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Shouldn't Christmas be a Jewish Holiday?
By Messianic Rabbi Ed Rothman
In the 21st century, the miraculous birth of Y'shua (Jesus) the
Messiah is recognized and celebrated by multiplied millions of people
from every nation in the world. In 1971, when I became a brand new
Jewish believer in Jesus, I joyfully joined in the celebration of
Christmas, not knowing anything about the Jewishness of my faith
in Y'shua and being ignorant of the pagan roots of this annual observance
of Messiah's birth. Looking back I am grateful for the grace through
which G-d saw the simple sincerity of my heart. In His kindness
He met me where I was in my limited understanding of Him and my
lack of knowledge of the darker chapters of church history. At the
outset of this discussion, I must make it very clear; G-d loves
and accepts each of us more than we can adequately comprehend. He
will meet each of us in our genuine adoration of His Son, Jesus
the Messiah, even when it may be doctrinally or historically inaccurate.
This is the understanding from which this study should be read.
The Pagan Roots of Christ-Masse
In the 4th century, the Church found it did not possess the adequate
influence to abolish the non-Christian pagan festivals. In an effort
to unite the Church and accommodate the heathen masses, the Church
Fathers, who shaped church doctrine & practice, attempted to
integrate the pagan festivals with the theological doctrines of
Christianity in an attempt to more easily assimilate the multitude
of unchurched peoples into the Christian faith. It seems that their
plan was to gradually rid the world of paganism by sanctifying the
heathen holidays with biblical themes.
They absorbed the Feast of Saturnalia, which honored Saturn, the
Roman god of agriculture. At this time the people hoped and prayed
each year for the restoration of his Golden Age of Peace & Prosperity
by venerating him with 7 days of celebrating peace & goodwill
toward all men. Gifts would be given to children accompanied by
a spirit of merriment while visiting with and banqueting in each
other's homes. All government, business, and school activities would
cease. All executions and military operations would be postponed.
For 1 week all men, including slaves were equal! The festival took
place every year from December 17-24.
They also adapted the Germanic & Celtic rites of the Winter
Solstice (Sun stands still), called Brumalia (the birthday of the
unconquered Sun). The belief was; because December 21st was the
shortest day of the year, that on the 22nd the Sun would die and
3 days later on the 25th be born-again or risen from the dead, as
it began to climb in the sky and the days grew longer. This would
signal the beginning of wild festivities of mirth with the use of
holly, mistletoe, Yule logs, wassail bowls and paradise trees (evergreens
trimmed with candles). The obvious connection was to replace celebrating
the birth of the Sun god with the birth of the Son of G-d, who described
Himself as the Light of the World (John 8:12 & 9:5).
In 350 AD, Julius I, Bishop of Rome, set the date for the Nativity
(the birth of Messiah) on December 25th. The reasoning for this
was to begin with March 25 (the date they believed to be both the
Conception & Passion [the Death] of Jesus the Messiah) and then
to add 9 months to it, arriving at the 25th of December. By 354
AD the Roman almanac listed December 25th as the anniversary of
the birth of Christ.
Continued
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