The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1906-12-27
How XMAS WAS FIXED
Manner in which The 25th of DeCem-
ber was Established as the Date
for Observation of the Day.
While Shepherds watched their tlocks by
night.

While Shepherds watched their tlocks by
night.
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down.
The shepherds who heard the angels
song and went with haste" to the
birthplace at Bethlehem certainly took
part in the first celebration of the
Nativity. and the wise men who came
afterward, being led by the wonderful
star. may also be regarded as taking
part in this first celebration of the
Nativity, for the name Epiphany did not
come into use until long afterwards.
When twas first adopted by the orient
al churches it was designed to com
memorate both the birth and baptism of
Jesus. which two events the eastern
church believed to have occurred on
January 9th.
There is still considerable doubt as
to whether the 23th OF December which
is now observed as Christmas day,
correctly fixes the time OF the year
when Christ was born. From Clement
of Alexandria it appears that in the
first effort to fix the season Of the
advent there We're advocates for the
10Th or 2lst of April aud the Goth of
May. Some communities of Christians
celebrated the festival on the 1st or 9th
of January; others on the 10Th of March,
the time of the Jewish Passover, while
still others observed it on 29th Septem-
ber, or Feast of the Tabernacles,
Julius ]. bishop of Rome Ca. d. 337-352, }
contended that the 18th of December
was the date of Christ's birth, and the
majority Of the eastern churches ulti-
mately came around to this view. 1t is
certain that after st. Chryostom Christ
mas was observed on Dec. 25th by the
east and west alike, with the exception
of the Armenian church, which still
remains faithful to January 6.
There is every reason for believing
that Easter and it's accompanying
celebrations mark with tolerable ac.
curacy the anniversaries of the Passion
and Resurrection of our Lord, because
we know that they took place at the
is no such certainty as regards Christ
mas.
Sir Isaac Newman says that the feast
OF the Nativity, and most othei
ecclesiastical anniversaries, were OF.
iginally fixed at cardinal points of the
year. without reference to the date OF
| Vito NhlSh CuCS
dates which, by the lapse of the time, ii
annunciation Of the Virgin Mary was
placed on the 25th of March, about the
time of the vernal equinox; the feast o
st. Micheal on the 10Th of September
or near the autumnal equinox; and the
Solstice. Christmas was fixed at the
,,e ts,A No
brated festivals of the ancients were
held in honor of the return of the sun
The Saxons and other northern nations
in honor of Thor, in which they mingled
sacrifice and religious rites. 1t was
which has caused much dispute among
Saturnalia of the Romans had apparent
of the northern nation, as the Greeks
something similar. Presents were given
in these days. Toward the end of the
feast when the sun was on it's return
and the earth considered renovated, a
king or ruler was chosen, with consider
able power given him, from which may
have sprung some of the Twelfth-Night
revels, mingled with those of the Mani
festations and Alteration of the Magi
In all probability other customs were
adopted from the festivals of the
ancients, such as decking with ever
green and mistletoe and the wassai
bowl.
1t is known that the feast of the
Nativity was observed as early as the
first century, and that it was kept by
the primitive Christians even in the
dark days of persecution. On the rock
hewn tombs OF the catacombs of Rome
they wrote the thoughts that were
most consoling, or printed on the WALL