Some Facts on Joyful Christmas

Christmas is the merriest season of the year. However, people differed in their views about Christmas and some of the practices related to it. Some people accept Christmas as part of their religious or social traditions. Others do not celebrate it at all because of their religious or other beliefs. But the fact is that Christmas is an occasion that is widely celebrated all over the world and has affected the lives of many people in some ways. Christmas is just around the corner. And it is worthwhile to make this year’s celebration as joyous and memorable as ever. We could start entertaining ourselves in connection with the celebration of Christmas with a small discussion of some facts that follow:

December 25 as Christmas Day. Although December 25 is the day that is traditionally celebrated as Christmas, the Bible did not specify the exact date of Jesus’ birth. And religious scholars have not established the date of his birth either. A clue to the question is the book of Luke 2:8-14 which stated that during Jesus’ birth the shepherds were watching their flocks at night. Considering that it is usually a winter season in Palestine in December, Biblical scholars contend that Jesus could not have been born during that month because shepherds most probably would not go to their field in a wintry evening. It is said that early Christians did not celebrate the birth of Jesus. It was also said that pagans celebrate their festivity called Saturnalia during the winter solstice which may occur from December 21-22 to honor the sun god. At about 440 A.D. Christian converted Roman officials made December 25 as the date of Jesus’ birth to make Christianity acceptable to the pagans.

The three kings. It was never mentioned in the Bible that there were three kings who visited the infant Jesus to pay homage to him. It was mentioned that he was given gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh by the magi from the east. Although there were only three gifts that were presented to Jesus, the givers who were called magi might be a group of people composing more than three persons.

The date of Christmas of Eastern Orthodox Churches. Some Eastern Christian Orthodox Churches celebrate their Christmas on January 7 rather than on December 25. The reason of it is that most Christian Orthodox Churches especially the Russian and Serbian use the old Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar.

Not all Christians celebrate Christmas. Jehovah’s witnesses, a Christian denomination do not celebrate Christmas. They consider Christmas as pagan in origin and therefore not a Christian holiday. They also believe that Jesus Christ and some known Biblical personalities did not celebrate birthdays. And that Biblical accounts related to birthdays were mostly associated with unpleasant events.

 “Happy Holidays” Greetings. Generally, people associate Christmas with the Christian religion. But some people are non-Christians, others do not profess to belong to any religious group while still others do not celebrate Christmas at all. Greeting them with “Merry Christmas” is some sort distasteful to them.  “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas!” is a more acceptable way of greeting them during the celebration.  Those people also prefer to call the occasion “the holidays” instead of Christmas.

The longest Christmas celebration in the world. The Philippines is a country with the longest Christmas celebration. The merriment starts as early as late September with the playing of Christmas carols over the radio and some business establishments, and ends at the feast day of Epiphany on January 6. The official celebration however starts at the ”Misa de Gallo” or the evening mass that starts on December 16 and culminates in the Christmas  Eve. The New Year and the Epiphany are considered by many Filipinos as part of their Christmas celebration.

Christmas tree. Christmas tree has its origin in the pagan traditions of having tree as decoration during the winter festivity. The evergreen boughs, mistletoe and holy were regarded as the hope for life in the wintertime when trees had no leaves. Early Christians prohibited the tradition because of its pagan origin. The Germans however revived the tradition in the 16^th century by using tree as a decoration during the festivity of “The Feast of Adam and Eve” which was celebrated on December 24. The German brought the Christmas tree tradition in the 17^th century to the United States.  The Americans in turn spread the use of Christmas tree as decoration throughout the world.

White Christmas. The song “White Christmas” was the best-selling Christmas single of all time. It has sold more than 50 million copies. The song was composed by Irving Berlin and popularized by Bing Crosby at Decca Records which released it in 1942.

