A Brief History of Christmas

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A Brief History of Christmas
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Celebrating the Birth of Christ?What do
birthday celebrations look like?
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The Traditional Birthday Formula
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Birthday boy or girl
Birthday guests
Birthday cake
Birthday candles
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Birthday presents
Birthday invitations
Singing the Happy Birthday song
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A history of celebrating a persons birthday
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We just celebrated 2 birthdays and they both
followed the traditional Birthday Formula
We had invitations, guests, presents, cake, and
singing
Leoras and Micaiahs birthdays have been
historically celebrated by their families as well
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Where Did the Traditional Birthday Formula
Originate?

• The various customs with which people today
  celebrate their birthdays have a long history.
  Their origins lie in the realm of magic and
  religion. The customs of offering
  congratulations, presenting gifts and
  celebratingcomplete with lighted candlesin
  ancient times were meant to protect the birthday
  celebrant from the demons and to ensure his
  security for the coming year. . . Down to the
  fourth century Christianity rejected the birthday
  celebration as a pagan custom.
• Schwäbische Zeitung (magazine supplement
  Zeit und Welt),
• April 3/4, 1981, p. 4.

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• The notion of a birthday festival was far
  from the ideas of the Christians of this period
  the first three centuries in general.
• The History of the Christian Religion and
  Church, During the Three First Centuries
  (New York, 1848), Augustus Neander (translated by
  Henry John Rose), p. 190.
• The Hebrews looked on the celebration of
  birthdays as a part of idolatrous worship, a view
  which would be abundantly confirmed by what they
  saw of the common observances associated with
  these days.
• The Imperial Bible-Dictionary (London, 1874),
  edited by Patrick Fairbairn, Vol. I, p. 225.

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• The Greeks believed that everyone had a
  protective spirit or daemon who attended his
  birth and watched over him in life. This spirit
  had a mystic relation with the god on whose
  birthday the individual was born. The Romans also
  subscribed to this idea. This notion was carried
  down in human belief and is reflected in the
  guardian angel, the fairy godmother and the
  patron saint. The custom of lighted candles on
  the cakes started with the Greeks. Honey cakes
  round as the moon and lit with tapers were placed
  on the temple altars of Artemis. Birthday
  candles, in folk belief, are endowed with special
  magic for granting wishes. Lighted tapers and
  sacrificial fires have had a special mystic
  significance ever since man first set up altars
  to his gods. The birthday candles are thus an
  honor and tribute to the birthday child and bring
  good fortune. Birthday greetings and wishes for
  happiness are an intrinsic part of this holiday.
  Originally the idea was rooted in magic. Birthday
  greetings have power for good or ill because one
  is closer to the spirit world on this day.
• The Lore of Birthdays (New York, 1952),
  Ralph and Adelin Linton, pp. 8, 18-20.

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• The early Christians did not celebrate His
  (Christs) birth because they considered the
  celebration of anyones birth to be a pagan
  custom.
• The World Book Encyclopedia Volume 3, page
  416.

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Do we celebrate Christmas as if it were Jesus
Birthday?

• Invitations No
• Guests Maybe, but not for Jesus Birthday Party
• Birthday cake No
• Gifts Not given to the Birthday Boy
• Happy Birthday song No
• We dont follow the Birthday Formula

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We Do Follow a Formula Though
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Where did our Christmas Birthday Formula
Originate?

• It is different than the Traditional Birthday
  Formula
• Customs, Practices, and Traditions
• Symbols, Icons, and Images
• Historical Significance
• Factual Errors
• Spiritual Significance

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History and Origin of the Christmas TraditionsA
Few Critical Points

• December 25th as Christs Birthday
• When the angel announced Christs birth, the
  shepherds were feeding their flocks by night in
  the open fields
• Shepherds stopped this practice by the end of
  October (Luke 28, Commentaries of Maimonides,
  Deuteronomy 114, Barnes, Doddridge, Lightfoot,
  Scaliger, Jennings, and Mede)
• At the birth of Christ, every woman and child was
  to be taxed at the city they belonged
• The winter was almost an impossible time to
  travel
• Historical observance of Christs birth?
• No such festival existed until the 3rd century
  (established
• by the Catholic Church as Christs Mass-
  another
• conversion of a pagan holiday)
• So why was December the 25th a pagan holiday?

