Growing up in an African Methodist Episcopal household as a child (A.M.E. shout out to Richard Allen!), the annual Christmas program was a huge deal. From the flowing red gowns of the female choir members to the gold candles illuminating the sanctuary in a warm glow, the soaring notes of "O Holy Night," and "Silent Night' were congregant favorites. Everyone would sway and sing along, celebrating the birth of their one, true savior, Jesus -- or Joshua for those people who like to be historically correct.
There's only one small problem:
Dec. 25 is not his birthday. Biblical scholars have debunked the blind belief that Jesus was born on Dec. 25 time and time again. Instead, through scientific, historical and astrological calculations, they've pinpointed September of the year 3 B.C. as a more accurate date. But for some reason, as is the case with Easter, creationism and the entire Old Testament, many Christians have wrestled the concept from its origins, even going so far as declaring that people are heathens, ungrateful and unscrupulous for daring to take the "Christ" out of X-mas.
I guess I would feel more comfortable with the scathing criticism, if in fact, Christmas was ever intended to be a Christian holiday, but it was not. That is not myth, legend or subjective opinion -- that is fact.
Many people are familiar with the Winter Solstice, and for those who are not, it's when the sun reaches it's lowest point in the sky on Dec. 21, actually appearing to stop moving for three days, then rising again on Dec. 25. With just a cursory examination, one can understand that the "Birth of the Son" is actually the "Return of the Sun." And those three wise men? The three stars of Orion's Belt have always been referred to as "The Three Kings," and astronomy tells us that they appear to follow the bright star, Sirius, who over the years has evolved into Mary, the Virgin Mother.
Besides the fact that the day in question is relevant to a long list of deities throughout antiquity who pre-date Jesus, from Persia's pagan Sun God Mithra to Egypt's Horus and Ra, to Syria's Baal, Rome's Sol Invictus and Greece's Helios, it wasn't until the year 350 A.D., that Pope Julius I declared that the "Christ-Mass" would be held on Dec. 25, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
There are many Christians who frown upon this conversation, and that's fine. But I think the fact that Dec. 25 is no more the birth of Jesus Christ, than a day an obese white man from the North Pole slides down the chimney -- the last I heard, that's called breaking and entering -- to give children presents should be examined. The culmination of the Winter Solstice, when farmers rejoiced in the re-appearance of the sun, when the darkness lifted and warmth began to fill people's lives again is just as worthy of celebration as a supermarket Santa or the fictitious birthday of Jesus -- even more so in my opinion, because it's real.
We all need the sun, we all depend on it to live healthy lives, it is the solar force that enables plants to bloom and trees to grow. And while I don't believe that it should be worshiped, I see absolutely nothing wrong with acknowledging it's power and being grateful for its presence without being bombarded with questions regarding faith -- as many of us agnostics are -- or being judged for not accepting the myth that has taken on a life of its own.
Can the church say, "Amen"?
Whether strong faith, or none, those who are so blessed, should all be grateful for our families, friends and good health; we should continue to reach out into our communities and care for those who may be lacking all three and most of all, we should not let something so simple as one day cause unnecessary divisiveness when it should be a time of joy for all.
So Happy Winter Solstice everyone -- may your days be filled with the warmth, peace and growth of a million suns!
And for those who just can't force themselves to re-think the real reason for the season -- Merry Christmas. We'll save the discussion on the holiday's franchise player, Santa Claus -- and his impersonation of Babylon's Nimrod -- for next year.
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Does it make it less reverant, or should we care less about the celebration of Martin Luther King's life if we don't celebrate it on his actual birthday?
Reasonable question.
It simply means that the tired and tedious "keep christ in christmas" and "jesus is the reason for the season" nonsense is that much more meaningless, and all of the christians can stop whining about the secularization of a holiday that never belonged to them in the first place.
Your bag lunch opinion and heavy draw on a Christian Press bag of garbage for dessert is contemporary Christian LIES, LIES that Christianity demands for survival.
Great article.
When you hang around other Godless and cynical people, that's what your world will look like. When you spend time with people who know how to be kind and generous to each other, the world becomes a better place.
I'll avoid conservatives in that case.
Thank You Jesus! Thank You for my family, the sun, my health, EVERYTHING! Especially for loving me waaaay before I loved You! Happy Birthday! Whether it's today or some other day. I'm just really happy You were born!
You can choose to celebrate his birth by tap-dancing in an Israeli pub while singing 'O Holy Night' on some random day in August, and I wouldn't bat an eyelash. The problem comes in when Christians claim that December 25 is the EXACT date of the birth of Jesus, when based on the meticulous research of Christian scholars, it is not. There are songs dedicated to the myth, describing it in detail (two of which are mentioned in this article) and it is not true, so I find it disturbing when people, such as myself, say simply, "It's not his birthday" and all kinds of deflection and judgment ensues. I'm not saying you shouldn't celebrate as you will, but at the very least, be historically accurate.
Cont...
As for your subjective argument of "to whom should we be grateful, if not Jesus our Creator?" I was under the impression that God was the Creator --- and God and Christianity are not only not synonymous, they're potentially mutually exclusive ideals. In any event, my point is not to disrespect God nor Jesus, it is simply that December 25 is a day that is special to many people, for many reasons --- and everyone deserves the respect of their believes.
My great-grandmother, who was extremely devout, used to say that "Jesus is the reason for all my seasons." I would think that this is true of all Christians, and if they chose to continue celebrating their traditions on a date with pagan roots, then that is their right; I'm merely putting facts into the Universe for anyone who cares to read them.
Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas to you!
Thank you. I am always amazed that some find it necessary to return to the earliest years of mankind to find some way to attempt to impress upon Christians how wrong they are, LOL I have great news for all who do this. You can stop. I don't think anyone in long lost history or otherwise, owns a specific day. We do not know the exact date that Christ was born, and many might be surprised how much history we actually do know.When it comes to our lives, all we have is the present day.Christ gave us all we need to know in the form of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. He reenforced the ten commandments and gave us several other instructions about how to live our lives.What He did not do is give us along list of dos and don'ts to live by. I say to everyone, go ahead and celebrate anyway you want to, but no one owns the day.
The old folks do say that the devil is in the details, right? Or is it the truth is in the details? :-)
Either way... Merry Christmas and Happy Solstice to you!
Belief in Jesus should not be contingent upon the belief that December 25 is his actual birth date.
Merry Christmas and Happy Solstice to you!
Galatians 4:4-5
God bless! Believe! Our creator reached down to us by sending his Son!
"The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
John 1:14
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.John 3:16