Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1911-01-12
WHAT CHAPTER AND VERSE.

Dear Editor:
want to ask you and your CORES
pondents through the News what chap
ter and verse in the Bible says Xmas
DAY is Christ's birthday.
R. d. LAYNE,
Smithville, Tenn, R. D. No 2, Box 81
1t is found beginning with Chapter
l, Verse L, of the Book of History,
which is an appendix to the Bible.
We do not claim, however, that the
25th of December is the exact date but
we do assert and can prove that this
date was settled on as an observance
and commemoration of the Birth OF
Christ. We find that as far back as
the 9TH Century, the 25th of December
was settled upon by the Catholic
Church as date to be observed as the
Birthday of Christ, st. Augustine
expressly mentions this date (De Trim.
iv:5) and st. Chrysostom appears to
speak of it as a custom imported from
the West within ten years. We also
find that this observance is first ascrib-
ed to Julius, bishop of Rome, A. ID.
337-352 Previous to this Christmas
was celebrated on Jan. 9Th, hence the
term, cold Christmas, to be found
in Calendar. This date was also the
date of the Feast of the Epiphany,
with which it was kept conformity by
the Catholic Church. This change
from the 9th of January to the 25th of
December was done, apparently, to
counterfeit the effects of the Saterna-
liza, when the Romans celebrated with
uncouth rites the festival of Saturn
which began on the 10Th of December
and lasted for seven days During this
period no punishment of any kind was
inflicted, distinctions of rank were.
laid aside, and the utmost freedom al
lowed, hence our modern term, sat
urnalia of crime This, however,
has not yet ceased to be observed, for
great many of our people observe
Christmas, 1.-THE day appointed by the
Catholic Church--the only church at
that time-and recognized since by all
churches to be observed in commemor-
alton of the Birth of Christ, the Div
inc Saviour, as a day to commemorate
the unclean habits of the Romans with
drunkenness and its attendant nasti-
ness and vice. This Saturn, whom
they celebrate, was person of myth
ology identified with the Greek god
Ohronos, who is said to be coincident
with the god Bael, worshipped by the
Phoenecians, and of whom mention is
made in the Bible with awful penalty
to his worshippers. To this Saturn
human sacrifices were offered, and
they are still offered in the shape of
the sacrifice of personal comfort of
women and children offered up by
fathers and sons at this time of the
year by wicked conduct involving
them in trouble and want.
We are sorry to say that the date is
not set down in the Bible, but tell Us
some date that isl And does this
make the Bible any more unreliable
We are sorry, as we said, that the ex-
act date has not been placed on record,
because it might act as deterrent for
nearly half the population, who cele-
brate the feast of Saturn instead of
Christ a sort of DEVILS birthday.
The reason why the exact dates are
not mentioned in the Bible, we sup
pose, is from the unweildly methods
of reckoning time in those days, and
the absence of printing presses There
we're no calendars hanging over the
mantles as now are to be found in
every cabin in our land To explain
why the date system was not extern
sively used in those days is too much
for the limits of Tia is article.
Anyway the Birth of Christ vas or
dered to be celebrated on the 25th of
December in each year A. d., by the
Catholic Church, and is observed as
such, not necessarily the actual date,
by all other Christian Churches.
However. sincs the Roman Saturnalia
has not yet been abandoned, we sug-
gest that it be moved to some other
date say month later, so as to give
the drunkards the 25th of December all
to themselves.