Why do Christians celebrate the birth of the Savior on December 25?

And the beginnings of Christmas …

 

It wasn’t until the year 125 AD that Telesphorus, the second bishop of Rome declared that the church should memorialize “the Nativity of our Lord and Savior”, but no official date had been set aside since no one was quite sure of which month Christ had been born. The first Christmas services were held in September during the Jewish Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah). Within the first decades, more than a dozen different days had been assigned by as many congregations, the most common of which was January 6, but in 274, when the solstice fell on the 25^th of December, the Roman emperor Aurelian proclaimed the date as Natalis Solis Invici, the festival of the birth of the invincible sun. By 320 Pope Julius I specified December 25 as the officially recognized date of the birth of Jesus Christ, but it was Constantine the Great a few years later who introduced the date as an immovable feast day.  

 

December 25 collided with the very popular and riotous pagan celebrations of Saturnalia, the god of peace and plenty which ran from December 17 – 24, and much to the dismay of early Christians, the celebration took on the previous riotous nature of the pagan holiday, which continued many centuries.

In 1649 Oliver Cromwell overthrew the English Monarchy of King Charles I, and during his rule Christmas festivities were banned. He, like many others of the time, believed that Christmas should be a sober day of reflection. Unless it fell on the Sabbath, it should be treated no differently than any other day of the week. People should go about their daily activities, do their work, and go home to quietly consider what Christ meant in their lives. No gifts, no toasts, no carols sung, it became a solemn, colorless day. For his entire rule Cromwell managed to put a cap on the traditionally riotous English Christmas behavior. After his death, Charles II and those who followed him restored the debauchery of Christmases past.

 

Many in the royal family encouraged the social chaos and misbehavior by contributing liquor and food for the celebrations (willingly or unwillingly). Songs of the era like “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” alluded to the nature of the carnival. Large bands of men would go to upper-class homes demanding food, drink and money. If the homeowners didn’t comply, their homes were often looted. The carol threaten that the singers want pudding and “we won’t go until we get some”. Those who lived in the palatial homes the crowds visited knew the rioters would not depart until they had gotten what they wanted. Many of them feared Christmas as a day of unpredictable violence. For generations in London, Christmas was a day when women and children dared not venture into the streets.

 

When the Puritans left England to come to the New World they banned the holiday and the law stayed in effect for much of early American history. However with the boatloads of English immigrants who flowed into America, the newcomers soon overpowered the wishes of the Puritans, and Christmas  again became the drunken parties and gang riots of Old England. In 1828 a special police force in New York City was formed just to deal with the unlawful conduct of citizens on Christmas Day.

 

While in England and then America, Christmas had become little more than an excuse to party, in Germany the holiday had evolved into a time when family and friends gathered to share food and fellowship and to acknowledge and celebrate the birth of the Savior. In homes throughout Germany (thanks to Martin Luther) Christmas was the second most holy day of the year (Easter was the first). The music, the simple decorations, the homemade treats, and the evergreen trees made Christmas the most anticipated time of the year. When Queen Victoria married her cousin, Germany’s Prince Albert, in 1840, English traditions began to transform. Albert brought with him the reverent and family–oriented German traditions of the season, which turned Christmas celebrations in Windsor Castle into a family affair. Soon British families picked up on the royal example and adopted the new traditions.

 

Meanwhile, in America in 1822, a minister and educator, Clement C. Moore shared a poem he’d written called “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, which got printed in the New York Sentinel the following year, and which dramatically changed the way Americans began looking at the season. For the first time, children were seen as an important part of Christmas, and the door was finally open for the holiday to be reshaped into one that children of all ages could enjoy. Then in 1834, when Charles Dickens published “A Christmas Carol” in England, another step was made in stressing the meaning and importance of Christmas. At the heart of Dicken’s story were charity, hope, love and family. This book was written at a harsh time in England – holidays had been all but eliminated. Men worked twelve hours a day, six days a week. Children were often put to work in factories at the age of eight or nine. No one had time to stop for even a moment to examine the wonder of life, much less reflect on the birth of a Savior. With Scrooge representing the common thinking of almost all industrialists of the time, in both England and the United States, “A Christmas Carol” made people take a second look at their values.

 

Over the next 20 – 30 years, Christmas evolved from a holiday characterized by drinking and riots into a day of family, giving, and worship. Thanks to Moore, Santa Claus was everywhere, in stores, on street corners, and in advertising displays. Buying presents and decorating trees became important. In America, states began to declare Christmas as an official holiday. Finally after eighteen centuries of all but ignoring the day, churches began to open their doors for believers to worship, sing songs, and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Ironically, with the introduction of Santa and Scrooge, and with the commercialization of Christmas, those living in America and England finally got a chance to experience the real meaning of Christmas. Santa put an end to the drunken riots and brought peace to the season, and this allowed millions to reflect on the peace offered by the babe’s birth in a manger. Though many today grow tired of the “commercialization” of Christmas, in reality it has opened the door for Christ to once again become the focal point of the season, and for family, especially children, to be a the heart of the celebration.

 

                                                                                        - see More about the traditions related to Christmas 
                                                           in "Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas" by Ace Colins



    Reviews by Robert B. White -

If You Haven't Got This in Your Library ...

