However, there are many different traditions and theories as to why Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. A very early Christian tradition said that the day when Mary was told that she would have a very special baby , Jesus called the Annunciation was on March 25th - and it's still celebrated today on the 25th March. Nine months after the 25th March is the 25th December!
March 25th was also the day some early Christians thought the world had been made, and also the day that Jesus died on when he was an adult Nisan 14 in the Jewish calendar and they thought that Jesus was conceived and had died on the same day of the year. The Winter Solstice is the day where there is the shortest time between the sun rising and the sun setting.
It happens on December 21st or 22nd in the Northern Hemisphere. To pagans this meant that they knew that the days would start getting lighter and longer and the nights would become shorter - marking a change in the seasons. To celebrate people had a mid-winter festival to celebrate the sun 'winning' over the darkness of winter. So it was a good time to have a celebration with things to eat and drink before the rest of the winter happened. We still have New Year celebrations near this time now!
In Scandinavia, and some other parts of northern Europe, the time around the Winter Solstice is known as Yule although the word Yule only seems to date to about the year In Eastern Europe the mid-winter festival is called Koleda. Shab-e Chelleh means 'night of forty' as it happens forty nights into winter. The word Yalda means 'birth' and comes from early Christians living in Persia celebrating the birth of Jesus around this time.
The Romans also thought that the Solstice took place on December 25th. It's also thought that in the Roman emperor Aurelian created 'Dies Natalis Solis Invicti' meaning 'birthday of the unconquered sun' also called 'Sol Invictus' and it was held on December 25th. However, there are records going back to around of early Christians connecting the Nisan 14 to the 25th March, and so 25th December was a 'Christian' festival date many years before 'Sol Invictus'!
More recent studies have also found that the 'Sol Invictus' connection didn't appear until the 12th century and it's from one scribbled note in the margins of a manuscript. There's also evidence that 'Sol Invictus' might also have happened in October and not December anyway! Christmas had also been celebrated by the early Church on January 6th, when they also celebrated the Epiphany which means the revelation that Jesus was God's son and the Baptism of Jesus.
Presents crowd for space under the tree and families come together for a turkey feast. Christmas is one of the most important Christian and cultural holidays of the year, but what is the true meaning of Christmas?
Is it the gifts? Is it the annual economic boost? The Christmas season, especially in the West, is a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular traditions. It literally means Christian Mass.
Christmas is a time of spiritual reflection on the important foundations of the Christian faith. The Bible tells of his birth hundreds of years before, fulfilling prophecies.
The Christmas story is recorded in Luke He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. First, people and religions of the day celebrated some sort of holiday around that time. From Jewish Chanukah to Pagan Winter Solstice to Germanic Yule to Roman Dies Natalis Solis Invicti Birth of the Unconquered Sun ; the sheer number of celebration days with trees, decorations, yule logs, mistletoe and feasts seem to point to a season of celebration to which Christians added the birth of Jesus as a counter-cultural event and possibly even an escape from the pagan holidays for early believers.
December 25th was the Saturnalia Festival of emancipation, gift giving and the triumph of light after the longest night. The Christian sees the truth implicit in this pagan tradition that reflects: Christ the Light of the world, His triumph over the night of sin in Luke :.
Because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.
December 25 is 9 months later and thus celebrated as the birthday of Jesus. For centuries, Christmas was celebrated not as a single day, but as a whole season in parts of the world, beginning with this day, December 24, Christmas Eve. Perhaps the practice of celebrating the evening before the big day is an echo from ancient Jewish reckoning. Among earlier Jews, a day began at six in the evening and ran until six the following evening.
Had not Moses written: "An evening and a morning were the first day"? Christmas means "Christ-mass. Under the influence of the church, Christian traditions replaced pagan solstice festivals throughout Europe. Often the more innocent pagan practices such as bringing in a Yule log, decorating with holly and the like were carried over into the Christmas observance, transfigured with new meaning. Evergreen Trees were the symbol of eternal life.
Martin Luther introduced them to the Reformation Church as a picture of our endless life in Christ, by bringing in a tree to his family on Christmas Eve lit with candles Isaiah Candles are a picture that Christ is the Light of the world John 8.
Holly speaks of the thorns in His crown Matthew Gifts are a reminder of the gifts of the Magi to baby Jesus. The Yule Log was a symbol by which all the men in the family would carry a log large enough to burn for 12 days into the house. They were identifying with Christ and His Cross. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Why did He come? Why did God send His son to this sometimes cruel and hard world?
He sent Jesus to us so that one day, He would grow up to become a very important part of history. His story history is one of truth, love, and hope. It brought salvation to all of us. Without Jesus, we would all die in our sins. Jesus was born so one day the price could be paid for the things we have done that are wrong.
The Bible says that all have sinned. We are all born with a sin nature. We do things that do not please God. Through the sins of Adam and Eve, we have all inherited that sin nature. We need to have that removed. The only way is through Jesus. Jesus came so He could die on the cross for ALL of our sins.
If we believe that Jesus died for our sins, we can ask Him to come into our hearts and forgive us. Then, we are clean and made whole.
We can know that heaven is a place where we can go to when this life is over. We can truly be happy at Christmas!
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