The Christmas Myth

The Christmas Myth

Christmas is a fun holiday and an excellent time of year to be with friends and family, and more importantly take time out of our busy lives to reflect and think in order to guard ourselves against the selfish materialism the season tries to sell to us. The purpose of this editorial is not necessarily to say Christmas is evil, but to shed light on its origins so people will stop misconstruing the words of various texts, mainly the Bible.

CHRISTMAS IS NOT THE BIRTHDAY OF JESUS CHRIST
Contrary to popular belief, and the reasoning behind celebrating the Holiday, Christmas, is most likely not the birthday of Christ. So Christians who claim December 25 as Christ’s birthday find themselves in quite a contradiction, for nowhere in the Bible is a date given for the birth Jesus. The Biblical texts suggest that December 25th, in all probability, is the most unlikely date for Christ's birth. In reading the Gospel of Luke which provides the most detailed account of Christ’s birth, it is clear that the season in which Christ was born couldn't have been winter. (The Gospel of Matthew also strongly suggests it couldn’t have been winter). December, in what is present-day Palestine where Christ was born, is one of the coldest months of the year. For example:
Luke 2:8, "Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night." and vv 15-16: "So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.' And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the Babe lying in a manger." The New King James Version.
If the shepherds were out in their fields, how could the season have been winter? Geographically and climatically, the Palestinian winters are much too cold and severe. All of the grass would have been dead in the fields thus leaving the sheep nothing to eat. So the sheep would have perished from starvation and exposure. It is also highly likely that if the shepherds were in the fields in Palestine in December (as is the claim made by pop-culture Christianity), then they would have died from exposure to the elements as well.
Another point to be made is that Christ probably wouldn’t have been born in such a close proximity to a harsh outdoor environment if it was winter (Luke 2:7;16). Further, it is clear from Luke 2:1-2, that Joseph and Mary were traveling to register for the national census, why would Caesar Augustus require everyone to register during a month where it would be impossible for any type of travel? It should be absolutely clear from the text that in all likelihood, Jesus could not have been born on December 25th. (See also Matt. 2:4-12, Herod sends the Wise Men out to search for Jesus. Herod would probably not send out his Wise Men to search if the conditions were too harsh for travel, as it probably would be during a Palestinian winter.) So where are we getting this notion of December 25 being Christ’s birth?

The origin of the date December 25th stems from a celebration of the Romans dating back to about 275 A.D., according to most scholars. December 25th was the believed be date of the winter solstice among the citizens of Rome, so the majority of the Roman population at this time engaged in a festival and celebration known as Natalis Solis Invicti, and here the celebrations were arranged as a worship for the Romans' various solar Gods. So the notion of claiming Christ’s birthday as December 25 is actually more closely related to a worship of Pagan Gods, which ironically, is something most Christians would eschew.

The strongest ties to celebration of Christmas as we know it probably originates from another Pagan Roman celebration known as Saturnalia which dates back to about 50 A.D., according to most scholars. This festival is documented as a week long celebration that occurred December 17-23, roughly, as a commemoration to the Roman god, Saturn. During this week, business and legal practices were suspended and the majority of the Roman population engaged in drunken chaos. Traditionally, as part of the celebration, men gave gifts to other men, but due to the nature and dissipation of the celebration, drunken brawls ensued. Women were beaten raped, people were killed in pointless disputes, and the men engaged in countless homosexual acts.

The origins of the date of Christ’s birth and Christmas as a celebration are actually rooted in something altogether different than a Biblical or Christian basis. So why do Christians keep claiming that Christ’s birthday is on Christmas without the evidence to support it? The most important question one can ask oneself is “How do I know what I know?”

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