The Christmas season has been interesting this year. As I've gotten more confident in just being ME, lol, I have found myself questioning so much of what I do in life: the whole 'Why?' of it. It's been a very good process, and quite beneficial in discovering more about my CORE self.
Take Christmas for example.
1) The only thing which Christ tells us to 'commemorate' is the sacrifice of his body on the cross via the partaking of communion [see Luke 22:19 and 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 for reference].
2) The timing is totally 'off' regarding traveling [it was census time for the region] and this would not happen during the coldest time of the year.
-- So why do Christians celebrate Christ's birth? And why do they do so on December 25th?
Time of year for Christ's birth.
The following information comes from an article I found at: When was Jesus born? | Bibleinfo.com
1) According to Luke 2:8-9, the shepherds were in the fields with their flocks. The customary time for this was Spring to early October.
2) Mathematical calculation based on Biblical facts regarding the conceptions of John the Baptist [JTB] and Jesus:
-- JTB was conceived after his father's [Zacharias] days of service in the temple [see Luke 1]. Zacharias was of the priestly order of Abijah, which served during the 10th week of the priestly cycle [1 Chronicles 24:6-19] - which is the second Sabbath in the month of Sivan [approximately mid-May to mid-June].
-- Elizabeth [JTBs mother] was 6 months into her pregnancy when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary [Jesus Christ's mother] that she was pregnant [see Luke 1: 24-28, 31]. Therefore, the conception likely took place in December.
-- So, when you allow for 9 months of gestation, you end up with September [instead of December] being the approximate month in which Jesus was born.
Reasons for celebrating Christmas [Christ's Birth] in late December.
Various sources can provide the following information, but I am primarily referring to the post for December 25th, under the 'This Day in History' tab, at History.com for the synopsis below.
As Christianity began to spread across the Roman world, Christians had to contend with various pagan celebrations including the 'birthday of the unconquered sun' [a celebration of the Winter Solstice], the festival of Saturnalia [for Saturn, the god of agriculture, which ran from December 17-25, and which included merrymaking and the exchanging of gifts], and Mithraism rituals which honored the Persian god of Light [many at the time of the Winter Solstice]. Eventually, additional winter solstice rituals [such as the lighting of the Yule log and decorating with evergreens from Germanic tribes] would be added to the celebration of Christmas by Christians. Therefore, it is understandable that Christians would try to adapt and add 'Christian' symbolism to these various festivals [in the same way in which early hymns were just secular tunes with new Christ-oriented lyrics] in order to help convert the pagan worshippers to Christianity without forcing them to give up familiar celebrations or tempting Christians to leave the faith in order to enjoy the festivities.
My own thoughts about celebrating Christmas.
For years, I have questioned the whole 'over the top' celebration of Christmas by Christians ["this is OUR holiday and should be kept sacred"- when in fact it originally was not], PRIMARILY because there is not a scriptural basis for it [unlike Easter]. Sure, I get it as a way to encourage people to actually attend church [a day besides Easter] and those people might attend if they are entertained. And I even will sometimes see a connection between the manger and the cross in these services: a 'Born to Die' reminder for congregants and guests.
Yet for me...
Christmas has become so FLUFFY, and commerce driven [understandably tapping into the - originally pagan - tradition of exchanging of gifts with loved ones] that I find myself disconnecting from it emotionally and seeing the holiday as more of a SECULAR excuse to get together with people and/or to have a little fun.
-- Giving to the poor should be year-round.
-- Heck, giving gifts to 'loved ones' ['just because' and without a reason like a holiday or birthday] could easily be done too... an unexpected 'thinking of you' kind of thing or surprise at some odd time during the year.
-- Connecting with 'loved ones' should be year-round [no excuses with the interconnectedness of people which exists via technology] and it does not HAVE to be in person.
-- Traveling is more dangerous in the winter.
As for the holiday season, I can enjoy the lights, and the winter flavors of food and beverages, the music, the beauty of the Earth, and the peace and quiet of a starry night. I can - like I do year-round - remember Christ's sacrifice on the cross for me and see the beauty in that He was probably conceived at the time of the Winter Solstice in order to be THE Light of the World on a spiritual level. I can eat seasonal foods and remember my role as caretaker of this planet [think of Adam's original purpose in the garden of Eden before the Fall] and not get caught up in tiring 'have to' lists or expectations [of people or society at large]. And I can choose to just BE during the season.
Rachel
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