All around the world, people are celebrating Christmas on December 25th. As some may know, some Orthodox Christians (such as the Coptic Orthodox Church) celebrate Christmas on January 7th. How did this happen and why was this date chosen? Also, how did some of the current customs such as Christmas trees, lights, giving presents, and others evolve and how do they pertain to Christmas? Some Atheists will also argue that Christmas celebrations are purely pagan in origin; is this true? I hope to discuss all these issues briefly in this post.
Date of Christmas
The date of Christmas is the most complicated of these issues. It’s also the one that most Atheists like to point at as an error in Christianity. The first point they will not fail to make is that December 25th is not the day the Christ was born due to the fact that shepherds don’t herd their sheep in the winter. This is true, but Christianity has never claimed that this day (or any other day) is the legitimate birthday of Christ. This misunderstanding here comes from the misunderstanding of feast days in ancient Christianity. Just because Christians celebrate on a certain day doesn’t mean that that day is the actual day He was born. Actually, the most ancient of Christians thought that Christ was born in the spring (possibly March or April) which would solve the problem of the shepherds. There are other theories that place His birth in the autumn, but the most important thing to remember is that Dec. 25th (or Jan. 7th) was never meant to mark the exact day of His birth.
So why/how did the Church come up with the date of Christmas? To understand this, we have to go to the date of Easter. Traditionally, the date of Easter was calculated to be March 25th (Paremhat 29th, according to the Coptic calendar) (which is fairly accurate). Christians, therefore, used this day to celebrate what was called the “Feast of the Incarnation.” This feast was celebrated as a combination of the Feast of Resurrection, Feast of Annunciation, and Feast of Nativity (Christmas). Later on, there was a controversy over when the Feast of Resurrection should be celebrated. Some felt that it should be celebrated on this day (called the Quartodecimans) while others felt that it should be celebrated on a Sunday. At the Council of Nicea, the verdict was decided in favor of celebrating on Sunday. Therefore, Easter is now celebrated on Sunday, leaving March 25th as a celebration of the Annunciation and Nativity. Another reform happened in order to give each feast its own day. This was done simply by moving the Nativity to nine months (the length of pregnancy) after the Annunciation making it Dec. 25th (Koiahk 29th). March 25th is now just the Commemoration of the Annunciation and is also seen as a recognition of the actual day of Resurrection, although the feast is not celebrated on this day.
Coincidently and unintentionally, Dec. 25th happens to be the same day as the Roman Feast of Winter Solstice. Atheists use this coincidence to argue that the Feast of Christmas is actually a pagan feast. Although the coincidence is eerie, it is just a coincidence and the history argues otherwise. (This type of argument is called the “Mythicism Argument,” and I hope to write a separate post on this later on).
So how about January 7th? This is a lot easier. Dec. 25th was Koiahk 29th up until the Julian calendar was no longer used. In order to make a more accurate calendar, the Gregorian calendar (today’s current calendar) was put into affect pushing the date by 10 days, essentially making Dec. 25th in the Gregorian calendar coincide with January 7th in the Julian Calendar. So essentially, both dates are December 25th, depending on the calendar being used.
Christmas Trees
No one knows the exact origin of Christmas trees, and there are many legends associated with how they were introduced. The best we know is that it started in Germany. Although there are some pagan origins to using the tree during the winter solstice, it was merely used as a signal and hope for the coming spring. Seeing this, Christians may have adopted a similar interpretation and used the evergreen fir tree to signify the everlasting hope of Christ who came on this day to deliver us. It was seen as a symbol of eternal life because of the ability of the evergreen to stay lush through harsh winters.
Christmas Lights
Candles have always been used in Christianity for church services for a variety of uses. One common one is to signify Christ, who is the light of the world. The origin of the use of Christmas lights as they are now is not really known. However, one possibility points to the Christians in Egypt who celebrated this feast with lanterns. According to Muslim historian Al-Maqrizi (see page 5-6), Copts of all classes used to celebrate with these lights and with delectable treats (possibly, the origin of Christmas treats as well). These lights signify that in the darkness and hopelessness of the world, Christ came as a light to guide us to hope.
Giving Presents/Santa Clause
It is commonly thought now that giving presents is associated with the Wise Men giving presents to the Child Jesus. However, it is widely documented that giving presents actually occurred on the Feast of St. Nicholas celebrated on Dec. 6 (or Dec. 19th in the Coptic Church). Martin Luther, in his process of reformation, wanted to eliminate any feasts of saints and practices associated with them. However, the practice of giving gifts became so popular, that it was hard to eliminate. Therefore, taking advantage of the feast’s proximity to Christmas, he pushed the gift-giving to the day of Christmas in order to associate with Christ rather than a saint. This rough transition caused there to be a missing “gift-giver” that is associated with the story of St. Nicholas. This is where Santa Claus comes in. The Santa Claus we see today is a fusion of St. Nicholas with some Germanic pagan gods that is very loosely based on this story. As a result, Santa Claus now appears on Christmas.
Conclusion
Knowing these facts now, the Christian can understand some of the beautiful symbolisms behind Christmas. The symbolism of the tree points to Christ’s everlasting gift of himself, the lights, His hope, and the gifts, His generosity. Understanding these things can help us worship Christ in the proper way on the Feast of His Nativity, and appreciate this Feast even more. To read more about other Christmas traditions, this is a good website.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. Christ is born! Glorify Him!
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