Santa Claus. The figure of a red- suited Santa that is chubby, bearded and round bellied who is on a sleigh drawn by reindeers  was taken from the poem  “A Visit to Saint Nicholas” which is better known today as “The Night before Christmas“. The poem was attributed to Clement Clarke Moore. One of the first artist to define Santa’s modern image was Thomas Nast an American cartoonist of the 19^th century who made a picture of Santa in the “Harper’s Weekly” in 1863.

Santa Claus, a Figure Blended from Different Christmas Traditions

One of the most visible figures during the Christmas season is Santa Claus. During the holiday commercial establishments have personnel dressed up as Santa to enliven the spirit of the season and to help heighten business activities. In the west and in other regions of the world Santa is generally depicted as jolly, fat, white-bearded old man with red suits. He is also depicted as always on sleigh pulled by reindeers as he comes to homes via the chimney to deliver toys to the children.

It is said that the real Santa was the Greek bishop Nicholas of Myra who was born in third century in the village of Patara, now a part of the southern coast of Turkey. Nicholas, an only son, was raised in a rich family. At a young age his parents died because of an epidemic and he inherited their wealth. As a devoted Christian, Nicholas lived his life in accordance with the teachings of Christ. One of them was to share his material possessions to the poor. His love of the children, his generosity to the poor, and his help to the sick made him a true follower of Christ. He became a bishop at a very young age. During the reign of Roman Emperor Diocletian the Christians were persecuted and their religious leaders were imprisoned. One of them was Bishop Nicholas of Myra. The situation of the Christians changed for the better when the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great converted to Christianity. During his reign he gave the Christians freedom to exercise their religion. This development enabled Christianity to spread like wildfire throughout the ancient Roman Empire. However, the Christians were deeply divided on their doctrine so that in 325 AD Constantine had to call the bishops for a council in Nicea to discuss on the issue. Nicholas was one of the bishops in the attendance list.

Nicholas died on December 6, 343 AD. His person and his good deeds were widely known throughout Christendom so that he was made as patron saint of people of different walks of life in many places, and many churches were named after him. Stories on his deeds abound. One of the most popular stories was on the three poor girls whom he saved from slavery. It was said that their father could not afford a dowry for their would-be husbands. During the time it was the father’s obligation to provide for the dowry so that he could get ideal husband for his daughter or else she would consign her life to being a slave. Out of nowhere, a sack with three gold bars was left in the house of the girls and their father was able to solve their problem. The sack of gold was attributed to Saint Nicholas who was said to have thrown it through the window and landed right in a wet stocking which was left hanging by the fire.

The Vikings who were sea-faring people made St. Nicholas as one their patron saints. They helped spread the saint’s stories to the lands that they went to such as Germany and Netherlands. The Dutch settlers in America started the tradition of associating Christmas with St. Nicholas whom they called “Sinter Klaas”. Overtime that name has evolved into what is now Santa Claus.

To counter the commercialized tradition of Saint Nicholas day which was on December 6, and to divert the focus of reverence to Christ rather than on Saint Nicholas on Christmas, Martin Luther came up with Kris Kringle. In that concept the giver of gifts to children is the child Christ who does it when they are asleep. And because of that situation they never know who the giver of the gift is.

Father Christmas who was also called “Old Man Winter” was a figure related to a traditional pagan celebration of the winter solstice that is assimilated to Christmas. He traveled from home to home and was given foods and drinks by the people.  In return Father Christmas granted them blessings of a moderate winter.

The tradition on Santa Claus is a blend of religion, historical facts, myths and legends so that most people consider Santa Claus, Kris Kringle and Father Christmas as one and the same person. From the historical Saint Nicholas people derived the tradition of putting in toys in the stockings which are by the fire. From the Kris Kringle is the tradition of giving gifts to children when they are asleep so that they don’t know who the giver is. And from “Old Man Winter” is the legend that Santa Claus travels from house to house. In the Middle Ages St. Nicholas was typically depicted as a tall, thin and bearded Cleric. The fat and white bearded appearance of Santa Claus as he is depicted today is generally traced to a 19^th century poem entitled “’Twas the Night before Christmas”.