We have to be honest … we stole it. It isn’t true. December 25 is NOT the day that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Many people are surprised when I tell them that it was probably in May or June and not in December. Many more are surprised when I tell them why it was determined that the end of December would be when we celebrate Jesus’ birth.
The end of December is the Winter Solstice, which means that it is the transition point where the sun is it FARTHEST away and now starts to come closer and closer again in our hemisphere. In pagan cultures this was translated as a new birth of the sun god. They knew the sun went farther away and it drew colder so they assumed the sun god was dying. Now with the winter solstice there is a new birth and the sun begins it journey closer and closer and warmer and warmer: a new birth! Just about every pagan culture had a sun god: Ra, Saturn, Mithra and many more. So there was a celebration is most pagan cultures at this new birth. Germans used evergreens to celebrate, other pagans used holly and mistletoe to celebrate a fertility rite, but most simply gave gifts to each other in celebration.
Finally in 336 AD Constantine, the Roman Emperor and conqueror of most of Europe made Christianity the state religion and consolidated all these pagan rituals into Christ’s Mass or Christmas. The Roman Catholic Church has since celebrated it on December 25th. However, it really wasn’t a major holiday in the church calendar, especially to Protestants until the last hundred years or so. Easter was always the MOST important Christian Holiday to Roman Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians. The next major holiday was Ascension Day. People today, even Christians, don’t remember what Ascension Day was or is. The day, forty days after his resurrection, when Jesus ascended into heaven to take his seat at God’s right hand to be our advocate.
Did I take out the meaning of Christmas? Do I believe Christmas is bad like the Puritans did in early American history? No to all. Christmas is not a day. Christmas is a celebration. Christmas is a feeling. Christmas is good and right and should be celebrated twice a year, or EVERY DAY! It is not about the gifts, it is about the GIFT!