the true day of Our Savour's birth or not.
I The anniversaries Of our Lords crucifxion
! resurrection from the dead. ascension to
heaven, and sending down the Holy Spirit
upon the disciples on the day of Pentccost,
were observed with peculiar interest FROM the
earliest times These anniversaries answer
| to the festival Of Good Friday. Faster Sun.
day, Ascension day, and Whitsuntide. The
custom of observing them originated early
with the Jewish Christians, who continuing to
come up to Jerusalem at the feasts of the
| Passover and Pentecost, found it convenient
to commemorate these events which all &C.
curred about the same time of the year as
these Jewish feasts These anniversaries
came at length to be considered as Christian
festivals which Apostolic usage had introduc.
or, o,,l ,b oil
the authority of general councils. These
four festivals are mentioned by ST. Angus
tine who lived A. d.. 554-430, And he
mentions them the only festivals, which
were regarded, in his time, as having such
an origin and such sanction. He admits in
deed. that the Christians of his age observed
also Christmas as festival; but he considers
it as of later origin and less sacred than the
four above mentioned. Now. Augustin
represents Christmas neither derived from
apostolic usage, nor sanctioned by any gene
raj council, Nth Ballet we conclude "Mere
can be no Reasonable doubt that it had its rise
after The council Of Nice" Such conclusion
is the more probable fiom the omission Of
the Antenicene fathers to speak of any such
festival in the Church. and from their great
indifference about ascertaining the day Of
the Saviour's birth.
Almost the only genuine passage Of an An
tencene writer which can be supposed to al
lnde at all to such festival, is the enc found
in the Sti omata Of Clemens AleXandrinus
Clemens died about A. d 22O, and therefore
lived during the latter part Of the second cen.
tlry He states the different coniectures in
tina. age respecting the day of Cllrist's birth.
and manifess the indifference with which
even the learned treated the subject. Gle
mems had just given list Of all the Emper-
ors till the death of Commodus A. d. 1872.
and had stated in what gears of certain En-
perors the Saviour was either born or bap
izsd or cruciied. He then says there are
some who ocer curiouSly assign not only the
year, bat also the day of cur Sasiour's nativ-
ity, which they say was in the 25tl year Of
Augustus, on the 25th of iPachon) 2oth of
May. Some also say he born in Ohar-
mn'hi) Oath or 25,h) Apr l,2Oth or 21st day.
The above is the argument of DR.. James
Murdoch transcribed almost verbatim from
note in his translation of Moshem's Ecclesi-
asticel History, Vol |. p. 279. The desig
nation of the 25h of December for the festi
val IS generally admitted. says the same wrI-
Ter, to have been first made about the middle
OF the fourth century. The motives which
led to it are not clearly asceraimed. But for
or purpose is it not enough! With the
strong presumptite argument against The ma
tivity in December drawn from Luke, the
| testimony OF ST. Augustin to the questionable
character of the authority by which il was
observed i'll his day, and the omission of any
of the Antencene fathers to mention this day
III December even when writing upon the
subject Of the nativity, three independent ar
guments against data for which one good
reason cannot be produced. who, we would
ask, so welded to a CUSTOM that they cannot
be convinced of truth which comes atteste6
! with evidence so weighty and 50 sure?
| 1889 AN INQUIRER AFTER TRUrH.