For Christians, Dec. 25 is more than just another religious holiday: It commemorates the birth of their saviour, Jesus. But Christmas isn’t just for Christians. Some evidence suggests that Christmas itself was merely a re-appropriation of the pagan festival of Saturnalia. Roman pagans first introduced the holiday of Saturnalia, a week long period of lawlessness celebrated between December 17-25. During this period, Roman courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people during the week-long celebration. The festival began when Roman authorities chose “an enemy of the Roman people” to represent the “Lord of Misrule.” Each Roman community selected a victim whom they forced to indulge in food and other physical pleasures throughout the week. At the festival’s conclusion, December 25th, Roman authorities believed they were destroying the forces of darkness by brutally murdering this innocent man or woman.
The New Testament gives no date or year for Jesus’ birth. The earliest gospel – St. Mark’s, written about 65 CE – begins with the baptism of an adult Jesus. This suggests that the earliest Christians lacked interest in or knowledge of Jesus’ birth date. In the 4th century CE, Christianity imported the Saturnalia festival hoping to take the pagan masses in with it. Christian leaders succeeded in converting to Christianity large numbers of pagans by promising them that they could continue to celebrate the Saturnalia as Christians. The problem was that there was nothing intrinsically Christian about Saturnalia. To remedy this, these Christian leaders named Saturnalia’s concluding day, December 25th, to be Jesus’ birthday.
Many who are excitedly preparing for their Christmas celebrations would prefer not knowing about the holiday’s real significance. If they do know the history, they often object that their celebration has nothing to do with the holiday’s monstrous history and meaning and say, “We are just having fun.”
So, for no reason other than that there is an excitement in the air over these Christmas holidays, I just love celebrating the festive season as thoughts turn to giving gifts to family, friends and loved ones. Who just doesn't love giving or receiving a gift? And all the weeks of preparations beforehand - buying gifts (while listening to beautiful Christmas songs in the mall), planning recipes, making or buying new Christmas decorations and ornaments, decorating the tree and finally, the placing of the gifts under the tree to be opened on Christmas morning - followed by a scrumptious Christmas lunch and family get-together. Absolute bliss!
The message of modern Christmas is one of peace, love, joy, prosperity and happiness, which can only be a good thing. What I don't understand is why this message seems so limited to just a couple of weeks of the year. Each Christmas and Easter, churches have to struggle to accommodate the extra crowds who show up for holiday services. While pews may be partially filled or even deserted on a Sunday over the summer, the holidays see a huge increase in attendance as the CEOs (Christmas and Easter Onlys) stop by. Wouldn't the world be a much better place if we followed the message of love and goodwill all year round?
To me Christmas day is spending time with my family—sleeping late, opening presents, preparing and devouring the Christmas meal, sipping a beer, watching the inevitable holiday Law & Order marathon. Could I do these things at other points of the year? Sure—Law & Order is one of my year-round pleasures. But only at Christmas do so many of my friends and family also have time off, and only at Christmas can I see loved ones who have scattered across the country. Whether or not you believe in God, Christmas is a time of year when you head home or host guests, a rare occasion for the kind of togetherness that can drive you crazy, fill you with love, or both.
