The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1885-12-25
WHY WAS THE 18TH OF DE-
GENDER CHOSEN FOR
GREAT FESTIVAL
OF THE YEAR.
Iarpsrs Magazine for December .

Harpsrfs Magazine for December.
What IeasOn could be given for
choosing u day rather than an0th-
RI tor the Christmas feslivalf The
sUspals always meager in dates,
were Qnite silent here. They gave
no hint OF the day or1DOnth of the
Nativity. Oral tradition, we may
be Snre, was equally Feticpnt or In.
different. There we're indeed, a
iew scattered suggestions OF the
date Of Christ's birth NOatiDg here
md there amOng the Writings OF
the tatIfeFs ; but these were oil of
hate origin, mauiiestly unhistorical,
aud above all, quite contradictory
Clement, OF Alexandria sad that
many Christians regarded the Goth
Of May 10 the day of the Nativity,
others preferred the Goth Of April,
but be favored the 10Th of Novem,
Der. In the Eastern Church the
9th or 9th of January was cele6ra.
red as the dare OF Cbrist's baptism
and the Nativity Was j0inei with
this Oh no better ground than Il
forced interpretation OF Ezekiel !,
IA, aS "a prophecy of the lncarna-
ton. Others again fixed the Dist
Of March as the dT of Christ'S
birth. Between such varying and
slightly supported assumptions
there WAS little to choose. A his.
torical date was clearly ont OF qneS-
ton. Nothing was lett for the
Church 10 do but to select aOme
day on grounds OF convenience aud
symbolic Significance, and celebrate
it by common consent Us Christmas
Day.
1t would take>tOo hong for me to
trace the many reasons whiuh led
TO the choice of the % December.
It Was d0HbilrSs CONNECTED 10y a
PROFESS of deduction With the day
which had already bevn. generally
accepted an tie common date Of
the A%upunciation aud OF the Urea
ton of the ~orll. Assuming that
the world was made in spfing, hr
cause it was commanded 10, bring
forth grass aud herbs, aud that il
MS made when light aud darkness
we're equally divided, because the
governing hnd the morning we're
the trSt day" it was natural,
though somew hat naive, to fix M.
OIL the vcrual equinox (aGcOrdin2
TO the Julian calender, March 2j)
M the exact date II the creation. |
He who could question the value
OF such Il straightforward and scrip
tural argument as this must have
had more logic aud less piety than
belonged to the early Christians.
And once having discovered by
this easy method the very day on
which tue world came into being
and the glorious light sprang out
of darkness, what more simple than
10 assume lhSt it was on the same
day on which the power OF the AL
mighty overshadOwed Mary. aud
the D~ayspring from on high began
his pntrauce into the world Moth.
ing could be Vlaiuer. Even the
least imaginative Of cbronograph.
ers could reckon forward from this
fixed point OF the Assumption nine
months, aud arrive at December %
as the day of the Nativity. Aud
here another wonderful coincidence
meets him. This is the day of the
winter Solstice, the day when the
worlds darkness begins to lessen,
and the worlds light to grow ; the
day which the ancient world hid
long celebrated as the birthday of
the SUI.
The earliest mention OF the 25th
of December Ms CHRISTMAS Day is
found In aH ancient catalogue of
church festivals about 354 A. ID.
Aud it is surprising to see with
what alacrity the date was received
aud the nativity celebrated
throughout ChristeudOn. 1t seems
as II The world had beeu waiting
for this festival of divine aud hn.
man childhood, and was ready to
welcome u ut Ouce with songs of
In the year 800 it was already +.
Celebrated in Rome by vast multi.
tRdes %tbrOngpg the churches.
pTenty years later Antioch had Ia
ken II np With great popular enthu-
Aud ia alittle more than
dity years from it's earliest sugges-
lion, The observance OF December
rs the Day Of Nativity bad be-
come the universal practice oil
christians. st. Chrysostom, IN a
sermon preached At An.
iiOch, called IL the fundamental (