12 things to remember this Christmas

By Edgar on Dec 23, 2007 | 1226 views

December 25th is not Jesus' birthday
January 6th is also not Jesus' birthday
The Bible doesn't tell us how many magi/wisemen visited Jesus
Christmas was created to cancel out the pagan holiday Saturnilia and December 25th was also chosen to counter the Roman emporer-worship holiday of Sol Invictus.
125 AD, is the first recorded mention of a celebration of Jesus' birth and it comes from a note from, Telesphorus, the 2nd bishop of Rome declaring that church services should be held to memorialize the nativity of Jesus (Collins, 12)
320 AD is the year when Pope Julius I chose December 25th as the official day to celebrate Jesus' birthday (Ibid, 13)
325 AD is when Constantine made December 25th the official day for Christmas (ib., 13)
Clement Carke's A visit from St. Nicholas (1822 AD), also known as, The Night Before Christmas, and Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol (1843 AD) gave us our modern day Christmas celebration (ib., 100).
Writing “Xmas” instead of Christmas is orthodox.
The Virgin birth is true.
Jesus is the reason for the season
Love one another and they will know we're his disciples

Resources Collins, Ace. Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas

Stand To Reason Podcast. Greg Koukl. The Origins of Christmas. December 9 2007.

15 comments

Comment from: Edgar [Member]

Ace Collins claims that Telesphorus was the 2nd bishop of Rome but the Catholic Encyclopedia says he was the 8th... Just a thought.

12/23/07 @ 14:10

Comment from: Neil [Visitor]

Great list - I wasn't aware of the Xmas thing - that'll be a timesaver!

12/23/07 @ 17:27

Comment from: Dan [Member]

Excellent article. One point--12/25 or 1/6 might have been JC's brithday. We don't know for certain.

12/23/07 @ 18:15

Comment from: Havok [Visitor]

25th December is currently celebrated as christmas due to a roman festival held on that day "Dies Natalis Solis Invicti". It also coincides with the winter solstice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#Natalis_Solis_Invicti

I don't think there is any tradtion linking 25th December to the birth of jesus prior to Emperor Constantine, around 300CE.

12/25/07 @ 21:07

Comment from: Edgar [Member]

Hi Havok,

Thanks for the comment.

There are at least two instances recorded before Constantine:
320AD from Pope Julius I, and 125 AD from Telesphorus.

The exact dates are known according to Collins' book:
Stories Behind the Great Traditions of ChristmasChristmas Myths

12/26/07 @ 09:47

Comment from: Dan [Member]

Paul Meier was on STR this past Sunday for an hour commenting along these same lines. He said JC was born in 5 BC sometime between June and December.

Dec. 25th was celebrated as Christmas, along with several other days, long before Constantine. Cosntantine made it offical for the Roman Empire.

12/26/07 @ 11:15

Comment from: Dan [Member]

Paul Maier also said that JC didn't spend much time in Egypt, probably only a couple of months.

This surely disappoints Anne Rice fans out there.

12/26/07 @ 11:35

Comment from: Havok [Visitor]

Pope Julius was around at the same time as Constantine.
Telesphorus simply said that the birth should be celebrated - it was originally celebrated in September.

My point stands.

12/26/07 @ 20:11

Comment from: Ms. Green [Visitor]

The wise men that came to see Jesus probably didn't arrive until He was a year and a half to two years old - not at His birth.

I also like that fact that the shepherds to whom the angel appeared were responsible for watching over the lambs that were raised for the temple sacrifices. How appropriate that the Lamb of God should be announced to these men first.

12/27/07 @ 20:33

Comment from: Dan [Member]

Havok are you saying that Dec. 25th wasn't acknowledged as the birth of Jesus until Constantine was born? I'm not certain what your point is.

"December 25 was first identified as the date of Jesus' birth by Sextus Julius Africanus in 221"

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9082431/Christmas

12/28/07 @ 07:38

Comment from: Dan [Member]

As Koukl said yesterday, Christmas is not about peace on earth like so many Peanuts specials and faux-Christmas songs. The peace the angels announced was glory to God, the peace we can have with God, not necessarily the peace we can have with each other.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom31.ix.xvii.html

We must now see what the angels mean by the word peace. They certainly do not speak of an outward peace cultivated by men with each other; but they say, that the earth is at peace, when men have been reconciled to God, and enjoy an inward tranquillity in their own minds.

Matt 10:34 "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."

It's very fashionable to get caught up in the peace, goodwill, etc. aspects of the holiday. It's not quite as popular to emphasize the birth of the Son of God and all it entails.

12/08/08 @ 07:29

Comment from: Dan [Member]

4. December 25th was also chosen to counter the Roman emporer-worship holiday of Sol Invictus.

12/08/08 @ 07:34

Comment from: Havok [Visitor]

Dan: 4. December 25th was also chosen to counter the Roman emporer-worship holiday of Sol Invictus.

As well as the various celebrations of Yule, winter solstice etc which were prevalent.

The date of 25th December was the date of these celebrations due to it being the winter solstice, when the sun was thought to be born again, the days became longer again etc etc.

12/09/08 @ 03:16

Comment from: Timothy [Visitor]

Hi Guys,
Excellent post as always. I talk about the true peace and goodwill in one of my posts from this week. I may use this list in my opening illustration for my sermon, if you guys don't mind.
Blessings

12/12/08 @ 08:59

Comment from: Edgar [Member]

Hi Tim,

You are more than welcome. God bless you and your congregation this Christmas.

12/12/08 @ 09:29

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12 things to remember this Christmas

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