                                                        

We Believe: Doctrines and Principles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
2 Volumes, Edited by Rulon T. Burton and Carlos L. Packard

                                                                                     - Oct 3, 2009

 

I have had the privilege over the years, to have been called to teach the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ in many capacities. Occasionally a question is asked that either I cannot answer or shouldn't. In the first instance it may be that I recognize I don’t know the answer; in other instances I may not feel spiritually settled about the answer. Do I really know, or only think I know? Those who have also taught the gospel (in various settings) can doubtless relate. The proper answer of course is either "I really don't know", or "I'm not settled about it". Sometimes another class member will feel sure about the answer, and volunteer it. As teachers we have a sacred obligation to ensure that only pure testimony is born, and true doctrine taught in the class over which we have stewardship. If we simply defer to the opinion of another, we have neglected our sacred duty. So, we confess our ignorance, and promise to find the answer, if answer there is. But where to go? The Topical Guide or the Bible Dictionary may yield an answer, but not always. We survey our library of books, check the indexes of three or four. One may have a paragraph directly to point. But who wrote it and who is he quoting? If one of the Brethren is quoted then universal counsel is to find a second witness by another of the Brethren. With two such witnesses we can be confident we have correct doctrine. This scenario, repeated scores of times each week, highlights the sacred duty of a gospel teacher and the magnitude of the task. This isn't a job for a couple of hours Saturday night! In fact, the Lord has defined the time commitment in these terms: "Treasure up in your minds continually the words of eternal life..." ‘We Believe’ in continuous revelation, and the Lord may have given light and knowledge on a particular subject of which we are unaware.

 

Enter HELP (at last): 

We Believe: Doctrines and Principles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
, edited by Rulon T. Burton and Carlos L. Packard, is two beautifully bound, reasonably priced volumes of priceless information. Doctrine on over 900 topics, followed in each case by at least two statements from any of the Standard Works, General Conference Reports, statements by (or published with the authority of) the Brethren, and official Church published books and manuals. Each entry is quoted without commentary and full citations are given. The work is thorough, complete and comprehensive, over 1500 pages in easy to read 12 point serif type.

 

Unlike Doctrines of Salvation and Mormon Doctrine, each of which are treasured attempts to give Latter-day Saints reasonably ready access to the doctrines of the Kingdom, modern technology has made it possible to compile an unprecedented vast resource of information, from many sources. “We Believe” should be in every latter-day home--not only as a resource for teaching, but as an aid of incalculable value as we engage in our personal, prayerful study of the scriptures - without which no day can be complete and no soul safe. Instead of moving past subjects we do not understand - hoping that some day "the clouds of error [will] disappear", we can consult these volumes with a high probability that we'll find therein, tutoring by the Brethren.

 

At some point in our lives we must stop the regime of "ten pages per day" and read to understand. I have heard President Packer say at least a half-dozen times in meetings with the seventy, that "one verse, properly understood by the power of The Holy Ghost, can change a life," I am a witness that he is right.

 

“We Believe” is always on my desk, ready to refer to when someone asks me a doctrinal question I’m not certain I understand, and on the dozens of occasions when I have such questions myself. I have seldom been disappointed. A digital copy of the work is included to simplify printing out quotes and to use when preparing talks etc.

 

While I admit these two volumes are not cheap, they don't cost more than a night for two at the movies, and for the price of a hockey game you could get a set with cash left over. Besides, "What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and loose his soul; or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" Well, on that subject “We Believe” .... 

 

                                                                                                - Brother Bob

If You Haven't Got This in Your Library .....
Massacre at Mountain Meadows - September 2009

 I buy and read a lot of books. I mean, a lot! About 200 a year. And that doesn't count the ones I buy, start reading, can't stand, and get rid of. This is why an actual bookstore beats Amazon hands down. Amazon sometimes gives you a peak inside a book if you're lucky, but at a bookstore you can see the whole book, and even read a chapter to see if it grabs and holds you.

Well, I recently purchased from Generations a book that I never thought I'd read: Massacre at Mountain Meadows by Ronald W. Walker, Richard E. Turley and Glen M. Leonard, all highly credible in their fields and recognized as leading authorities on the subject.

For as long as I can remember, until President Hinckley held out his hand in apology and reconciliation, as a people we've either passed by this subject in embarrassed silence, or repeated some folk tale excuse or other. For President Hinckley, that wouldn't do. He had a monument built; he met with the descendants of the victims--and there were victims--and he expressed the deepest regret to them on behalf of all Latter-day Saints.
 
   Now, if that weren't enough, he gave Brothers Walker, Turley and Leonard open access to the Church archives, and encouraged them to write the whole story of what happened in a beautiful mountain valley, near Cedar City, Utah, over three tragic days in 1857.

   We owe it to ourselves as Latter-day Saints to purchase and to read this book. It silences our critics who for decades have tried to implicate Brigham Young in what happened. The fact is that immediately upon learning that there might be trouble, he dispatched a messenger, on what can only be described as a heroic ride, with a letter signed by him stating: "Leave those people alone!"
 
   It is important for each of us is to follow the narrative of these very skilled writers as they, and as we, try to understand how a group of otherwise honourable priesthood holders, husbands and fathers, who had been living lives of decency and even charity - murder men, women and children, in cold blood, face to face, with little more than a handshake's distance between them. It certainly wasn't because of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the restored gospel it presents to the world, and it wasn't because Mormons are bad people. So what did happen? and why? and how? To be knowledgeable and honest about our history as a people, this is something we need to know. President Hinckley thought so; and who am I to think otherwise?
 
   This is an important book, of unquestionable integrity. I'm glad I put down my money and bought the book and took it home. And when I got it there, I'm glad I picked it up and read it through. I think you would be, too. If I didn't have this book in my hands, I wouldn't delay in getting it there.

- Robert B. White