People often ask me…as an skeptic, if I celebrate Christmas?
And I say sure!
Well…not because of the baby Jesus.
But then again, most Christmas traditions have nothing to do with the baby Jesus.
Take the Christmas tree, for example.
Centuries before the Christ child was supposedly born, many cultures brought evergreen trees
into their homes for decoration in the month of December to celebrate the arrival of the
Winter Solstice and to ask their various pagan gods for a bountiful harvest the following
season.
The practice continued in various forms throughout the ages.
The ancient Egyptians honored their sun god Ra with palm leaves and evergreen trees.
The early Romans decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs as part of a
pagan festival called Saturnalia, the festival of Saturn, the god of agriculture.
The Vikings of Scandinavia believed that evergreens were the special plant of their god, Balder,
and they’d burn Yule logs and feast until the last ember burned out.
The actual Christian tradition of the Christmas tree began as late as the 16th Century in
Germany, and Christmas trees were still seen as pagan symbols throughout the U.S. until
the 1840s.
The Winter Solstice, not the baby Jesus, most likely accounts for the selection of December
25th as Christmas day.
Late December was when the days again started to become noticeably longer and the sun ceased
it’s movement to the South.
So the winter solstice was celebrated for the birth of the sun.
It just wasn’t the sun that most religious people have in mind.
And you might be surprised that America didn’t even declare Christmas Day a national holiday
until June 26, 1870.
The exchanging of gifts?
Pagan in origin, stemming back to the Festival of Saturnalia and originally banned for that
reason by the Catholic church in the Middle Ages.
Christmas carols?
They trace back to the Middle Ages as well, not as religious songs, but as common folk
songs sung during harvest festivals and were only later integrated into worship by religious
figures like Martin Luther.
Mistletoe is a happy Christmas tradition.
But few realize that mistletoe was once considered a mysterious, magical plant by the Druids
and the Greeks…a pagan symbol of life and fertility.
In Sandinavia, mistletoe was considered the plant of peace, under which enemies could
declare a truce and arguing spouses could kiss and make up.
Many decry the use of the word XMAS to mark the holiday, often clamoring that we should
put the Christ back into Christmas!
Well, actually, the XMAS is…Christmas.
The X comes from the first letter of the Greek word for Christ.
And those declaring XMAS a “war on Christ” are apparently confused.
Of course, confusion would be understandable if you tried to follow the biblical account
of the Christ child.
For example: * The book of Luke has Mary & Joseph traveling
to Bethlehem from their home in Nazarath in Galilee (Like 2:4), in contradiction with
Matthew (Matthew 2:21-23), which says Mary & Joseph resided in Nazareth only after the
birth of Jesus.
* Matthew chapter 1 says angel appeared to Joseph.
But Luke chapter 1 says that the angel appeared before Mary.
* And what of The three kings we hear about so often?
In the book of Matthew, they were magoi (astronomers), not kings.
There’s no mention of “three” anywhyere, and the entire account contradicts the one
in the book of Luke, which has Jesus being visited by local shepherds, not magai.
(Note.
The word mágos (Greek) translates “magician” in the sense of illusionist or fortune teller.)
* And the miraculous virgin birth?
Not so much.
Matthew apparently misread the original translation from Hebrew to Greek.
The Hebrew word “almah,” doesn’t mean “virgin.”
It translates, “young woman of marriageable age” or “young maiden.”)
* What about the lineage of Jesus?
The book of Matthew has 28 generations between David and the birth of Christ.
But Luke lists 41 generations.
* According to both Matthew and Luke Jesus was born on or before 4 BCE, during the reign
of Herod the Great.
But Luke says that Joseph and the pregnant Mary had to go to Bethlehem for a census by
Quirinius.
That census took place in 6CE…years later and after the death of Herod.
And even if there was a census, it would have taken place in their local tax district, requiring
no travel, and Roman tradition was to register only the men, meaning that Mary wouldn’t
have had to make the journey at all.
* Matthew says that Jesus’ birth took place in a house.
But the book of Luke says Jesus' birth took place in a manger, because there was no room
in the inn.
* After Jesus' birth, Matthew says the family immediately fled to Egypt for several years
to escape Herod's wrath (Matt.
2:13-14).
But the book Luke has them returning immediately to Nazareth.
And by the way...there’s no proof that a city named Nazareth existed in the 1st century.
It is not mentioned once in the entire Old Testament.
The Talmud (tal-mood), which names 63 Galileean towns, never mentions Nazareth.
It doesn’t appear in any of the early rabbinic literature.
Josephus’s extensive writings about 1st Century Galilee include mentions of 45 other
cities, but no Nazareth.
In fact, Nazareth received no mention by any contemporary historian until the beginning
of the 4th century and was likely named much later by the faithful or the opportunistic.
any ancient historians or geographers mention it before the beginning of the fourth century.
‘ Nazareth is not mentioned in any historical
records or biblical texts of the time and receives no mention by any contemporary historian*
The first reference to Nazareth doesn’t appear in historical literature until 4CE.
The expression 'Jesus of Nazareth' is most likely a bad translation which means, "The
One of the Truth."
And the city of Nazareth was likely named much later by the faithful or the opportunistic.
The list goes on and on.
Ultimately, man of the traditions of Christ’s supposed birthday have absolutely nothing
to do with Jesus Christ but instead came from other, earlier, Pagan traditions.
And even if there had been a Jesus Christ, as much as I hate to break it to you, unlike
the depiction on your yearly Christmas card, because he was born in the middle east, Jesus
Christ was most certainly not white.
I'm a fan of Christmas.
I enjoy family, friends, Christmas light displays, the Christmas tree, stockings, gifts, the
classic Christmas songs, hot chocolate and pumpkin pie.
But like many other skeptics, I also celebrate the season knowing that those plastic nativity
Jesuses are actually more real than the Jesus they represent.
And as millions of Christians erect Pagan symbols and practice Pagan traditions, while
defending a Christian savior story, it's a chance for the rest of us to smile warmly,
offer them a cup of hot cider, and wish them a Merry, merry XMAS