Evening star., 1933-12-25
BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.


The etymology of the terms most
commonly associated with Christmas
djscloses the popular origin of the Gus
toms identified IN the popular mind
with the years premier feast.
Dictionary authorities say that the
word Christmas" comes down to mod
ern usage from old English sources.
SCristmas, "cristmes, "cristemasseS
and "Cristemesse." A northern phrase.
it corresponds with middle Dutch
"kerstmisse"; modern Dutch "kersm1s. -
and middle low German, "kerstesmisse. "
But the meaning invariably is the same,
j. e., Christ'S mass or holy day. the
festival of the Christian church OBJ
served annually in memory of the birth
of Christ"
Properly, photographers insist, the
word denotes an entire season. not
merely single 24-hour period. The
festival" they say, begins with the
evening of the twenty-fourth day OF
December, called Christmas eve. and
continues until Epiphany. on the
sixth of January, the whole period be-
ing called Christmas-tide; but it is
more particularly observed on the
called Christmas day or simply Christ
mas"
The history of the earliest observance
is obscure. Apparently. the church
was not responsible for its beginning.
The habit of celebrating the anniver-
sary of the first appearance OF the
founder of Christianity seems to have
arisen spontaneously among the people
For centuries the period of the Winter
solstice had been the occasion of cere-
monies and rites of unknown prinl-
tive derivation. When Christianity be-
gan to prosper in the East, it neces-
sarily absorbed some Of the pagan loe-
ology. In each such Instance 1t was
an adjustment of the church to the
mind of the masses which prompted
the reception Of the old ideas WITHIN
the new.
Tradition of Day Traced.
There is ground for the belief that
the peoples of ancient Egypt, Greece
and Rome had traditional modes OF
celebration for the suns furthermost
decline. Nelson's Encyclopedia says:
The Saturnalia of the Romans and
the Winter festival of the heathen
Britons were both celebrated about De-
cember 25; and later, the Roman fes-
tival in honor of the sun god, Mlthra,
instituted 273 AID. From the latter
the day came to be known as the
birthday of the Unconquered Sun and
after its adoption by the Christian
church in the fourth century as the
anniversary of Christs birth. this name
was given a symbolic interpretation.
The Encyclopedia Britannica ADDS:
Before the fifth century there was
fn Christ
mas should come in the calendar,
whether on January 6, March 25 or
December 25. The earliest identiflca-
ton of December 25 with the birthday
of Christ is in passage, otherwise
unknown and probably spurious. OF
Theophilus of Antioch, about 180, pre-
served in Latin by the Magdeburg CEN
turiators, to the effect that the Gauls
contended that as they celebrated the
birth of the Lord on December 25. so
they ought to celebrate the resurrec-
ton on March 25. A passage, almost
certainly interpolated, in Hppolytus'
commentary on Daniel, iv. %, says that
Jesus was born at Bethlehem on We'd
nesday, December 25, IN the 1orty-
second year of Augustus, but he men
tions no feast, and such feast, in
deed, would conflict with the then
orthodox ideas. AS late as 245, Origen
repudiated the idea of keeping the
birthday of Christ, as If he were a
King Pharaoh
The fact seems to be that birthdays
we're not considered proper occasions
for ceremonial observance. The En-
cyclopedia American rules that: The
Christian usage in general was to cele-
brate the death of remarkable persons
rather than their birth. The death
OF the martyr Stephen and the massa-
ere of the innocents at Bethlehem had
been already long celebrated, when,
perhaps in opposition to the e., doctrine me
birth of the Saviour, a feast was es-
tablished in memory of this event In
the fourth century"
Discusses Christmas Lore.
One difficulty experienced by the
leaders of the church in the problem
of fixing the proper time for the Christ
mas festival was that of the differ
ences of opinion regarding the correct
date of Christs nativity. T. G. Grip
pen, in Christmas and Christmas
Lore" discusses the subject at length.
"There is no record" he declares. "of
the actual date of our Saviours birth.
Even the year is not absolutely Ger
tain. 1t is generally agreed that the
traditional date, A. U. c. 753. Is too
late; for st. Matthew distinctly aftirmS
that Jesus was born in Bethlehem OF
Judea in the days of Herod the king,
and Herod died in A. U. c. 750. There
must have been time. between the
| birth of Jesus and the death of Herod,
for the visit of the wise men from the
East, the retreat into Egypt, and the
slaughter of the innocents. The tes-
timony of st: Luke is by no means as
decisive as at first glance it seems to
be. For one thing, the real meaning
of his remark about the census is
very doubtful. Then 1t is uncertain
! whether the fifteenth year of Tiberius
Caesar Is counted from A. U. G. 765,
when he was associated with Augustus
in the empire, or from the death of
Augustus in A. u. G. 767. Then the
phrase ABOUT 80 years DID, in chapter
i'll, verse %, may mean anything from
90 to 81; SO that Lukes indications OF
the year of the Nativity are not more
definite than about A. U. c. 749 to
7S3' Nor does st. Matthew help us
much by his account of the star. seen
first in the East and then over Bethle-
hem. There Is indeed no necessity to
understand this as denoting either q
new star or such a conjunction Of two
or more stars as would make them
seem to coalesce; or mere atmos-