Evening star., 1933-12-25
Christmas Holiday Festivities
Traced Into Dim Antiquity
Christian Celebration Believed to Haze
absorbed Parts of Early Winter
Ceremonies.

pheric meteor. The most likely mean
ing of His Star Is some such celestial
phenomenon as, interpreted by aStro-
logical rules, would indicate the birth
ness. Now, there was a remarkable
conjunction OF two planets IN May
asmber in an ad Yet agsn IN M9
would certainly think portended some
great thing about to happen. We are
nowhere told that Jesus was born ex-
actly at the time when the star ap-
peared; but it seems safe to conclude
that his birth was at some time be-
the end of A. U. c. 749, /. e., B. C.
and 5 B. c.
Held Token Of Peace.
This agrees with a very ancient
tradition that when our Lord was born
tie temple more correctly 'gate) of
Janus at Rome was shut. In token OF
peace throughout the whole Roman
dominion. Such an event had only
occurred twice before the reign Of Au-
gustus: but it happened in A. U. c.
724 and again in A. U. G. 746. from
which time the gate remained closed
for several years.
If the year of our Saviour's birth
is thus open to question. the day is yet
more uncertain. The days of his death
and resurrection are clearly recorded
in the Gospels, and, from the time of
the Apostles until now, the anniversary
of his resurrection victory has been
almost universally observed. The BIRTH
day of the church, too, the day OF
PentecoSt, was fixed by the Jewish cal
endar, and from almost the earliest
ages it has been kept as a joyful Chris
tan anniversary. Very early, too, 1t be-
came usual to consecrate the New Year
to him in whom all things become new,
by festival which was designed to
commemorate at once his manifesto
ton. his baptism and his first miracle
But not until the third century do we
find any attempt to fix with authority
the day of his birth. There are in
deed vague traditions of festival OF
the Nativity kept at Rome in the time
Of Bishop TelesphoruS, between AID
1877 and l3e, and some of the Christ
mas observances of the Roman Church
are said to be of his appointment:
There is a story of a massacre OF
Christians in the catacombs on the
day of the Nativity in some unspeci-
fed year between AID. ISL and 180
and a similar story of massacre at
Nicomedia in the reign of Diocletian,
about AID. 300: but all these stories
are too vague and the earliest men
ton of them too late, to be at all
reliable.
Various Dates Named.
srr1,oro ,yoe q copop,oo helief that
the Nativity took place on the twenty
fifth day of the month, but which
month was quite uncertain and there
was scarcely a month in the year to
which some guesser did not assign It,
Clement of Alexandria, before 220,
names five dates, IN three different
months of the Egyptian year, to which
various persons assigned the Nativity
and one of these corresponds to De-
cember 25 There was, in the third
century, a common belief that our Lord
was born on the day OF the winter
solstice. This does not seem TO nave
rested on any record or evidence worth
the name, but on a fantastic interpre-
tation of some prophetic scriptures;
also on a motion that the annunclatlon
and the crucifixion were both on the
same day of the year, viz. the 2oth
of March. The apocryphal DooK,
called The Apostolic CONSTITUTIONS,
written probably toward the END OF
the third century, represents the Apos,
ties as ordaining that the teast shoulo no
be kept on the twenty-ffth day OF the
ninth month; by which, however, the
context clearly shows that December is
meant, The learned John Selden' IN
his treatise in defense of the traditional
date, published posthumously in 1861,
affirms that in the early Christian ages
the solstice was supposed to fall on
the eighth of the Kalends of January,
that is, December 25. This date. how
ever. has not found universal accept
ance. A document assigned to about
AID. 243, gives March % as the GATE
of the Nativity, and several modern
students infer, from the mention OF
shepherds abiding in the fleld,' and
from ARRANGEMENTS presumed to have
been necessary for the census, that 1t
end Of July and the end of October .
In circumstances of such confusion
it was but natural that the authorities
of the church should be hesitant to
name a particular date for new
feast. Meanwhile, the people, only
recently converted from paganlsm, con-
tinued to observe many of the heathen
occasions to which they had been &C
customed before the appearance o1
Christian teachers among them. The
first of these was the Saturnal1a, from
December II to 81, great Roman
holiday or season in remembrance ol
the supposed Golden Age" 1t was
in effect, feast of topsyturveydom
when slaves were allowed for a few
days to enjoy the semblance OF free.
dom. were waited upon by their mas
tiers and chose from among themselve:
a mock king to preside over their rev
els" A second festival was the Sigil-
Iaria, or Feast of Dolls, December %
when a fair was held and dolls ane
other toys, made of earthenware, vert
given to children. There also was the
Kalendae Januarii, or New Year, "wher
everybody gave gifts to everybody else,
and the Juvenilia, or festival Of child
hood and youth, which likewise wa
an occasion Of social rejoicing and the
exchange of gifts.
Popular With Masses.
These feasts were popular with tht
masses and when Christianity removed
the religious doctrines or beliefs upor
which they rested, their popularity die
not decline. The people wanted them
And at last the church accepted then
in edited or amended form. Cripper
says: "As the Christ Child coming intt
the world tranSflgured 1t, 80 that from
the day OF His advent it was the same
and yet not the same. so the old OBJ