Traveling in Place

The Origins of Christmas

How did Christmas get started?

The answer is not as simple as, “Jesus was born.” Yes, he was, but nobody knows exactly when. So let me restate the question: What are the origins of the Christian festival celebrating the birth of Christ?

This subject has long been a matter of scholarly debate. From time to time, it has become a culturally divisive issue. Back in the 1700s, Puritans banned Christmas because of its “pagan origins.” They argued that the holiday was an effort by fourth-century Christians to co-opt the Roman festival of Saturnalia (“birth of the Sun”) at the winter solstice. Puritans took a dim view of traditions like “hanging the greens,” lighted trees, and giving presents, maintaining that all of them were rooted in pagan solstice festivals, either in ancient Rome or medieval Europe. Were it not for Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and Clement Moore’s “Visit from St. Nicholas,” Puritan influence in England and the United States might have subdued the Christmas holiday for a lot longer.

More recent scholarship casts doubt on the Puritan basis for rejecting Christmas. While the holiday has over time incorporated elements of various European solstice (“Yuletide”) traditions, its relationship to the Roman solstice festival is far from certain.

Voting Christian Conscience

Even though Roy Moore hasn’t yet conceded the Senatorial election in Alabama, the results are pretty clear. He lost. Even President Trump, his biggest cheerleader in the last couple of weeks, has congratulated his opponent, Doug Jones, on his hard-fought victory.

Now the analysis cycle is in full motion. The women’s vote was key – it was the mirror opposite of the men’s vote, but more women voted than men. Democrats are emphasizing the historic nature of the election. It’s been a quarter century since any Democrat has won statewide office, and an aggregate of polls still had Moore leading right up until Election Day. Republicans, on the other hand, are taking the “nothing to see here” approach, insisting that the unique circumstances of this election make it impossible to draw any conclusions about larger trends.

There is a critical aspect of this election that is under-appreciated by the secular media. Alabama is one of the most churched states in the country, and Roy Moore ran aggressively as a champion of conservative Christian values. His campaign rallies were like revival meetings. He regularly invoked the name of God and called on Alabamians to “stand up for the Lord” by voting for him. He deflected charges of sexual molestation earlier in his life by characterizing them as veiled attacks on his faith. His campaign was presented as a crusade of good against evil, a courageous effort to fight back against the persecution of the Christian faith. The reason he hasn’t yet conceded is because he must “wait on God,” as he told supporters last night. I guess he means that the apparent result of the election is only a temptation not to put our trust in God, who will eventually intervene to see that his favored candidate, Mr. Moore, wins.

Moore framed this election as a referendum on Christianity. To his great surprise, I’m sure, a bi-partisan coalition of Christians banded together to repudiate him and elect Jones.

Surprise?

All the stories in the gospels of the events leading up to the birth of Christ share something in common: the element of surprise.

Mary was surprised to be visited by an angel and told that she would give birth to the Messiah.

Joseph was surprised (and distraught) to learn that Mary was pregnant, but even more surprised to learn that the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Zechariah was surprised to learn that he was to become a father.

Elizabeth was surprised to be with child despite her advanced age.

The Magi were surprised to see the star signaling the birth of a king.

Herod was surprised to learn from the Magi that one had been born “King of the Jews.”

The shepherds were surprised by the choir of angels that lit up the night sky where they were tending sheep.

The whole story of Jesus’ birth is surprising. Who knew that God would answer the prayer of the prophet, “Tear open the heavens and come down!” (Isaiah 64:1) with the birth of a baby in the humblest of circumstances?

And yet, the season in which we celebrate Christ’s birth is the least surprising time of the year. It has become so laden with tradition, custom, and expectation that hardly anything happens that has not happened before. In fact, deviation from the norm usually results from some sort of loss, whether of a person, mobility, or a home, and in turn causes grief.