![]() ![]() Augustine wrote of this, saying, “For He is believed to have been conceived on the 25th of March, upon which day also He suffered so the womb of the Virgin, in which He was conceived, where no one of mortals was begotten, corresponds to the new grave in which He was buried, wherein was never man laid, neither before nor since. Why the December 25th date? As Thomas Tulley works out in his book The Origins of the Liturgical Year, early church members believed the date of the death of Jesus would also reflect either his birth or his conception. Both works assert the idea that Jesus' death would have happened on the same day as his conception. Clement of Alexandria in this same time offers the date of March 25 as the date of the incarnation-that is, the conception of Jesus-in his Stromata (1.21.145-146). When translating Hippolytus' Commentary on Daniel, written just after AD 200, Schmidt notes that five of the seven manuscripts contain December 25 as the date for Jesus' birth and another offers the 25th of either December or March. Schmidt find the marking of December 25 to appear much earlier in Christian history. Yet, scholars like Yale University's T.C. Much of the thrust of the “pagan Christmas” claim rests on the idea of a Christianized Rome trying to convert a populace that wouldn't want to give up its feast traditions, akin to the practice of churches celebrating a “Harvest Festival” instead of Halloween. The other is to look at the celebrations like Saturnalia and Sol Invictus. There are two ways to approach the question: one is to see how December 25 became associated with the Nativity, which is how the early church would have referred to the day of Christ's birth. When one digs into the actual history, however, a much different picture arises. Increase Mather preached that “the early Christians who first observed the Nativity on December 25 did not do so thinking that ‘Christ was born in that Month, but because the Heathens Saturnalia was at that time kept in Rome, and they were willing to have those Pagan Holidays metamorphosed into Christian.’” The New England Puritans, who valued work more than celebration, taught such. The claim that the roots of Christmas are pagan isn't new. Two of the most popular pagan holidays put forth are the celebration of Saturnalia, which honored the Roman god Saturn, or the Dies Natalis of Sol Invictus, which is the “Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun.” Both of these celebrations were held in the second half of December, making them somewhat close to Christmas. ![]() I believe the love of Christmas coupled with the loathing of Christianity is one reason why atheists continue to repeat the claim that Christmas is a repurposing of a pagan Roman holiday. However, Christmas is also a uniquely Christian holiday its core message is about a personal God taking humanity upon Himself and stepping into the world to redeem sinful human beings who could never redeem themselves. ![]() alone, the Pew Center reports that nearly 96% of the population celebrates Christmas, including eight out of ten non-Christians, including atheists, agnostics, and those who have no faith commitment. It’s timely and helpful.” - Sean McDowell, associate professor in the Christian Apologetics program at Talbot School of Theology and author of The Fate of the Apostles: Examining the Martyrdom Accounts of the Closest Followers of Jesus (Routledge)Ĭhristmas is a much-beloved holiday, celebrated by billions of people across the globe. “ The Worldview Bulletin is a wonderful resource for the church. ![]() Lee Strobel, New York Times bestselling author of more than forty books and founding director of the Lee Strobel Center for Evangelism and Applied Apologetics It’s timely, always relevant, frequently eye-opening, and it never fails to encourage, inspire, and equip.” “ The Worldview Bulletin is a must-have resource for everyone who’s committed to spreading and defending the faith. Or, to give a gift subscription that a friend or family member will benefit from the whole year, visit here. You’ll receive our free weekly email as well as our subscriber-only monthly newsletter. Would you like to grow in your knowledge of the Christian worldview and your ability to defend it? Subscribe to The Worldview Bulletin for only $2.50 per month and learn from world-class Christian scholars and apologists. ![]()
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