Historians reveal to us that the earliest record of Christ’s birth being celebrated on December 25th was not until 354 A.D. and that it is unlikely Jesus’ nativity was widely celebrated on that day in December any earlier than 300 A.D. They invite us to hear that the date we celebrate Jesus’ birth and many of the things we use to celebrate it—large festive meals, the giving of gifts, and visiting friends—were all brought over from the Roman festival of Saturnalia. Additionally, they inform us that such things as greenery, acts of charity, and lights were brought over from the celebration of the Roman New Year. These celebrations in the dead of winter came at (or near) the winter solstice, the time when the dark nights had reached their longest and were beginning to shorten again.
Discovering that some of our hallowed traditions have very pagan roots can be a disconcerting thing for us as Christians at first. If we borrowed this symbol or that idea from pagans, what else did we borrow? What else is “untrue”?
The earliest Christians seem to have made no effort to remember the day of Jesus’ birth. Instead, it was his resurrection that they celebrated as they gathered in homes weekly on the day after the Sabbath—“the Lord’s day.” That practice became so widespread that centuries later, Christians would come to assume that Sunday always was the Sabbath, having forgotten that the Jewish Sabbath runs from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday.
During the Reformation, beginning in the 16th century, Christmas was rejected by some Protestants since it was not a celebration advocated by Scripture. The Pilgrims who came to the New World also rejected it, even outlawing it in Boston for a time. In our day, it has become so highly commercialized that Christians routinely feel the need to remind one another “the reason for the season.” Recognizing that the celebration of Jesus’ birth was not a part of early Christianity, that it borrows heavily from pagan festivals, that it was rejected by Reformers and Puritans, and that it is being “re-paganized” by its commercialization today, is it even worth continuing to celebrate Christmas?
I think it is. One reason is that it points to deep truths about God. While the date of Jesus’ actual birth is certainly contested, a deeper reality is revealed in our celebration. God comes to us not just in the bright sunshine of our successes, but in the darkest nights of our failures. God enters humanity not just in the warmth of our expectant receptiveness, but in the coldness of our indifference. God enters the human condition not in strength and power, but in poverty and helplessness. In our darkest moments and despite our coldest rejections, God comes to us and God is with us. Emmanuel. Amen.
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2 comments:
Thanks for this piece, Dan. I was unaware of some of the history of Christmas.
Regarding the borrowing of pagan traditions, I wonder if this practice is one of the ways Christians can transform parts of their culture into glimpses of God's kingdom. I think a discerning analysis of any culture will find some things that the church can and should reject and other things that the church can and should affirm. Somewhere in-between are those things that are not Christian, but that might be re-appropriated subversively--put into the service of God's reign against their original intent. The transformation of "Saturnalia" into "Christmas" could be seen as an example of this kind of faithful subversiveness. (Of course, things have come full circle, as Christmas has since been re-appropriated by our consumeristic culture.)
It might be questioned whether or not Christmas was in fact such a subversive borrowing, given its late start date--perhaps it was instead an example of cultural accommodation. But the early church often borrowed and transformed pieces of pagan culture; for example, the New Testament uses counter-imperial language--that is, it borrows language from imperial Rome and uses it in a new way to communicate that there is an alternative to the Roman Empire--namely, God's Empire. The words "basilea" (kingdom) and "euangelion" (gospel or good news) come to mind.
Josh,
Well said; I agree wholeheartedly. The line between cultural transformation and cultural accommodation is a tricky one, particularly when we are unaware of how easily we cross it. Christians in many times and places have learned to be quite savvy about it and have been masterful at drawing from culture to speak the truth of the gospel. As we become more aware that our culture (including the subculture we most identify with) is not wholly Christian, we will become better at using the culture to proclaim the gospel rather than having the culture neuter our proclamation.
I am very hopeful about the growth I see in this direction and I suspect our children's generation will be much better at doing this than we are.
To see Josh's blog (which I recommend), go to http://www.postyesterdaychurch.blogspot.com/
Peace,
Dan
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