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Tammuz as King of Babylon
Isis as the Queen of Heaven

• December 25th as Christs Birthday
• The 25th was celebrated as the birth of Tammuz
  (the son of the Babylonian queen of heaven,
  Simeramus)
• Yule Day (the 25th)- yule is the Chaldee word
  for child
• Mother Night (the 24th)- Simeramus
• The first mother and child Simeramus and Tammuz
• Also celebrated as the birth of the son of Isis
  by the Egyptians
• Celebrated as the birth of the Moon by the
  Arabians

Tammuz as an infant
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• December 25th as Christs Birthday
• Tammuz died at birth
• A great festival commenced as an appeal for the
  resurrection of Tammuz from the dead
• Evergreen trees were set afire as a sacrifice to
  Baal
• Infants were sacrificed on these fires so they
  might take Tammuzs place and hereby obtain his
  release from death
• Tammuz was resurrected after 3 days (sound
  familiar?)
• The lighted evergreen tree is a symbol of this
  ceremony to Baal

Tammuz
Simeramus
Nimrod
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Wassailing Bowl
Here we come a-wassailingAmong the leaves so
green,Here we come a-wassailing,So fair to be
seen Love and joy come to you,And to you your
wassail too,And God bless you and send you,A
happy New Year,And God send you,A happy new
year.
from Bacchus- the drunken festival of Babylon
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Christmas Tree
The Roman fir tree symbolizing the god
Baal-Berith (Lord of the Covenant or Lord of the
Fir Tree)
The Egyptian palm-tree symbolizing the god
Baal-Tamar (from the Babylonian god Tammuz)
The mother of Adonis (the son god) became an
evergreen tree and then birthed him
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Yule Log
The yule log goes in the fire on Mothers Night
and is replaced by the tree on Childs Day
Adonis, birthed from his mother while she was in
the form of an evergreen tree He was called Man
the Branch
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Mistletoe
Kissing under the mistletoe originated in Babylon
and was written about by Daniel. The mistletoe is
a representation of Nimrod (or Tammuz or Adonis).
Druidic Mistletoe Ritual
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Santa Claus
St. Nicholas of Myra (Catholic saint, died c 346
at Myra) The historical figure that Santa Claus
was modeled after The Coca-Cola Company is
responsible for the current costume and colors of
Santa Claus
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Conclusions

• Birthday celebrations follow a certain pattern
  and formula (although of pagan origin, the
  birthday custom is practiced world-wide)
• Christmas, if a birthday celebration of the birth
  of Christ, does not follow the birthday pattern
• However, Christmas certainly has a traditional
  foundation and pattern of practice
• Where then, did this pattern of practice
  originate?

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Conclusions

• Christmas was established by the Catholic Church
  as a means of converting several pagan customs
• The practices found in the celebration of
  Christmas are traceable to Babylonian mythology
  (it is also an integration of many others as
  well)
• Therefore, Christmas is celebrated as if it were
  a pagan ceremony
• Hence, it is not a celebration of Christs birth

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So What Should We Do?(only a few suggestions)

• Make sure that you honor the birth of Christ
  during Christmas, or
• Celebrate Christs birthday as you would any
  other, or
• Celebrate Christmas as is, but celebrate Christs
  birth on another day that is more likely his
  actual birth

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The Twelve Days of Christmas(cant confirm this
is true but cant prove its not)

• 1. The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ
• 2. Two turtledoves were the Old and New
  Testaments 
• 3. Three French hens stood for faith, hope and
  love
• 4. The four calling birds were the four gospels
  of Matthew, Mark, Luke
• John
• 5. The five golden rings recalled the Torah or
  Law, the first five
• books of the Old Testament
• 6. The six geese a-laying stood for the six days
  of creation
• 7. Seven swans a-swimming represented the
  sevenfold gifts of the Holy
• Spirit Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation,
  Contribution,
• Leadership, and Mercy
• 8. The eight maids a-milking were the eight
  beatitudes
• 9. Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of
  the Holy Spirit Love,
• Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,
  Faithfulness, Gentleness,
• and Self Control
• 10. The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten
  Commandments
• 11. The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven
  faithful disciples
• 12. The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the
  twelve points of
• belief in The Apostles' Creed